4 ms·

Errr, you don't have to frame a closet three times to get it right. Like software devs, you can do a lot of learning without waste. Framing lumber is cheap, bu

Errr, you don't have to frame a closet three times to get it right. Like software devs, you can do a lot of learning without waste. Framing lumber is cheap, but that's no excuse to waste so much. Contractors do it because they are charging other people for materials :) In your case, if you are going to be remodeling your house and doing structural carpentry, i'd recommend "Renovation 4th edition" by Michael Litchfield as a starter book. Also if you start doing something with more expensive lumber, like say, very high end woodworking, you will see nobody treats stuff as disposable.

specialist 13y ago
The two challenges I have are assumed knowledge and lack of skills. I've read the books, watched the videos, read the codes, helped my handyman friends. There's no substitute for DIY. For the closet, I make a lot of little "learning opportunity" mistakes. I didn't make sure one of the header boards was truly true. I put 3-1/4 inches nails clean thru. Lots of trial and error with my spiffy new nail gun. Etc. As for the software, I must be doing that wrong too. I'm always rewriting my own stuff.
- DannyBee 13y ago
  "The two challenges I have are assumed knowledge and lack of skills. I've read the books, watched the videos, read the codes, helped my handyman friends. There's no substitute for DIY." I guess I disagree. Without trying to sound like an elitist, my father taught me that doing this kind of work is not "brainy" work, but it is labor intensive and requires careful thought. With no offense meant (really!), it sounds like you are skipping the last part :) Every book I have tells you to make sure header boards are true. Nailing schedules are often controlled by building code (though maybe not in this exact case, dunno where this closet is :P). Unless you are building a house from scratch, a framing nail gun is probably overkill, etc. These things you call "learning mistakes" sound like "not being careful" to me. I see this often with software dev friends I helped. Because they are so used to throwing stuff out, they almost try to "incrementally" frame a window or whatever until they get one that works, rather than carefully think about where they are putting nails, measuring, marking, leveling, etc, before doing anything. Remember that the contractors and handymen you watch have done this all a long time, and can probably do things like simply look at a frame and tell whether it's true with high accuracy. They also don't need to think as much about how to put nails in. Again, i'm really not trying to tell you "you are doing it all wrong", just offering an opinion :)

specialist 13y ago

The two challenges I have are assumed knowledge and lack of skills. I've read the books, watched the videos, read the codes, helped my handyman friends. There's no substitute for DIY. For the closet, I make a lot of little "learning opportunity" mistakes. I didn't make sure one of the header boards was truly true. I put 3-1/4 inches nails clean thru. Lots of trial and error with my spiffy new nail gun. Etc. As for the software, I must be doing that wrong too. I'm always rewriting my own stuff.

DannyBee 13y ago
"The two challenges I have are assumed knowledge and lack of skills. I've read the books, watched the videos, read the codes, helped my handyman friends. There's no substitute for DIY." I guess I disagree. Without trying to sound like an elitist, my father taught me that doing this kind of work is not "brainy" work, but it is labor intensive and requires careful thought. With no offense meant (really!), it sounds like you are skipping the last part :) Every book I have tells you to make sure header boards are true. Nailing schedules are often controlled by building code (though maybe not in this exact case, dunno where this closet is :P). Unless you are building a house from scratch, a framing nail gun is probably overkill, etc. These things you call "learning mistakes" sound like "not being careful" to me. I see this often with software dev friends I helped. Because they are so used to throwing stuff out, they almost try to "incrementally" frame a window or whatever until they get one that works, rather than carefully think about where they are putting nails, measuring, marking, leveling, etc, before doing anything. Remember that the contractors and handymen you watch have done this all a long time, and can probably do things like simply look at a frame and tell whether it's true with high accuracy. They also don't need to think as much about how to put nails in. Again, i'm really not trying to tell you "you are doing it all wrong", just offering an opinion :)