Tips & Techniques

Tips & Techniques is a collection of methods, tools, and jigs that our readers have devised to get things done on their own construction projects. Email photos and descriptions of your tips to us at [email protected]; post them with the #FineHomebuildingTips hashtag on Instagram; or upload them to FineHomebuilding.com/reader-tips for a chance to have them featured in an issue of Fine Homebuilding Magazine. Plus, we pay for any tips we publish.

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Shingle Holder

A ledger strip with a rabbet along one edge keeps sidewall shingles from falling before they're fastened.
Deck-Board Cleaner and Scrapers

A cheap, used handsaw is an inexpensive tool for preparing a deck for stain.
Shim Storage

A finish screw keeps shims in an organized, easily separated stack.
Scribing Made Simple

Use a washer and a pencil to scribe moldings quickly and easily without marring a finished surface.
Temporary Door Control

Use this simple trick to hold doors closed during construction before installing locksets.
Timeless Tip: Tunneling Under Slabs

Use standard plumbing parts to quickly dig a narrow hole under a slab.
FHB’s 40th Anniversary Tips Video Contest

Record yourself demonstrating a favorite tip from the Fine Homebuilding archive to win a cordless compact router kit.
Downspouts With Class

A copper plug and cap creates a minimalist standoff and avoids eyesore brackets.
Get a Handle on Your Buckets

PVC pipe and a piece of duct tape makes a better hand-hold for 5-gal. buckets of sand or rocks.
Makeshift Hex-Head Driver

A three-jaw chuck drives hex-head concrete screws in a pinch.