Other Materials

Searching for underground pipes doesn't have to be expensive, all you need is a couple of cheap materials by Justin Fink

Ensure a square, level building project from the get-go by Jim Blodgett

The bones beneath concrete's muscle, rebar has to be cut, bent and tied properly to do its job by Howard Stein

Dry-laid walls reinforced with steel and filled with concrete make a weathertight, bugproof house by Fred Leadbeater

by Fred Lugano

Available as single-shot, semiautomatic or full automatic, these low-velocity tools are the ones carpenters choose when driving fasteners into concrete or steel by Bruce Greenlaw

Fill up a trench with concrete -- what's to know? If a house is going to stand on those little sidewalks, they'd better be straight, level and correctly placed. by Rick Arnold, Mike Guertin

Steel bracing and improved drainage give new life to cracked and wet walls by Donald V. Cohen

by Jim Morris

Think of the ground around the house as the roof that keeps the foundation dry by William B. Rose

by Christopher F. DeBlois

Using driven piles and grade beams to build on soft ground by Alvin M. Sacks

Prevention is easier than repair by Kip Park

A survey of anchors reveals some surprising alternatives to lead and plastic by Kevin Ireton