Decking

Spined gaskets compressed between grooved deck boards that turn an upper deck surface into a waterproof roof for the space below.

Reading the UC rating tag on treated lumber — UC3B, UC4A, UC4B — to match preservative retention to the exposure.

The math and framing-square method for cutting stair stringers.

Clamping adjacent joists together and planing their top edges level before installing them.

Keeping an elevated deck from swaying with diagonal strapping run across the joists and back to the house.

Setting each deck joist flush to the beam tops before the hangers go on, so the walking surface comes out flat.

Counterboring and plugging structural screw heads so the hardware disappears into the wood.

Snapping temporary layout lines that vanish instead of staining the finished surface.