previous
  • Painting Ideas, Tips, and Techniques for a Professional Finish
    Painting Ideas, Tips, and Techniques for a Professional Finish
  • 7 Solutions for Kitchen Layout and Design
    7 Solutions for Kitchen Layout and Design
  • Buyer's Guide to Decking
    Buyer's Guide to Decking
  • The Inspector Game: Decking Dos and Don'ts
    The Inspector Game: Decking Dos and Don'ts
  • How it Works
    How it Works
  • 13 Door Design and Installation Tips
    13 Door Design and Installation Tips
  • Energy-Smart Details
    Energy-Smart Details
  • Meet the Fine Homebuilding Project House!
    Meet the Fine Homebuilding Project House!
  • 9 Design Ideas & Tips for Concrete Countertops
    9 Design Ideas & Tips for Concrete Countertops
  • Outdoor Kitchen Design Inspiration
    Outdoor Kitchen Design Inspiration
  • 15 Coffered Ceiling Design Ideas and Tips
    15 Coffered Ceiling Design Ideas and Tips
  • Complete Kitchen and Bath Guide
    Complete Kitchen and Bath Guide
  • 2012 HOUSES Awards
    2012 HOUSES Awards
  • 12 Remodeling Secrets Revealed
    12 Remodeling Secrets Revealed
  • Guide to Paperless Drywall
    Guide to Paperless Drywall
  • Roofing articles, videos, tools, and materials
    Roofing articles, videos, tools, and materials
  • Deck Design & Construction Showcase
    Deck Design & Construction Showcase
  • 7 Small Bathroom Floorplan Layouts
    7 Small Bathroom Floorplan Layouts
  • 10 Basement-Remodeling Tips and Techniques
    10 Basement-Remodeling Tips and Techniques
  • Fine Homebuilding: The Digital Issues
    Fine Homebuilding: The Digital Issues
next
PRINT
Pin It

One Carpenter's Life

Still driving nails at 75, a veteran framer recalls the postwar housing boom of the 1950s and how it changed the way we build

by Larry Haun

Longtime Fine Homebuilding contributor Larry Haun remembers a pivotal time in American building, the building boom in post-World War II Southern California. As Larry recalls, the need to build affordable housing for a lot of new Californians led to the adoption of assembly-line techniques in home building and the evolution of new tools, such as the California framing hammer, the pneumatic nailer, and the circular saw.

One Carpenter's Life
View as PDF
requires Adobe Reader
(Download for free)
From Fine Homebuilding177 , pp. 96-101 March 1, 2006
Related Topics:
Building | Framing | New Construction | Hammers and Nailsets | Air Nailers | Circular Saws | Whole House Design | Saws | Nailers
Related Articles
Framing With Nail GunsOnline Membership Required

They're as common on job sites as circular saws, but if you're not using your pneumatic nailer properly, maybe you should stick with your hammerby Rick Arnold, Mike Guertin

Hurricane WarningsOnline Membership Required

Sifting through the wreckage of Hurricane Andrew to learn why some houses survived and some didn'tby Charles Miller

Cutting with a worm-drive saw

The secret to making accurate cuts while preventing kickback is letting the saw do
half the work 

by Scott Grice

Where Do You Want the Blocking?Online Membership Required

Five tradesmen weigh in on where to put solid blocking for stair skirts, grab-bar anchors, and everything else the code leaves outby Justin Fink

Save Time with Factory-Framed FloorsOnline Membership Required

Crane-hoisted panels get a floor in fast, flat, and cut for ducts and utilitiesby Fernando Pagés Ruiz