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  • Build Like a Pro: Trim Carpentry, 2nd Edition (eBook)

In this newly revised second edition of his popular reference on trim carpentry, Clayton DeKorne has added much new material to deliver an even more comprehensive manual on every facet of interior woodwork -- all from the perspective of a professional carpenter.

From door and window casings, baseboards and ceiling moldings to wainscoting, cabinets and built-in furniture, the author provides step-by-step instructions on the mechanics of how trim is put together -- to achieve a seamless, artful look and feel.

As you move from chapter to chapter, DeKorne's clear dedication to the craft is apparent on every page. Readers of the first edition have shared their questions and the answers are reflected in this edition. Insights from a wide range of other trim carpenters have been woven into the text. And the author's deep knowledge and expert advice will inform you from start to finish.

About the Author
Clayton DeKorne became a full carpenter at age 17, and over the next two decades he advanced from lead carpenter to trim contractor. He was also senior editor at the Journal of Light Construction and founding editor of Tools of the Trade and Coastal Contractor.
Additional Information
Cover 191
Publication Year 2008
Other Formats 70954
Isbn 978-1-60085-719-5
Author Clayton DeKorne
Pages No
Format eBook (PDF)
Toc Introduction
Project Planning
Sketching a Design
Material Takeoffs
Pricing Materials
Materials
Finish Lumber
Plywood
Composite Panel Stock
Millwork
Trimming Windows
Trim Styles
Jamb Extensions
Picture-Framing a Window
Traditional Casing
Running Baseboard
Baseboard Layout
Cutting Baseboard
Installing Baseboard
Crown Molding
Crown Basics
Prepping the Walls
Installation Strategy
Cutting Crown
Built-Up Crown Molding
Wainscoting
Designing Wainscoting
Installing Backer
Installing Tongue-and-Groove Wainscoting
Installing Modified Frame-and-Panel Wainscoting
Installing Chair Rail
Basic Bookshelves
Bookshelf Design
Building Cases
Installing Bookshelves
Built-In Cabinets
Designing Cabinets
Building Cabinet Cases
Drawer Construction
Countertops
Doors
Glossary
Index
Intro Since I wrote the first edition of this book, I've heard from many readers, and their input is reflected in this new edition. We have clarified the techniques with easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions and updated information. To show you some of the many ways you might incorporate these projects into your home or your clients' homes, we've created a Design Options spread at the end of each project chapter. There you'll find different looks that go beyond the construction basics of the text and show you what else is possible. We've also added a glossary to make it easy for you to look up any terms you're not familiar with.

In this book, I have set out to provide readers with a sense of what to expect when they gather the tools and materials to undertake an interior trim job. I have poured into these pages my insights about how materials behave over time, collected design details that will look good over the long term, and disclosed many trade tips that other professional carpenters have shared with me during the past 25 years.

Carpentry books often fail, I think, when they try to cover every conceivable way to accomplish a task. The result is a mass of information that is boiled down into neat but irrelevant categories or tucked into bland generalities that wander away from the actual experience of completing a carpentry job. Instead, I have tried to avoid giving too much general information. I've focused on a few methods that have worked well for me as a professional trim carpenter.

Trim carpentry, as I address it here, refers to any kind of interior woodwork in a house, including door and window casings, baseboards, crown and ceiling moldings, wainscoting and other wooden wall paneling, cabinets, and built-in furniture. This book covers most types of 'finish' woodwork -- the carpentry details that are addressed before the painting and decorating begin. This book does not include specific details about the installation of doors and windows (which are better handled as part of the building envelope) or stairways (which are complex enough to fill an entire book).

Overall, this book focuses on the mechanics of how trim fits together. However, I feel strongly that no carpentry work can ever be separated from design or from building science. Carpenters must constantly make aesthetic decisions concerning proportion, scale, texture, color, and pattern, and like every other aspect of the trade, successful trim design is the result of conscious, informed effort, not accident. Equally important, carpentry is always closely tied to the physical properties of wood. Wood mechanics must always be addressed from the perspective of dimensional stability. How much a board moves dictates how tight a joint will remain.

When you understand carpentry, there are no strict boundaries among these perspectives -- they are each part of a whole way of thinking that is inseparable from the actual work. Above all, carpentry requires a way of thinking about the constructed world that cannot be learned in a book. At some point, a reader must pick up the tools and actively work with the materials. At that point, I hope the principles and methods described here will make that practice a richer experience.

As you read this book, bear in mind that I have written it from the perspective of a professional carpenter, adopting a 'trade' perspective that equally values production and quality. Quality is always a relative term. I have done jobs for customers who inspected miter joints with a magnifying glass and for others who didn't particularly care what the joinery looked like, as long as they could list 'natural hardwood' in a rental advertisement. Doing each job 'well' meant discerning completely different levels of quality.

The balance between production (getting the job done as efficiently and inexpensively as possible) and quality (executing it as elegantly and precisely as possible) sets a baseline for building practice. It's a baseline that works equally well for aspiring carpenters who wish to pursue the trade for its own sake and for homeowners who want the work they do to last for the next generation. That said, I feel confident that the methods described in this book will allow you to accomplish professional results.

Build Like a Pro: Trim Carpentry, 2nd Edition (eBook)

  • by Clayton DeKorne
  • eBook (PDF)
  • Product Code: TP-FHB62077737
Availability: In Stock
Today's Price: $14.36
List Price: $19.95
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