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Issue 162

On the Cover

Built Wrong From the Start

Top 10 blunders that rot your house, waste your money, and make you sick.

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Features

  • Installing a Split-Jamb Door

    These precased doors are quick to install and allow variations in wall thicknesses.

  • All About Headers

    The type you choose affects not just strength, but also cost, energy efficiency, and drywall cracking.

  • Blending Styles in a Kitchen

    Elements from different eras combine for a comfortable kitchen that looks like it evolved over the past 120 years.

  • Drilling Concrete? Get a Rotary Hammer

    Here's a look at six tools that bore holes up to 1 in. but also chip concrete and even bore large holes in wood.

  • Fire-Wise Construction

    Building strategies that may save your house from wildfire.

  • Curved Deck Stairs

    A temporary form and laminated plywood stringers make building these stairs easier than you might think.

Article

  • Small Cottage Makes a Big Splash

    Going up instead of out makes the most of a steep lot, keeps the footprint small, and captures an incredible view.

  • The Art of Pressure Washing

    There's no better way to prepare a house for painting, but be careful you're not doing more harm than good.

  • Caulks and Sealants
    Making Sense of Caulks and Sealants

    Today's products adhere better, stretch farther, and last longer, but choosing the best one is harder than ever.

  • Soldering Copper Pipe

    Learn how to safely and efficiently cut, clean, and properly apply heat when connecting copper water lines.

  • How to Hide Your Refrigerator

    Turn your ordinary icebox into a stylish focal point.

  • Crown molding
    Installing Crown Molding around a Cathedral Ceiling

    Learn how to make sure your crown molding will still match when it meets the corners of a vaulted ceiling.

Letters

  • Reader Feedback: Issue 162, April/May 2004

    Home building is an art form I just received your February/March 2004 issue (FHB #161), and I was surprised by two letters: “Nobody needs a $10,000 sink” from Alan Amenta…

Building Skills

  • Soldering Copper Pipe

    A pro plumber shows you how to keep it simple—and safe.

Great Moments

  • The Flood

    Great moments in building history: Flights on rainy nights are a bit of a downer

More? View Past Issues

Ask the Experts

  • Preventing fence-post rot
  • Flashing cantilevered joists
  • Ungrounded ground-fault receptacles?
  • Enlarging a cabinet opening

Readers Tips

  • A Fast, Accurate Way to Make Mortised Stairs
  • A story-pole approach to shingling a roof
  • Maintaining battery-powered smoke detectors
  • Locking electrical cords together
  • Improvised Paint Shield
  • How to Enlarge a Hole With a Hole Saw
  • Aligning a caulk tube
  • Site-built plunger unclogs kitchen sink

Fine Homebuilding Magazine

  • Issue 318 - October 2023
    • Make Mudsills Square and Level
    • Turn Up the Heat With Induction Cooktops
    • The Fine Homebuilding Interview: Lloyd Alter
  • Issue 317 - Aug/Sept 2023
    • Finishing Drywall With Seamless Results
    • A Flat Roof in a Cold Climate
    • Compact Cordless Shop Vacs
  • Issue 316 - July 2023
    • Timber-Framed Solar Canopies
    • Build a Transom Above a Stock Door
    • Understanding Toilet Design and Efficiency
  • Issue 315 - June 2023
    • How to Craft a Copper Roof
    • 5 Lessons from Building in a Cold Climate
    • The Advantages of Cellular PVC Siding
  • Issue 314 - April/May 2023
    • 7 Options for Countertops
    • Tool Test: Wood-Boring Bits
    • Critical Details for Ductless Heat Pumps

Fine Homebuilding

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