I’m 20 years old and 9 months into my carpentery apprenticeship. On a great crew at a very good company. The summer was hard, they threw everything they had on me I was thrown on a roof, crawled through crawl spaces got heat stroke and the crew was extra tough on me. Now that I’ve been told I’m “not the new guy anymore” and have earned there respect. Everyday I’m taught new things and they find areas in my life to encourage me on even outside of work. Today I threw out $500 worth of 2x10 thinking it was garbage. My co worker that was with me never checked after I asked to let our foreman know green light red or light. My main mentor on the team told me that I need to trust my gut in these situations and if I feel like we’re doing something wrong to just speak to my foreman directly. He said carpentry demands a loud voice and intent in what you’re doing. What are some other situations where I may notice I need this advice? What other parts of carpentry demand a loud voice and intent? He also said I “earned the right” this is the first and only crew I’ve been on and don’t know how universal any of this is with other crews. Anything helps, thanks!

Most recent project, missing a few details. Timber is macuil I think it can be known as pink poui/yellow poui in english

I'm wanting a 254mm battery powered drop saw. I've gone with Miluwakee for all my tools, but I'm happy to go with a different brand if there's a better option. I've been eyeing the AEG 254mm cause of its dual battery, and 70° rotation. Have any of you used it, and can comment on how well it performs on the jobsite? Anyway I look forward to hearing any advice you guys have thanks in advance!

Need advice on roof and, joist, subflooring old house.

I' had a YouTube "roofer" come out to do my roof and gutter and did such a bad job I had to stop the work. He couldn't even tarpe it right.

The House has been exposed to pouring rain for over 2 months. it was pouring on a meat dairy basis.

I can't get a real skilled person to look at anything. I found out a builders license where I live means nothing. It's a multiple choice online test and they don't even have to pick up a lhammer once. SO I'd like a journeyman opinion.

How can I determine if the water has damaged the joist, subfloor, framing, deck, etc.

I can't get any of these pretty boys with manicured nails and dress shoes in the attic but they are all " builders' 😂

I saw some mold and water damage on the subfloor and trying to determine if it came from the roof and gutter being off or something else.

Also after the roof was removed and all the rain the walls have long crack in the middle of the wall sideways on exterior walls and above the from.door. does this mean water got behind those walls?.

Is there a way to determine if water ran down the walls into the basement?

House is mid 40s. Upper Midwest cinder block basement

Foundation, structure,nroof, decking, water damage, storm, basement, basement cracks, mold, joist, structural, cinder block, old house,

Before I turn 70 board feet or approximately 110kg of sapele timber into a roubo workbench, does anyone have any advice or things they wish they knew beforehand that they can share.

6 soss hinges and wainscot on the inside. All clear alder.

I am a 27 year old woman just getting into woodworking. I took a 6 month furniture building course at the beginning of the year and have been working on wood turning, making lamps and small shelving in a community woodshop in my city. I am currently doing a few art markets and working at a restaurant to make ends meet, but would like to look into switching jobs sometime relatively soon.  

I have an opportunity to work with a mentor with 30+ years experience in historical restoration, finish carpentry & general woodworking knowledge. He has what seems like a pretty lucrative business, is really excited about the opportunity of mentoring me and would pull me into some awesome projects. He is making a lot of 18th century window sashes and doors, but he also does modern projects with more modern techniques. The pay is fine and the commute is horrible, but it seems like I’d learn a lot of different aspects of the trade and like this would be a good jumping off point. 

I have another opportunity to assist in teaching the furniture building course I just took. I would be responsible for shop maintenance, I would learn how to teach woodworking and I would be given a few projects that would help hone my skills. It seems like this direction would lead me down the path of starting my own small business and making more fine household items rather than big install projects. It would also require me moving for 6 months, but I would be housed and fed for free. 

I am leaning towards the restoration/finish carpentry job but wanted some advice from people who know more about the industry than I do. Is historical restoration lucrative? Finish carpentry? I like the idea of working on a team and having a variety of jobs that we work on. Are there aspects I’m not thinking of? 

I’m currently working on replicating this sign for a local park.

This is strictly volunteerism and donation, hence why I’m doing it.

Anyways, I’m looking for advice on how to attach the horizontal 2x6 to the vertical 6x6.

Is toenail/toe screwing really the answer?

Doing some cosmetic work on some apartments for a client, no permits required (family friend). I’m not official in any sense but in the next 3 months will be getting insured/bond/license.

He is now asking me to build him a 386sqft shed. Iv designed it according to code and with proper engineering (soil load, pier/beam structure, uplift etc). The lot is in town, fairly visible from the street. The shed will be basic without electric or water. I’m concerned about jeopardizing my ability to get licensed if a code enforcer walks up on me while I’m working. Owner doesn’t really want to go through engineering/permit process. I’m leaning towards not building it but want to hear some thoughts.

This is NOT my vision, it's the customer's. Should I just frame it like a typical interior, non-load bearing wall so they lose about 4 inches along the length of each side? Or is there a better option?

A lot of the older houses we work in around the BC Interior have floors that dip or hump along a wall by 1/4" or more over a few feet. Once new LVP or hardwood goes down, the gap under the baseboard is hard to miss.

The options I know of:

• Scribe the bottom of the base to the floor. It sits tight, but if the dip is big the top edge stops being level and can look off next to door casing or a countertop.
• Keep the base level and cover the gap with shoe or quarter round, which will usually bend down into a dip with a few extra nails.
• Caulk it. Fine for a small gap on painted base, and pretty obvious on anything much over 1/8".

On painted base I'd rather keep the top line straight and let the shoe follow the floor. Where there's no shoe, like a flat modern base or base tight to tile, it ends up being a scribe and splitting the difference so the top doesn't wander too much.

How do you decide where the line is? And are you getting asked to skip shoe moulding altogether now, even on floors that clearly need it?

UPDATE: This project is complete. My wife is happy. It looks good. Thank you for all the advice!

Halfway through installing some beadboard for my entryway. Ignore the decorative cob webs.

Full disclosure I’m a DIYer so caulk is my best friend! Haven’t caulked anything yet.

Spent some time trying to get this angle correct on this top chair rail board only to then notice it sticks out and looks like shit.

I’m taking it off and trying to come up with a better solution than caulk the hell out of it and paint it. Does the same principle apply for open-end pieces (45, opposite 45, glue end piece) to tricky pieces like this?

Looking to learn something from people more knowledgeable than me.

A customer of mine was replacinging a 30"X72" bench, and gave it to me for the price of $free_50. 2" maple top on an excellent steel base. Someone had left it in the weather, and it sure wasn't held together with Titebond3!. Took about 30 minutes to break every glue joint. Next step, kill a set of jointer knives and reglue. Wish I had a flat surface to work on...

koa covers. maple sides.

I’ll start — when everyone actually shows up on time and the material’s already there.

I don't know why I'm having such a hard time with this, but I cant seem to find anything I feel great about.

I'm trying to build a 13 ft long "countertop" (25" deep, 1.5" thick) to go with some new built in cabinets I am installing. But I cant seem to find something continuous what will be long enough, or I'm worried that I wont be able to get a smooth joint if I'm joining two pieces. I'll list my thoughts below, but any idea for what might work? It will be painted in the end, so at least I have that going for me.

- Standard wood boards (butcher block style? Or more wider boards?) I can't seem to figure out what width to make the boards here, and even so, a continuous 13 foot piece might be too big for me to handle and transport on my own. I'm also worried about any movement with a butt joint here.

- Plywood. I was thinking about about stacking some plywood, and using a scarf joint? How visible will that be?

- Laminate. I've been looking around for some sort of laminate I can just put over the whole thing, but I can't find anything long enough, and I haven't worked with it enough to feel comfortable making a joint.

Working on a remodel that is turning an above garage space into a bedroom/bath. The GC and I went back and forth about how to approach the framing for the knee wall storage area. He insisted on double top plates cut on a bevel. To me this seemed to be total overkill and a waste of time and material. I’ve never seen this done on new construction or remodels prior to this.

I figured it would be much faster and less material to just sister studs to the roof rafters and attach to bottom plates. Question is, is this a superior method?

Edit: I’m the fucking guy doing the work. I have my own company and primarily do trim. That’s why I’m asking. JLC showed a different way.

Edit #2: My concern was basically that the knee wall transferring the load almost dead Center between floor joists so any deflection from those rafters isn’t being directly transferred to the exterior walls. So considering that the knee wall to me is overbuilt if there is no direct load path to the exterior walls below the bottom plate, does that clarify?

Hello! I'm a local handyman/carpenter, and I’ve been tasked with quoting a ceiling upgrade like the attached photo. We initially discussed pine T&G for the ceiling, but the homeowner stressed a cleaner, no-knots look like the stained photo. What do you think my best route is for this look? I don’t see poplar being in the budget once my labor is factored in but maybe I am selling my client short on budget. The attached photo of the ceiling currently, stripped down to the present center match and covered with plastic. The concept photo and my blended concept with the existing interior are shown above as well. I know HD carries the “select” pine boards at a reasonable price but wouldn’t it be hard to get good seams without some kind of tongue? I apologize if I’m not being clear enough, just would like some insight on what a cost-effective option would be. Any help is appreciated! The Living room measures out to 385sqft! Trying to keep material cost at least lower than 4500-5000$. Located around Lafayette, La for reference. I've done multiple sheetrock and T&G ceilings with faux beams but this is out of my usual DTD.

I am currently redoing an old apartment in my triplex/quad and wondering what joist hangers to use to reinforce the existing framing. The building is structural brick with pocket joist, which all appear to be in very good condition, but where there are arches (for windows and doors) and chimneys, several floor joists are held up by headers that are all just nailed together.

Lumber is true 2x10 or very close to it, joists are doubled up on either side of a window or chimney, with a double header joist against the brick and all the joists that would pocket into the wall at the arch or chimney appear to be held by nails driven through the opposite side of the header as they built the building/before being concealed by rhe masonry

Again, everything seems to be in good condition, but I would like to go ahead and reinforce since I already have the ceiling open to run wiring. I was planning on simply using lag bolts to better tie the headers together and L brackets for the "floating" joists, but would appreciate any advice on sizing and best practices. (I suspect if I just left it alone it would be fine, but I have seen this type of construction sag in other local buildings, don't love that it's all just hanging by nails)

I was doing a siding job where I had to remover old cedar shakes and install vinyl. I had the client call his electric company to get a boot put on the service lines. I was under the impression it was a free service. Now he twlls me it was $200 for the to do it.

Does this sound right? We're out here trying to be safe and these greedy fkrd are charging 200 for my SAFTEY. Wouldn't that just discourage ppl from being safe in this manner?

Anyone have deal with this themselves?

I’m an apprentice and slowly building out my tool collection. I’m in need of a good chalk line that won’t crap out on me. I don’t mind spending a bit for quality but I’m also not going to go all out on a chalk line. Do the taijima chalk lines still hold up, or is there some good alternatives?

Just had a new stud wall built with a new door, but there's a 10mm gap at the top of the door leaf.

I've also had a new loft hatch cut and new door fitted, and there's 10mm gaps around it too and no insulation, (the loft floor itself is insulated).

Are these acceptable, and could they cause draughts and significant heat loss?