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tag: measuring and marking tools
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Begin With the End in Mind: Shed Layout and Floor Framing
8 commentsLayout considerations begin before the first board is cut or fastener is driven. Beginning with the end in mind will assure optimal results for your shed project.
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A Step Ahead to Build a Shed
Being a step ahead in building a simple shed can help speed up the process. A SketchUp model can give you that step ahead by clarifying the planning, parts and procedure for a very basic yet functional backyard shed.
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Claw Foot Bath Tub = Up Dated Bathroom
This remolded / updated bathroom started with the claw foot tub that my friend gave me. The claw foot tub was bigger than the old tub, so I had to redsign the bathroom (this is my house) in order to...
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Use a Common Job-Site Tool as a Quick Rip Guide
2 commentsIf you need to make a quick rip on a piece of lumber, you could hunt around for your tablesaw, but there's a better way.
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Is Your Future Sketchy?
5 commentsA New Year's resolution to learn how to use SketchUp for tackling project plans and design might be just the motivation needed to make your future a little less sketchy.
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Cool Tools
1 commentIf you love tools, you'll find a lot to like on this site. Its reviews include tools that are wildly inventive, odd, hard to find and, occasionally, hard to imagine.
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Paint Scheme-ing with SketchUp
What wall gets an accent color? Where should a contrasting stripe go? What color combination works best in a space? Use SketchUp for quick answers to these important questions before dipping a brush.
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Accurately Cut Miter Angles Without Using Measuring Tools
1 commentIf you need to measure an angle that's other than 90 degrees, you could hunt around for your protractor, but there's a better way
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Framing a deck with a radius
1 commentCurved deck designs are becoming popular. Composite decking and PVC can be bent to fit the curves, but how do you make pressure-treated framing conform to a radius? Good layout and saw kerfs.
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Model and Measure: De-Mystifying Hip Roof Framing by Measuring in SketchUp
8 commentsMeasuring a modeled hip roof is a foolproof way to measure all the rafters for a complete hip roof. This third of 3 parts shows the process to obtain perfect measurements for rafter layout.
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Project House Weekly Wrap, Episode 7: Story Poles and Other Ways To Get Siding Details Right
2 commentsExecutive editor Dan Morrison and carpenter Chris Green review pitfalls of a complex exterior siding and trim project at the garage workshop and discuss tools and techniques to get the job done...
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Locate Your Building on a Plot Plan with SketchUp
5 commentsWith the challenges of setbacks, easements, drainage planning, and other code compliance issues, it's important to get the location for a structure properly on the lot. Google's free 3-D modeling software has some features that make drawing a plot plan a snap.
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How to Avoid Complicated Fractions When Measuring a Workpiece
7 commentsIf you need to divide a piece of wood by some inconvenient fractional number like 11/64, you could do some complicated math in your head, but there's a better way.
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Simplify Rafter-Pattern-Layout Math with Google SketchUp
SketchUp can be a useful option for layout and planning for cutting rafters. Check out this process for doing the math and see if it fits into your "bag-o-tricks" for carpentry or design projects.
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Improved department means a road trip!
FHB's Master Carpenter department will soon move to the center of the magazine, and will be accompanied by a companion web video. Editors visit timberframer Will Beemer.
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Top 10 Tips for Wall Framing Layout on a New Subfloor
9 commentsFramer Scott Grice and veteran builder Larry Haun hash out the the best way to measure and mark wall framing for a new Habitat for Humanity house.
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Cheat Sheet for SketchUp: a Quick-Start Guide for 3D Modeling
3 commentsAt first blush a digital 3D model can be intimidating and seem useless. With a little insight, however, a digital format offers some clear advantages over the tried and true models many of us have created over the years with nothing more than cardboard, tape and a utility knife. Watch the two video tutorials below for some insight into the advantages SketchUp has to offer...
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Hip to be Square: Pythagoras in the Digital Age
Considering all the whiz-bang capabilities SketchUp has to offer, it's easy to overlook how helpful it can be for basic tasks. This episode shows how to calculate accurate (extremely precise, actually) square-up dimensions for any type of layout work with the "Cliculator".
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Steps in the Right Direction: Use SketchUp's Tools for Stairbuilding Plans
The staircase model created in the Stairmathter blog post gets filled in with more details and components to calculate meaningful dimensions for code compliance and finish features
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Stairmathter: Use SketchUp to Master the Math for Stairbuilding
13 commentsCreate a digital layout using jobsite dimensions and let SketchUp do the math to calculate cutting dimensions and angles for stair stringers accounting for finish floor thicknesses and other pertinent information.
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How to Paint Fiber-Cement Siding
Painter Jim Lacey shares some tips for caulking and painting fiber-cement siding. read more
