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Issue 197

On the Cover

Installing and Flashing Windows Correctly

If you don’t include housewrap, use a sill pan, and flash the flanges, the work is far from watertight.

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The Magazine

Factory-Finished Siding

Factory finishes for wood and fiber cement offer countless color choices and a paint job guaranteed for up to 25 years.
Trim Routers

These compact tools are handy for small routing tasks, but most have room for improvement.
Elegant Wainscot From Drywall Scraps

Use strips of drywall to create custom paneling that will add detail and charm to most any room.
Window Installation Done Right

Doing everything to ensure a leakproof job? If you don’t include the housewrap, use a sill pan, and flash the flanges, the work is far from watertight.
A Tiny Addition for a Growing Family

Dining, living, office, laundry, bathing, sleeping, and storage space built in just 650 sq. ft.
Frame a Strong, Stable Floor With I-Joists

Engineered floor joists are straighter, faster, and flatter, but they aren't installed the same way as dimensional lumber.

Article

Keep Siding Straight With a Story Pole

A simple layout tool aligns siding with window and door trim, and helps you to finish where you started.
How to Build a Coffered Ceiling With Box Beams

Built of plywood and MDF, these beams go up quickly, resist movement, take paint well, and even level a wavy ceiling.
Taping and Mudding Inside Corners

For drywall novices, there's nothing more challenging—or messy—than finishing inside corners

Cross Section

Mandatory lead-safety certification coming in 2010

In less than 2 years, any contractors looking to disturb lead-based paint in homes will need to obtain EPA certification
Pipe-settlement deadline is near

If you're looking to have leaky pipes that were installed in your house replaced for free, time is running out

Tools & Materials

Better saw, bigger price tag

Festool's new Kapex KS120 SCM delivers on features, precision
Hole plugs for composite decking

Cortex concealed fastening system

Letters

Reader Feedback: Issue 197, August/September 2008

The economics of home buying Kevin Ireton’s essay “Is green building too expensive?” (FHB #195), as thoughtful as it is, misses some important considerations in the cost of buying a…

Finishing Touches

Open-door Policy

Our perceptions of a house start with the entrance design

What is the Difference

What's the Difference: Floor-finish applicators

The time you spent on your hardwood floors will be in vain if you don't choose the right finish applicator
What's the Difference: Galvanized nails

Which type of zinc-coated nail is the best at preventing corrosion?

Building Skills

Drywall: Finishing an Inside Corner

For a professional finish, you have to tape, then wait.

Master Carpenter

Matching a Finish

Although never an easy task, these techniques help simplify a tough job

Great Moments

The house of our dreams

When it comes to deciding whether your house should be conventional or a carnival, something's gotta give

Drawing Board

Designing a recycling center

In the United States, the recycling rate for aluminum cans has hovered around 50% for years. Cans that don’t make it into the recycling stream add up: Every three months,…

Video

Findings from a Home-Energy Audit

After the test equipment is put away, a home energy auditor explains what to do next
Energy Savings Begin with a Home-Energy Audit

Almost painless, a home-energy audit can reduce energy costs and improve comfort

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