My partner Jerry always reads the Tips & Techniques column, and he wont even read stop signs.
Thats probably the best compliment anybody ever paid this little bi-monthly tailgate session, where builders share their ingenious victories over job-site challenges. When I first came to work for Fine Homebuilding in 1980, I was lucky enough to be the guy that our art director wanted to edit and illustrate the Tips & Techniques column. As a remodeling contractor, I had already been doing similar drawings for the other guys on the crew. But most of those drawings were on scraps of drywall or plywood. Getting to work indoors, at a desk yet, is a real step up for a guy whos done his time in crawl spaces.
In addition to being a wellspring of useful advice, the Tips column plays a couple of other, less apparent roles. For many of our authors, Tips is the first place they get something published in our magazine. In fact, some of our all-time great editors launched their publishing careers here, by sending their favorite job-site solutions to the Tips column.
Evidence of the crafty nature of our tipsters can be found in the number of ideas that have been developed as commercially available products after first appearing in the Tips column. Examples of the tips that turned into products include adjustable flashlights, invisible drywall joints, soap pumps, stair-tread layout gauges, bucket stilts, and plastic pipe clamps, just to name a few. But I think the best part about the Tips column is that its a community of builders who genuinely get a kick out of sharing their ideas with others and have done so for a long time. More than once Ive opened a tip from someone new that begins, I've learned an awful lot from the Tips column over the years, and I just wanted to repay the debt by sending in these ideas. Hope you can use them
One veteran tipster is Mike Guertin, and Id like to thank him for selecting the 290-plus tips presented in this book from the hundreds that weve published in the last 23 years. Mike also built the projects and took the photos that help to illustrate this book.
When a tip needs a little tweaking, or some further explanation because I just dont get it, I turn to my trusty colleagues here at Fine Homebuilding for guidance -- especially Kevin Ireton, Roe Osborn, and Andy Engel. Thanks, guys.
The largest debt of gratitude, however, goes to you tipsters out there who continue to amaze, delight, and educate us with your resourcefulness. Thank you for your contributions. Dont ever change, and dont forget to include your address.
Charles Miller
Tips editor
