The Purpose Of An Astragal

Imagine a big door, like the one you use to enter a school or a store. Sometimes, these doors are extra big and have two parts that swing open in the middle. These are called ‘double doors’. Now, imagine that the two parts of the door meet in the middle. There’s a little space where […]
The Beauty of a Built-In

A ‘Built-In’ is a term used in construction that is right up there with the best of them in terms of those that can be confusing for whomever may be hearing it for the first time. When someone thinks of something being ‘built in’, their mind may automatically gravitate toward something as simple as the […]
What Causes Pressure Treated Wood to Rot Out?

One of the main reasons why pressure treated wood is used in areas of construction that may be more susceptible to moisture exposure than others, is that it is much more resistant to rot than other wood used to build things, whether on the framing side or the finish side. Even this being the case, […]
Whatever Happened to ‘Bleaching Oil’?

When many folks think of New England, amongst the wide variety of picturesque imagery, can often be found the stereotypical New England beach house. These days, beach houses have often developed into edifices that could very well be said to make the average McMansion jealous. Thinking back to a traditional New England beach house however, […]
What is Putty Used for in Construction?

When nailing up a piece of wood, composite, or other miscellaneous material, often one of two things occur. If you are nailing with some type of pressurized nail gun, there is a hole on the backside of the nail head that is formed. If something is being nailed in by hand, there may not be […]
What Affects the Price of Wood?

In the Summer of 2020, I needed (3) 20’ long, 5/4” x 6” pieces of pressure treated decking for a deck repair we were doing in Providence, RI. Let me emphasis the number ‘3’, I literally needed three pieces of wood. These pieces of wood however were nowhere to be found. One of the things […]
Converting a “Normal” Closet to a “Laundry” Closet

Every once in a while, I see certain trends emerge through conversations I have with potential Clients. One of the more popular recent ideas that have been the basis of quite a number of discussions, have been desires to convert a “normal” closet to a “laundry” closet which would house a washer and dryer unit […]
What is a Drip Cap?

Door, window, and water table (aka skirtboard) areas are parts of your home that are potentially prone to water infiltration if their installs are not conducted correctly. Compounding their already natural vulnerability as a possible location of allowing water into your home (due to the fact that these areas are all obviously “open” areas […]
How Many Years Do Wood Fences Last?

During periods of time when we spend longer stretches at home (the best example of which may be most recently when folks have not had a choice but to spend longer stretches at home!), we obviously have a higher tendency to notice “things”. Particularly if the weather is nice, we may be working in the […]
Natural Wood Cabinetry Refinishing & Restoration

As cabinetry ages, whether it is in the Kitchen, Bathroom, or another room, it typically begins to show the signs of wear and tear. This is especially true if it is cabinetry that gets a good amount of use. Assuming this occurs and the owner of the cabinetry grows a bit concerned of this […]