How to build level and square?

[jake26]

I have been working on a garage makeover and it is taking me forever. Firstly, because I do not have any construction experience so all my electrical, plumbing, drywall, mudding and construction has been a learning experience. Secondly .. health-wise, I am falling apart.

Anyhoo ... to my question. Part of my makeover is building and installing shelving, workbench, closet and counter tops but I am having a hard time getting things square and level. Partly because my Menards wood is not straight and I am also working by myself so holding a 7' wide shelf and lagging it to a wall is a challenge.

Somethings I already do.

- Match crown of the wood so it runs the same
- Make sure corners are equal

Any experience professionals have any trade secrets or tricks? What do you do when wood is slightly warped or twisted?

 

[Leyenda30]

Get yourself a jaw horse and let it be your silent helper. Check out the video...money well spent.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0018MRUN4/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[Leyenda30]

Also get a good level and learn how to check it for accuracy. And for square remember 3 4 5 see link. It works with and multiple of those numbers. (like 6 8 10 or 30 40 50)

http://www.wikihow.com/Use-the-3-4-5-Rule-to-Build-Square-Corners

 

[allinon72]

Well I think the answer is to use a level and a square

When I'm at Lowes I pick thru about 3 pallets before I can find a few pieces of straight lumber.

 

[WhoWhatNow]

Well I think the answer is to use a level and a square

When I'm at Lowes I pick thru about 3 pallets before I can find a few pieces of straight lumber.

This. I hate buying lumber that is already twisted/warped. Dig until you find good pieces. If you can't find a good piece go somewhere else.

 

[little d]

Jake, first off, cull your lumber, your paying for it, get the best you can.
Ok, on the shelf, I'm guessing your using "L" brackets. Figure out where ya want the shelf, snap a level chalk line and atach the brackets to the wall and then attach the shelf to that (remember to allow for the thickness of the shelf), way easyer than with the brackets attached to the shelf. If your doing more that one, again snap a chalk line or use a level to square up and start from the top down so ya have room to screw the shelfs to the brackets.

 

[Falcon67]

Having had many old houses over the years, level and plumb are way over rated.

As noted, make sure you cull the lumber and pick straight pieces for your shelving and bench top frames. To mount an 8' long bench top frame to the wall, first install a single 2x4 as a ledger board. Mark it where the bottom of the bench top will be then level that. Set the frame on the ledger board and the framework should be level and ready to the wall. Use a couple of temp braces on the front edge. Then add anything under the bench, and finish any legs or braces. Lower quality sticks can be used for that as long as there is not too much cup and twist. Add your shelf or bench top last after all the bracing is in.

Just me set this 8' x 30" frame with a ledger board (removed in the pic) and a couple of scraps:

For a bench top, use something like 7/16" OSB topped with a good grade of at least 23/32" sanded one side ply, screwed to the frame. The OSB is cheap and stays pretty flat. The two combined will make for a solid, stiff assembly that will stay level and square for a long time.

 

[jake26]

Thanks for all the suggestions (the Jawhorse looks awesome). My problem with the wood is that I had it picked and delivered (since I ordered $1000 worth of supplies, I had it all delivered at once), so I believe the handlers picked everyone's cast offs and gave them to me.

Example: I made a shelf that is level for 3/4 of the 7' length but veers down the last 2' by nearly 1/4".

 

[GarageEnvy]

I just did some shelving in my shed last week and have done a bit of it in the past. I've used a couple of methods that have worked well. When possible I borrow my brother's rotary laser level and just install brackets as I go. When that's not possible I set the brackets at either end using either a long level, a water level or even a tape measure and chalk line if there's something level to measure off of. Then I go back and install the brackets in the middle.

My most recent workbench is metal with plywood/laminate top so that isn't going to help you but in the past I've made solid wood tops by planing and jointing (and even then belt sanding a bit) cheapo big box wood to get a nice flat surface. Honestly that was way more work than it was worth and it was beat up and cluttered so fast I probably wouldn't do it again.

 

[Torque1st]

Thanks for all the suggestions (the Jawhorse looks awesome). My problem with the wood is that I had it picked and delivered (since I ordered $1000 worth of supplies, I had it all delivered at once), so I believe the handlers picked everyone's cast offs and gave them to me.

That is exactly what they do. They just grab the first boards off the pile that everyone else has rejected.

I took a 10% discount at HD on wood for a large project. Some of the wood was OK, some was not suitable for framing at all. The 10% discount was not worth all the hassle of using the 'pile-run' wood. Mill-run wood is usually OK. If you order a large number of a particular type like 8' 2x4's then you stand a chance of getting wood from lower in the pile. I wish I had just hand picked the wood myself. I had to return some because it was worthless. I try to select only pieces as good as I need them for the project. At the same time I will not reject a better piece than I need if it is on top of the pile.

 

[SGKent]

Thanks for all the suggestions (the Jawhorse looks awesome). My problem with the wood is that I had it picked and delivered (since I ordered $1000 worth of supplies, I had it all delivered at once), so I believe the handlers picked everyone's cast offs and gave them to me.

Example: I made a shelf that is level for 3/4 of the 7' length but veers down the last 2' by nearly 1/4".

Call the manager and get them to bring out better wood. If the wood is split, twisted and so full of knots you can't nail to it then it is not worth working with unless you got it for 30 cents on the dollar in which case you have to spend your time fighting it which will cost you more than the 70 cents on the dollar you saved.

 

[trbomax]

Thanks for all the suggestions (the Jawhorse looks awesome). My problem with the wood is that I had it picked and delivered (since I ordered $1000 worth of supplies, I had it all delivered at once), so I believe the handlers picked everyone's cast offs and gave them to me.

Example: I made a shelf that is level for 3/4 of the 7' length but veers down the last 2' by nearly 1/4".

This is just one of the reasons I buy lumber from a real lumber yard,not a box store.Even if you do pick thru the stuff at the box store,you better get it nailed down within a day or so or it too will look like a pretzel.When you open a bunk of box lumber and check it with a moisture meter it will show as high as 40%.when it dries out to"normal" which around here is 12-18% it cant/wont be the same shape it was at 40%. I dont know why they have wet lumber,unless its cheaper to buy it when it was run a shorter time in the kiln. Also if you compare the grade stamp on box vs lumber yard,it is different. I'm not an expert on grade stamps,I know very little about them,but I do know where you get crooked lumber. I think the reasons people buy box lumber is convenence and price. Unfortunately most people buy that way so the real lumber yards are getting hard to find.In the last 10 yrs or so we have lost 3 yards and gained 3 or more box stores.Convenience for me its a no brainer,I can drive 20 miles to a yard or 30 miles to a box. As far as cost goes,its really not much more,and people (in general) would take more pride in thier finished product,it wouldnt be an issue either.You cant build a straight building with crooked lumber.

 

[Zeke]

I looked through a stack of 4 x 4's at HD the other day for a quick project. The whole unit was heart centers. You don't buy any lumber with a heart center. HD buys junk that a real lumber yard won't take.

I've never seen a whole unit of heart centers. Here is a nice stack of lumber:

The third one down on the right is a beautiful piece. It's all free of heart center known as FOHC in the trade.

I know the OP is not using timber like this, but it helps to know how to buy good wood.

 

[BevoZ06]

Zeke,

Are you sure those are 4 x 4's?

 

[djkeev]

Zeke,

Are you sure those are 4 x 4's?

It's rough cut, hasn't yet been planed, looks more like 6 x 8's or similar!
I guess his point was the end grain, not the size.

 

[Falcon67]

Cull your lumber and have them exchange it. I bought from McCoys here and had no trouble returning 2x6's that went wacko while waiting to become rafters. Most of that was in the second or third $1000 bundle of sticks. Them bundles add up after a while.

 

[Zeke]

Zeke,

Are you sure those are 4 x 4's?

I think I said I looked at a pile of trash at HD. Then I showed some nice sticks. Those aren't trash and not 4 x 4's.


Use all your reading skills and try to keep up

 

[rburke65]

Yes, load 'em up and take them back. The people working there have seen this often and they won't be real surprised when they see you coming with all that crooked lumber.

 

[Torque1st]

Yes, load 'em up and take them back. The people working there have seen this often and they won't be real surprised when they see you coming with all that crooked lumber.

They will push the lumber cart with the returns over to the side and put them back on the pile later.

 

[kenfath]

For shelves I like to use particle board shelves which have the bullnose. They're readily available in 12 and 16-inch widths, and lengths to 12 feet; and can be found in white or oak covering and bare. The advantage is they are straight and square, and are as good or better, IMO, than lumber shelves. They are reasonably priced and will support similar loads.

I've had both fixed and adjustable shelves which used the wall tracks and brackets. Getting the shelves level using wall tracks is pretty easy. Once you have mounted the first one use a level to get the next one level in respect to the first, then continue mounting the remaining tracks one at a time using this procedure.

 

[OccupantRJ]

Thanks for all the suggestions (the Jawhorse looks awesome). My problem with the wood is that I had it picked and delivered (since I ordered $1000 worth of supplies, I had it all delivered at once), so I believe the handlers picked everyone's cast offs and gave them to me.

Example: I made a shelf that is level for 3/4 of the 7' length but veers down the last 2' by nearly 1/4".

You just learned the first rule of DIY. Pick out your own materials and haul, or suffer from not doing it. The guys at the store are getting rid of what they are tired of rearranging every day. The inexperienced user may not know any better. Also, I buy ONLY what I can nail up in a weekend. The new growth wood warps as soon as you leave the store with it. I have bought dead flat 1/2 inch plywood, hauled it home at 7 pm, and the next morning it was already bowing 3 inches, even after being stored inside overnight.

 

[trbomax]

Yes, load 'em up and take them back. The people working there have seen this often and they won't be real surprised when they see you coming with all that crooked lumber.

I dont think the OP has that choice or he wouldnt have had it delivered in the first place. I doubt that the box store will come out and do a pick up. My lumber yard does,but has never had to.This is just a case of haveing to write off a bad experience and not doing it again.

edit) I'm useing 2x4x16 that is left over from a small barn we built 3 yrs ago. It was stacked under cover on concrete and is just as straight as when it was brought in.

 

[cowboyjosh]

I think 3/4 of all lumber from anywhere is ****. I get tired of cupped, twisted, and knotted 2x4's; and even after one of my houses is framed and I think everything is straight and plumb and we get to drywall and trim stage there is always a handful of bowed or wavy walls. Unfortunately you can only plane and shim so much and can only be so picky about lumber before it drives you nuts. I tried a few times to build the "perfect" house with everything square, all the walls straight, and it took forever and even then there were still imperfections. in my own house a couple weeks ago while installing a new floor I noticed a wall was off by over a inch in 16 feet.

 

[Falcon67]

I'll say this for our local McCoys - those guys in the yard are right there to help you load and they will cull with you as your do. If someting looks kinda whacked, they will toss it on the spot. "Do you care about the edges on this one?" etc. When I had them pull and bundle for pickup, I had about 5 no good 2x6s ouf of 3000lbs of lumber. Not too bad. They usually have better lumber than HD or Lowes, but it varies. There is a lot of fast grown junk out there.

 

[jake26]

Well, after hearing everyone's advice, I called my Menards store and complained about the warped wood and the woman said I can return what I do not like. Even after a year, she said they would refund the warped wood.



Now, I have to convince my wife that I need a better level and the Jawhorse. One step at a time. Thanks for all the help.

 

[Steevo]

I work pretty much alone on all of my projects, so I am always looking for good solutions to not having enough hands/arms, etc.

One of my most used tools when hanging shelving or cabinets is the "Third Hand":

http://www.fastcap.com/estore/pc/3rd-Hand-HD-p16.htm

You can find them at most wood working places, and some hardware stores.
Woodcraft sells then, although at full retail price.

 

[Zeke]

Laser levels are cheap.

 

[pist0lpete]

Laser levels are cheap.

^This. They're a lifesaver and there's a wide range of price points from which to choose! Craftsman's is affordable and easy-to-use!

 

[Alchymist]

30-50 foot of 1/4" plastic tubing, a package of red kool-aid and some water.....

 

[BevoZ06]

I think I said I looked at a pile of trash at HD. Then I showed some nice sticks. Those aren't trash and not 4 x 4's.


Use all your reading skills and try to keep up

You're right. Sorry, it was my mistake.