How it Works

Get clear explanations of essential home-building and remodeling topics. This ongoing series covers everything you need to be familiar with to build durable, comfortable, high-quality homes, including, framing, insulation, mechanical systems, and more.

How it Works: Simple Wood Beams

Beams, defined as elongated members that are loaded perpendicular to their long axis, are critical to the structure of a house.
Electrical Breaker Panels

The job of the breaker panel is to distribute the incoming power to the separate circuits throughout a home’s electrical system.
How To Fix Ice Dams

Ice dams are not a roofing problem; they’re an air-sealing problem.
Drain-Waste-Vent Systems

Although hidden behind walls and in floors and ceilings, the pipes that make up a house’s drain-waste vent system are the balance of the plumbing equation.
How it Works: Wood Rot

No wood is completely immune to rot, so it's important to know how it works.
How it Works: Ground-Source Heat Pumps

Heating and cooling, courtesy of the earth.
How it Works: Circular Sawblades

Despite having no moving parts, circular sawblades are surprisingly complex.
How it Works: Septic Systems

The mechanics of your septic system.
How to Identify Why Exterior Paint Is Failing, and How to Avoid It

Cracking, flaking paint not only looks bad—it also invites water and weather inside to do more damage.
How it Works: Household Electricity

Electrician Cliff Popejoy explains the systems and components that bring power from it's source into and around your home.

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