What's new at ConcordCarpenter?
This Saturday I helped my high school friends put the finishing touches on their Geodesic dome. The project is due this Tuesday and the the dome will have to be transported to the high school in order to be displayed and graded.
The dome is basically a green house and I can attest that the temperature inside was 20 degrees warmer than the outside air. I was inside adding screws to the framing and came out soaked from sweat.
I'm glad I talked them into scaling the dome down from their original size which would have be 3x bigger. We temporarily secured the dome to some plywood for transport. We will use the plywood to span the sides of my pickup truck and take a very slow drive the short distance to the highschool.
As their mentor my job was to make sure they made good decisions and also to assist them with the design, implementation, construction phases.
I made all the power tool cuts but made sure they had plenty of time measuring, learning how to use a handsaw, clamps, drill and impact driver.
This was a fun and interesting project, I learned alot in the process as well. Good luck on your project guys.
If you'd like to see more photos of this entire contruction process visit Concord Carpenters Facebook pageand look at the photo albums.
Dealing With Remodeling Dust
I find the remodeling process rewarding and challenging but homeowners often find the process annoying and a serious cramp to their lifestyle.
Remodeling dust is one of those homeowner annoyances.
There is nothing worse than seeing remodeling dust settle on top of a customers black baby grand piano - two rooms away. It's unnacceptable!!
What protections do you take when setting up fopr a remodeling project? I actually have a line item in my proposal for dust containment and floor protection and you should too.
One method that I use to protect hardwood floors is to apply a hard roll out cardboard layer such as Grip Rites builders paper. I tape both edges and then overlap the cardboard onto each other and tape those edges and seams as well. Builder Board replaces the need for large, bulky sheets of masonite and it rolls out fast and flat. taping both seams on all of the rolls ensures nothing gets underneath.
On other occasions when I want to protect the floor from heavy tools, saws or ceiling removal I've used 1/4" luan plywood to protect the floor - taping the seams in a similar fashion.
When protecting stairs [carpet or hardwood] there are several products to use.
We've been using "Surface Shields" protection products because it is readily availble at my local lumberyard and I'm a stickler for shopping local and not at the big box stores. It's quick and easy to install and in my opinion it's cheap insurance.
Another amazing product is Landlot surface liner. It's a reusable muulti-purpose surface protector - READ MORE.
The best way to control actual airborne dust is to collect it with a special HEPA filter. Not many people have one so the next best thing, assuming your not dealing with LEAD dust, is to remove it from the house.
Two tips during the gutting process:
Tip #:1 is to have a fan in the window blowing airborne dust out and;
Fathers day Giveaway:
Stay tuned !!!! | 
