Laying Sill Plates The time to lay the sill plates is probably the most important in housing carpentry. The more accurate you are with this step the easier it will be on everyone involved, including the trim carpenter. I once worked on a house where the lead carpenter just went by the foundation without even…

Floor Framing Approach floor framing with proper planning and care just like any other carpentry work. Study the blueprint and make note of the location of any stairway openings, floor joist cantilevers, in construction floor beams, and heavy loads from above. All these conditions are important when determining floor joist placement on sill plates and…

Basic Concrete Forms Poured wall concrete forms come in a wide variety of different forming systems. Over the years I have become familiar with several types, some of which worked very well, others not so well. Perhaps you remember the old Johnny Clamp system, this was my first experience with wall forms. These forms are…