Flash Siding Butt Joints Instead of Caulking Them
Caulk at siding butt joints is a maintenance item that eventually fails. A slip of rigid joint flashing tucked behind each joint protects it for the life of the siding — no sealant to watch.
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@awesomeframers
Tack the Bottom Plate to the Line Before Framing Walls on the Floor
Toenail the bottom plate to your snapped layout line — on the stud side, every four feet, aimed at the opposite bottom corner — and the wall frames, squares, and sheathes flat on the deck, then lifts without the plate kicking out.
Lay Out a Common Rafter With a 12-Inch Square
A big 12-inch square does everything a framing square does for rafter layout and shrugs off jobsite abuse: pivot on the common scale for the plumb cut, measure the rafter length long-point to long-point, slide down for the 3-1/2-inch seat cut, then add the tail.