Resource Articles


None of us are as smart as all of us.
Home \| Plans & Tools \| Contact Us \| Discussion Forum \| Tell a Friend \| Search \| Member Area

Home | Feature Articles

Resource Articles

This section of the site provides on-going resource information for building and designing the owner-managed project.

Using Template files for a customized home plan.
Customize a house plan before or after you buy the paper plans. Here are step by step instructions on how to download and modify floorplans and then print and paste these scaled changes into the paper plans. . . . More...

Thinking like Water
Understanding flashings and rain screens. How to keep a house dry and rot free. . . . More...

Stair Tutorial
Here is a quick overview of stair design with suggestions for using the 3DHA program (BH&G Home Designer similar) . . . More...

The Greatest Nail ever made?
New advancements in nail technology allow a standard 2000 sf house to have almost double the strength and rigidity needed to stand up to earthquake and wind forces - all for about $15 extra in nail costs! . . . More...

How to determine joist and rafter sizes
Here is an easy-to-use on-line calculator that will size floor and deck joists and roof rafters for most standard conditions. Use this to determine how to frame up your preliminary design. . . . More...

The 5 ways to Build Your House
There many options between giving the project to your architect and building every stick of the place yourself. You can decide how much or how little you want to be involved. Check out the road map and see what works best for you. . . . More...

Soil Smarts and building your foundation
The characteristics of the soil under your footings will have a major role to play in determining the lifetime of your home. This article will explain how to get to know this important bit of dirt. . . . More...

Hurricanes - what they will cost you
The destruction of New Orleans and the gulf states will have a major long-term impact on prices of both exports and imports - and especially building materials. . . . More...

Where Poop Goes
The mysterious Septic Tank - During the 1860s an inventive and brave Frenchman constructed a tank with a glass viewing wall into which all wastes from toilets and sinks accumulated. Then he sat down to watch... . . . More...

LED lights for super efficient electric usage
LEDs are replacing incandescent and even CFL bulbs where power is expensive (for instance, from batteries or solar panels). They can be powered by either AC or DC and, while more costly, can be the pe . . . More...

When to use an Engineer
Using the span tables, rules of thumb, and help available from this site you can do much of the structural workup for your own building projects. So when do you need to talk to an engineer and how do . . . More...

Moving the RV indoors
A new type of house/RV hybrid. Let the RV carry part of the load for the mechanicals. . . . More...

Using an on-line spell checker to check your forum posts
A few misspelled words in an otherwise well-written posting can either confuse your readers or make you look merely semi-illiterate. Here's a Free solution to the problem. Once . . . More...