What is sexier than a mitre cut?

A coped cut.

Maybe not for the client. If done correctly, no one will know the difference either way. But for the carpenter, it’s a flaunting skill, that has its place. 

For all you fine people wondering what a cope is, it’s an undercut into the profile of material, that will allow the wood to form around a joining piece. Usually found on the inside corner of most trim work.

Where on most mitered corners, you will need two joining 45 degree cuts, this allows for one cut to be a crosscut, with the joining cut to sit on top of the flat piece.

Windows bring the world around us into our spaces.

Allowing us to know that the structures we reside in, are more than just a box. A view that shows who is coming and going. The time keeper, that gives us an idea of our position in the day. The meteorologist, confirming the weather.

But it also provides protection. Giving us needed comfort to feel sound within the walls we reside.

Most windows will perform their jobs effortlessly over their life. Yet it is only time before our surrounding environment takes it toll. This can be blamed on poor craftsmenship, the material used, or the missed maintenance. But overall can be an easy fix, knowing the necessary approach to repair. 

For this, I will be going over one of the biggest repairs I perform on windows. That being wooden window sill. And my approach to providing the protection needed to maintain these units.

Roofs can take a beating, but years of abuse can show the flaws in the structural design.

Depending on the floor above, you can remove one or two joist at a time. It is best to lean toward one joist, but with the hardwood floors tying the subfloor together, I am given the opportunity to remove two joist.

The removal process, involves a circular saw ripping down the length twice. This does not need to be pretty. The goal is to create a wide gap, to release pressure created between the bottom and top of the joist.

Last year a unique chimney repair found its way to me. It was a small repair. A three day siding repair, turned into a two week sweat-a-thon. From there, one chimney followed by another landed on my project list. All slightly different, but presenting similar symptoms.