Working Alone: Tips and Techniques for Solo Building

by John Carroll

Overview

If your'e working alone, this book will be your second set of hands. You won't have to wait for a helper or pass up a job that seems too difficult to do alone. And if youre a homeowner working on your own house, you will be amazed at what you can accomplish.

Written by a builder with 30 years' experience, Working Alone is packed with more than 50 innovative tips and techniques. You'll learn how to handle nearly every aspect of home construction alone, from foundation layout to raising walls to building decks.

This book, the only one of its kind, offers a myriad of unique solo solutions. A perfect example is the problem of bringing a large sheet of plywood up a ladder. Even with a helper, this is a difficult and dangerous task. But if a large C-clamp is fastened to one end of the plywood, it's easy to pull the sheet up the ladder from behind. Clever techniques like this will have you solving common problems safely and efficiently.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781561585458
Publisher:	Taunton Press, Incorporated
Publication date:	12/28/2000
Series:	For Pros By Pros Series
Pages:	152
Sales rank:	426,910
Product dimensions:	7.94(w) x 9.94(h) x 0.45(d)

About the Author

John Carroll began his career in the late 1960s roofing houses during summer vacations from high school. He is still building and repairing houses in and near Durham, N.C. He is a frequent contributor to Fine Homebuilding and JCL magazines and is the author of three books on building.

Table of Contents

	Introduction	2
Chapter 1	Replacing a Helper's Hands	4
	The principal challenges of working alone	6
	Three ways to overcome the challenges	7
Chapter 2	Masonry Work	18
	Working with mortar	19
	Laying out a foundation	21
	Squaring up small projects	32
	Setting up scaffolding	33
Chapter 3	Floors and Walls	36
	Framing floors	37
	Building walls	41
	Erecting walls	43
Chapter 4	Stick-Built Roofs	57
	Laying out the roof	58
	Building the roof	68
Chapter 5	The Shell	77
	Framing nonbearing walls	78
	Finishing the eaves and rakes	82
	Installing windows and doors	88
	Shingling the roof	91
	Installing wood siding	93
Chapter 6	The Interior	98
	Hanging drywall	99
	Working on doors	103
	Running trim	103
	Hanging wall cabinets	110
	Squaring up a large tile layout	110
Chapter 7	Decks	117
	Outside structure	118
	Inside joists	135
	Final steps	139
Chapter 8	Limitations of Working Alone	141
	Jobs for more than one	142
	Using subcontractors to finish the job	145
	Facing the workday alone	146
	Resources	149
	Index	151

Editorial Reviews

Carpenters will be enthusiastic about both these new efforts. Together they make a complete package for anyone interested in building. Spence has produced a hefty textbook-style guide to carpentry that covers the entire process of building from planning through finishing. The scope is impressive--704 pages and 2300 black-and-white photographs and drawings, building codes, foundations, framing, doors and windows, exterior finishing, cabinet construction, and tools. Newer techniques, such as steel framing and popular trends, like post-and-beam construction, are covered in separate sections. The comprehensive safety section is outstanding. Many of the processes are way beyond the comfort zone of the average do-it-yourselfer; however, there is something here for everyone, beginner to expert. Most do-it-yourselfers have encountered jobs where they could have used three or four hands; Carroll, a solo homebuilder, has come to their rescue with a slim volume that shows many of the tricks he uses to safely and efficiently complete work on his own. Readers who have completed projects will be suprised at how much easier their projects would have been had they known Carroll's techniques. Using straightforward text and line-drawings, he shares a variety of tips and labor-saving techniques for masonry, framing, siding installation, measuring, and hanging drywall. He shows how to cope with problems such as the collapse of the overextended tape measure. There really isn't anything else like this book on the market. Spence's title will get greater use in the library because it is a more general reference title; but both are excellent and will appeal to both do-it-yourselfers and professionals. Recommended for larger public library collections.--Jonathan N. Hershey, Akron-Summit Cty. P.L., Akron, OH Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

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