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I want to add a 4" furnace filter box and a fan so I can keep my space positively pressurized during smoke and pollen season. I only have a small space, so I was going to build a custom 16x20x4 filter box with 4" duct connections. I think the filter would last effectively forever at 100CFM. I...

I like that, and I considered something like that, but I was told the distance from grade would be counted to the internal sill plate, because concrete is moisture-wicking, so that wouldn't actually change my grade requirements. I'm sure it's one of those things that depends on what your...

If you look longer, it doesn't get better.... posting these for entertainment value As far as my current foundation, it's been there 35 years, it's a very dry climate, it does look terrible, but I'm not worried about it. The shear stability looks terrible but everything is tied together by...

I bought a house in the mountain West that has a foundation that's different from anything we build back East. It has a crawlspace sitting on piers, none of the spans are more than 6 feet, and the joists are 2x6's. That's kinda weird. But what I'm mostly weirded out by is the edges of the...

My wife watched a video where they used a laser level to hang a picture, and she asked why we don't have one of those. Needless to say, this is deeply embarrassing, and also license to buy a new tool. The problem is, I don't know what laser levels really do or how to pick one. It seems like...

That's the kind of thing I'm investigating. From what I've read, multiple pours are ok even in commercial work but you have to have a certain rebar between the sections, etc. But it's pretty big risk IMO. I think pouring the footer by hand would be pretty feasible because the cosmetic...

It's a footer and stem wall for a crawlspace foundation. I could pour the footer and use blocks for the stem wall. The smart thing to do is hire it out. But with the trades in my town being what they are, nobody has any time for small projects. Once company find out what I'm trying to do, they...

I'm thinking about building a house addition. I could pour the footer and foundation wall myself with quikrete if I could break the job up. Is it ok to do that as long as you have rebar to tie the sections together? And is it better to pour all the way around 6 inches at a time, or pour full...

I just spent big on a DeWalt stacking toolbox system. I'd like to mark it clearly as my own so there's no confusion at job sites. I'll put label tape on it but what I'd like to do is put my initials in the plastic directly by scribing or melting letters. Does anyone have a good method of doing...

I could put bracing on the lower poles, like 45-degree bracing members between the poles and the deck. The problem with that is the space below is still going to be a usable patio space. AIngular braces don't look good and are places for people to bang their head. That's why, before I really...

I intended to run at least the corner 6x6 posts all the way to the second story sill plate for overkill purposes, and drywall the interior corners with a small fillet if necessary to hide the posts. If I make 2x6, 24" stud spacing walls, it will help hide the 6x6 in the corners and also improve...

Further research suggests this entire concept is unpermittable. For a habitable structure, the post support is not compliant with shear requirements. It would have to be a structural steel shear frame, with big feet bolted to concrete, or I would have to build one or more shear walls on the...

There will be a habitable room, 2x6 walls, and prefab trusses on top.

It's just blocking, because the 16' span is on the long side for 2x10s, so those long joists will need to be I-beams. I could make that blocking into a real beam, and that would reduce the span, but then I'd have to move it back toward the house to tie it into the bay window, and it wouldn't...

That's what I thought; it just didn't seem right being single. Is there any gotcha for just substituting the I-type beams for regular dimensional lumber? They drop right in the same hangers and everything? How do you pick one; are they just as generic within their category?

This is the framing plan for my 2nd-story addition, with porch space underneath. The 2nd story will be a normal residential floor, there will be 2x6 stud walls all around, and have a roof overtop. Do you think the 2x12 rim joists should be doubled? Based on the spans all being 8 ft or less, I...

It looks like renting a cement mixer is about $60/day. How many bags of concrete mix would you consider mixing by hand, before you would rent a mixer? If you don't rent one, what's the best system for mixing it otherwise?

I think the base/footer of my piers needs to be either 18 or 24 inches diameter depending on what the permit office tells me, but the column can be smaller. I was going to dig the holes by hand, and bell out the bottom of the hole to size the pier footer, then use a 12-inch sonotube on top of...

I need like an 18-inch, probably more like 24-inch diameter circle to put the piers in.

It looks like I'm making a 2nd story deck. I need to bring down the 6x6 posts and rest them on concrete piers. The ground already has an existing patio slab though. So I'm trying to figure out options. Get a concrete saw, cut squares, and jackhammer out square holes. It will look terrible and...