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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.

Want to see a new Fine Homebuilding tip in your inbox every day? Then sign up for the Tip of the Day newsletter!

  • Router-bit storage

    Good router bits are expensive, and it makes me cringe to think of their finely honed edges bumping together in a toolbox drawer. To protect my bits, I store them…

  • Finding a punctured pipe

    On a couple of occasions during my career as a home remodeler I have accidently driven nails or drywall screws into copper plumbing lines. Sometimes the leak will begin to…

  • Cleaning foam off your hands

    I often use commercial spray foam for sealing around pipes, windows and other odd-shaped holes in walls. This kind of small job makes me think that I won't make a…

  • Cleaning foam off the walls

    I use foam insulation from an aerosol can when insulating around rough window and door openings. The next day I trim all the excess foam away from the wall and the…

  • The PADD alternative

    Can't afford CADD? Try the low-tech alternative: PADD. It's my name for Post-it Aided Design and Drawing. It begins with a trip to the local stationery store, where I can…

  • Invisible fasteners for decks

    Some of our customers don't like to look at the exposed nailheads on a typical face-nailed deck. As a result, we've developed the system shown in the drawing to secure deck…

  • Drilling sheet metal safely

    Boring holes in a piece of sheet metal can present a drill-press operator with a potentially hazardous situation. Sometimes the piece won't fit in the drill-press vise, and clamps or…

  • Driving Screw Hooks

    The next time you have to drive a screw hook  into a piece of wood, drill a pilot hole and then chuck an eyebolt into your variable-speed electric drill. Once…

  • Glue Bucket

    Applying contact cement to laminate work can be a messy proposition. Here's how I keep it under control. I cut the top off of a square 5-gal. can (the kind…

  • Homemade rebar bender

    Recently I was forming footings for an addition and needed to rent a bender to put angles in the 1/2-in. rebar. It wasn't available at the local yard, so I…

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Fine Homebuilding Magazine

  • Issue 333 - August/September 2025
    • A Practical Perfect Wall
    • Landscape Lighting Essentials
    • Repairing a Modern Window Sash
  • Issue 332 - July 2025
    • Custom Built-ins With Job-Site Tools
    • Fight House Fires Through Design
    • Making the Move to Multifamily
  • Issue 331 - June 2025
    • A More Resilient Roof
    • Tool Test: You Need a Drywall Sander
    • Ducted vs. Ductless Heat Pumps
  • Issue 330 - April/May 2025
    • Deck Details for Durability
    • FAQs on HPWHs
    • 10 Tips for a Long-Lasting Paint Job
  • Issue 329 - Feb/Mar 2025
    • Smart Foundation for a Small Addition
    • A Kominka Comes West
    • Making Small Kitchens Work

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