FHB Logo Facebook LinkedIn Email Pinterest Twitter Instagram Plus Icon Close Icon Navigation Search Icon Navigation Search Icon Arrow Down Icon Video Guide Icon Article Guide Icon Modal Close Icon Guide Search Icon Skip to content
Subscribe

In every issue you'll find...

  • Expert insights on techniques and principles
  • Unbiased tool reviews
  • Step-by-step details to master the job
  • Field-tested advice and know-how
Subscribe Now!
Subscribe
  • How-To
  • Design
  • Tools & Materials
  • Videos
  • Blogs
  • Forum
  • Magazine
  • Members
  • FHB House
  • Podcast
  • Join
  • Log In
Subscribe

Issue 270 – Oct/Nov 2017

On the Cover

Digital Exclusives for Issue 270

Videos, links, and extras for the November 2017 issue of Fine Homebuilding magazine.

Subscribe View the Digital Issue

The Magazine

  • Subscribe
  • Renew Subscription
  • Gift Subscription
  • Online Membership
  • Magazine Index
  • View Past Issues
  • View the Digital Edition Archive
  • Contact Customer Service
  • Author Guidelines
  • Advertise

Features

  • 10 Golden Rules of Framing

    Bits of framing advice the Fine Homebuilding editors all wish they'd known the first (and last) time they strapped on their tool bags.

  • Respirators Demystified: Picking the Right Protection

    Breathing difficulties — When choosing a respirator, straight answers are surprisingly hard to find.

  • Respirators Reviewed

    What you don’t know about choosing a respirator can kill you.

  • Making Passive House Mainstream
    Making Passive House Mainstream

    Chris Corson says someone has to elevate American housing, and he’s ready for the job.

  • Build-a-Custom-Rollout-Cabinet
    Build a Custom Rollout Cabinet

    Pushed beneath the counter, it’s a kitchen cabinet with an adjustable shelf. Pulled out, it’s an extra work surface with a butcher-block top.

  • Metalwork for Builders

    Bring the endless possibilities of custom architectural steel to your projects with readily available stock and some basic tools.

Article

  • Welding 101: Fabricating a Steel Handrail

    This basic welding project is an excellent introduction to architectural metalwork.

  • Men of Steel

    Matt Risinger, Bob Howell, Luke Thomas Gaffney, and Josh Turner design and fabricate architectural metalwork at Risinger & Co., a custom home-building outfit in Austin.

  • Use Interior Windows to Lighten a Dark Room

    Adding a window to an interior wall is a beautiful way to extend sightlines and brighten up a space that has no exterior windows.

  • Make a Divided-Light Farmhouse-Style Interior Window

    Use these measured shop drawings to build your own single-pane sash, complete with jambs and casing.

  • A Closer Look at Interior Windows: Photos by Brian Vanden Brink and Susan Teare

    Simple to install, and with an undeniable impact on an existing floor plan, there’s a lot to like about interior windows.

  • A Bungalow Grows Up

    A second-story addition provides homeowners with the space they need in the home they love.

  • Modern Window Stools

    For a clean look, skip the casing and install a low-profile stool.

  • Built for Comfort: Envelope and Mechanical Decisions

    Although keeping costs low informs decisions about the envelope and ­mechanical systems, homeowner comfort gets the final say.

  • Triple-Pane Windows Balance Performance and Cost

    These windows are warmer to sit next to in winter, and they eliminate condensation on the interior surface.

  • Comfort Dictates Heating and Cooling

    Because the FHB House is a spec house, the builder is especially concerned about homeowner comfort.

  • High-Performance ERV

    Because an ERV transfers moisture as well as heat, it will reduce the humidity of incoming air during the air-conditioning season.

Tools & Materials

  • Capable Compact Drivers

    Tool review: Makita Sub-Compact Cordless Impact Driver (XDT15ZB) and Makita Sub-Compact Cordless Drill (XFD11ZB).

  • Bulletproof Baseboard Radiation

    Made from extruded aluminum with a white powder-coated finish, the radiator covers are well made and expensive.

  • bargin flush-cutting saw
    Bargain Flush-Cutting Saw

    This 12-in. Japanese-style flush-cutting saw may be just right for your finish-­carpentry work.

  • Get a Grip on Safety Glasses

    If your hard hat knocks them off, here's a way to keep your glasses on.

  • Cord-Free Trim Router

    Ridgid’s new cordless trim router has all the same features and as much power as the corded model.

Project Gallery

  • Project Gallery: Four Fabulous Floors

    Beauty underfoot: custom concrete, whimsical paint, rug-patterned wood, and rug-like tile make for unusual, amazing floor options.

Musings of an Energy Nerd

  • exterior rigid foam
    Is Your Exterior Rigid Foam Too Thin?

    Adding a layer of rigid-foam insulation on the outside of a home makes sense, as long as it's done correctly.

Design/Build

  • Porch Posts and Beams

    The right spacing, span, proportions, and dimensions are the keys to a good looking front porch.

Building Skills

  • Routing Hinge Mortises

    Use this technique when you end up hanging a new door in an existing frame and have to match the door’s hinge locations to the frame’s.

  • door jamb hinge jig
    Shop-Made Hinge-Mortising Jig

    Put away your chisels and screw together a jig from scrapwood to rout the cleanest mortises ever.

Keep Craft Alive

  • Keep Craft Alive: Luke Thomas Gaffney, Welding Foreman

    “Everybody I went to school with is behind a desk somewhere, and they think I’m the crazy one.”

More? View Past Issues

Ask the Experts

  • Replace Cellulose with Spray Foam
  • Split Jacks When Framing a Window Opening
  • Home Surge Protection

Readers Tips

  • Concrete Rake
  • Wall-Hole-Dust Collection
  • Caulking Sponge
  • Hidden Straps for Safety Glasses
  • How to Fix a Running Toilet

Fine Homebuilding Magazine

  • Issue 313 - Feb/March 2023
    • Practical System for a Seismic Retrofit
    • Fine Homebuilding Issue #313 Online Highlights
    • Practical System for a Seismic Retrofit
  • Issue 312 - Dec 2022/Jan 2023
    • Tool Test: Cordless Tablesaws
    • Gray-Water System for a Sustainable Home
    • Insulate a Cape Roof to Avoid Ice Dams
  • Issue 311 - November 2022
    • 7 Steps to a Perfect Exterior Paint Job
    • Options for Smarter Home-Energy Tracking
    • The Fine Homebuilding Interview: James Metoyer
  • Issue 310 - October 2022
    • Choosing a Tile-Leveling System
    • Choosing Between HRVs and ERVs
    • Custom Built-in Cabinets Made Easy
  • Issue 309 - Aug/Sept 2022
    • 10 Steps to Install Crown Molding on Cabinets
    • How to Get Sturdy Walls Without OSB
    • Choosing the Right Construction Tape for the Job

Fine Homebuilding

Follow

  • twitter
  • facebook
  • instagram
  • pinterest

Newsletter

Get home building tips, offers, and expert advice in your inbox

Signing you up...

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
See all newsletters
See all newsletters

Membership & Magazine

  • Online Archive
  • Start Free Trial
  • Magazine Subscription
  • Magazine Renewal
  • Gift a Subscription
  • Customer Support
  • Privacy Preferences

Taunton Network

  • Green Building Advisor
  • Fine Woodworking
  • Fine Gardening
  • Threads
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Copyright
  • Terms of Use
  • Site Map
  • Do not sell or share my information
  • Privacy Policy
  • Accessibility
  • California Privacy Rights

© 2023 The Taunton Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

X
X
This is a dialog window which overlays the main content of the page. The modal window is a 'site map' of the most critical areas of the site. Pressing the Escape (ESC) button will close the modal and bring you back to where you were on the page.

Main Menu

  • How-To
  • Design
  • Tools & Materials
  • Video
  • Blogs
  • Forum
  • Reader Projects
  • Magazine
  • Members
  • FHB House

Podcasts

  • FHB Podcast
  • ProTalk

Webinars

  • Upcoming and On-Demand

Account

  • Log In
  • Join

Podcasts

  • FHB Podcast
  • ProTalk

Webinars

  • Upcoming and On-Demand

Popular Topics

  • Kitchens
  • Business
  • Bedrooms
  • Roofs
  • Architecture and Design
  • Green Building
  • Decks
  • Framing
  • Safety
  • Remodeling
  • Bathrooms
  • Windows
  • Tilework
  • Ceilings
  • HVAC

Magazine

  • Current Issue
  • Past Issues
  • Magazine Index
  • Subscribe
  • Online Archive
  • Author Guidelines

All Access

  • Member Home
  • Start Free Trial
  • Gift Membership

Shop the Store

  • Books
  • DVDs
  • Taunton Workshops

More

  • FHB Ambassadors
  • Reader Projects
  • Podcast
  • Customer Support

Account

  • Log In
  • Join

Newsletter

Get home building tips, offers, and expert advice in your inbox

Signing you up...

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
See all newsletters
See all newsletters

Follow

  • twitter
  • facebook
  • instagram
  • pinterest

Join All Access

Become a member and get instant access to thousands of videos, how-tos, tool reviews, and design features.

Start Your Free Trial

Subscribe

FHB Magazine

Start your subscription today and save up to 70%

Subscribe

We hope you’ve enjoyed your free articles. To keep reading, become a member today.

Get complete site access to expert advice, how-to videos, Code Check, and more, plus the print magazine.

Start your FREE trial

Already a member? Log in