Published Benicia Herald May 4, 2010

job site tips i learned the hard way
Obscure but useful construction tips for your use

Every architect should have to personally build several houses from drawings that they’ve prepared. Really be the builder. Make every real decision about what to do next. Be there every day wearing tool bags and being involved “hands on” with everything. For me, it made for an education that I couldn’t obtain any other way. From bending and cutting rebar for the foundation, to placing beams just right in order to correctly meet sloping rafters, to aligning the deck framing in such a way so that the future handrail would line up just right with the window trim. Never a dull moment with these chores, and the thousands of other little conflicts that arise on a daily basis in the creation of a house. There’s nothing quite like being in the trenches with a set of plans to really teach you what’s what.

But there are also lessons learned of a smaller nature and that’s what today’s column is about. These are the little oddball but very nifty construction tips that I picked up along the way. I’ve never seen any of these written down anywhere. Here they are – a Benicia Herald exclusive.

Use vinegar on your skin at the end of concrete (or tile) day
There are alkalis in concrete (and also in tile mortar and grout) that will dry out your skin like crazy. Watertight gloves and protective clothing are best, but breaches can occur. Concrete can splash up on the leg of the guy wearing shorts because it was a hot day. Rubber gloves can “blow out” in the heat of battle. You can scrub with regular soap and water until the cows come home and your skin will still get very dry and damaged. Moisturizers are not enough to save the day. Here is what you do: Go ahead and wash up with soap and water, but then be sure to get a good application of vinegar on any skin that touched the concrete. The sooner the better. Apply that vinegar like it’s lotion. Rub it on and imagine your skin cells drinking it in like medicine. It’s neutralizing all those alkalis in the cement. Reapply some more a little bit later to be sure. Skin as soft as a baby’s behind – that’s what you’ll get.

Presoak the ground in holes that are hard to dig
Benicia soil is usually hard clay and pretty tough to dig, especially in narrow confines. If you’re adding a concrete footing under your house and there’s not enough space for swinging a pick, you can still make easy progress with your digging by using this tactic. Use the claw end of a hammer to get your hole started. Hack out a two or three inch deep hole and then fill it with water and leave it alone for an hour or more while you go away to either dig more holes or go above to do other work. Upon your return you can simply and easily spoon out the two or so inches of soft mud until you reach hard ground again. It’s like serving pudding. Repeat this action a few more times until the desired depth is reached.

Use duct tape (or packing tape) to clean the itchy insulation off your skin
When your skin comes in contact with fiberglass insulation (the yellow or pink stuff) the tiny fibers can be irritating and itchy on your skin. Here is the best trick ever for this problem: Use duct tape (or packing tape or any adhesive tape) and apply the sticky side to your wrists or forearm or whatever skin contacted the insulation and then pull off the tape. The fibers will stick to the tape and your skin will be itch free. Simple as that.

Painting chore interrupted
There could be a whole column written about true painting craftsmanship. Instead I will give you one obscure tip that I found useful. If you’re painting with a brush (or roller) and you need to leave to do something else for an hour or so, place the wet paint brush in a plastic bag (or saran wrap) and completely remove all air from the bag. In other words, gently squeeze the bag against the contour of the brush so there is no air in contact with the wet paint on the brush. This beats alternatives like completely cleaning the brush (only to use it again a measly hour later) or letting the paint start to dry on the brush. Use this trick with the plastic bag and then go ahead and enjoy that sushi lunch with your buddy or that power meeting with your realtor, knowing that you can return to find your brush completely moist and ready for more painting.

Shop-vac the dust right at the source
If you have no choice but make a cut with a power saw inside a finished house, get out your trusty shop-vac. (You do have one, don’t you? All the happening remodelers do.) Have a helper turn on the vac and hold the hose a few inches from where the saw is going to shoot its dust. About seventy percent or more of the dust will be sucked into the vac before it can float off and land on things like furniture and Ming vases. It’s not perfect, but it’s a damn sight better than not doing it.

There you have it, obscure little bits of advice, field-tested and determined to be both nifty and effective.

Current Edition:
June 23, 2010 - Confessions of a Lighting Junky

Archive:
2010
May 25, 2010 - A Day in the Life of the Architecture Student
May 4, 2010 - Job Site Tips I Learned the Hard Way
March 25, 2010 - More Than Just a Pretty Picture
February 18, 2010 - A Benicia Sense of Place
January 27, 2010 - Aging in place

2009
December 24, 2009 - Why we travel: the hidden Puerto Vallarta is there for the taking
December 1, 2009 - Paradise stolen: greed and redemption on the Mayan Riviera
October 25, 2009 - The new rules for downtown
September 20, 2009 - Ongoing adventures in city life
August 23, 2009 - How to almost miss out on architecture school
August 2, 2009 - Visiting Italy in the movies
June 26, 2009 - Secret weapons of design
May 24, 2009 - Germany, the war, and why we like life in Benicia
April 23, 2009 - A hundred and sixty years in Benicia
March 12, 2009 - On dream houses in Mexico and life lessons
February 15, 2009 - Building a House in Mexico - the Reality

January 15, 2009 - Phil Joy's house move enters the home stretch

2008
May 30, 2008 - On turning fifty, crescent moons, and Frank Lloyd Wright
April 22, 2008 - Building green, getting real
March 27, 2008 - Benicia versus the country club
February 27, 2008 - Stone arches totally rock
January 23, 2008 - These are a few of your favorite things
January 6, 2008 - Another vintage house is delivered to Benicia


2007
December 16, 2007 - How First Street keeps us together
November 22, 2007 - You, the tile shop, the decision
October 23, 2007 - A Benician in New York
September 19, 2007 - Figuring out how much your building project will cost
August 21, 2007 - Why we travel: The city of Prague is a marvel – who knew?
July 22, 2007 - The “it” moment with my new house
June 20, 2007 - Dreamhouse for rent
May 20, 2007 - Artist Open Studios Reveal Creative Undercurrent Alive in Benicia
March 2, 2007 - Haiku Moments and Performance Art in the Comfort of Your Own Home
April 22, 2007 - Once in a Lifetime Adventure: Say Yes
January 28, 2007 - Countertops: We Live in a Stone Age

2006
December 31, 2006 - The Day the Thompson-Joy House Came to Town
December 3, 2006 - The Revenge of Unpaid Carpenters (And Other True Stories)
October 29, 2006 - A House Move for the Ages
September 24, 2006 - My Best Five Seconds at Design School
August 17, 2006 - Getting Bids: "The Rules"
July 23, 2006 - Benicia's Growth Rings
June 18, 2006 - The Well-considered Window Seat
May 14, 2006 - Hearst Castle - Residential Design Mind Blower
April 16, 2006 - San Francisco April 1906: Ordinary People in Extraordinary Times
March 17, 2006 - Dog Handling at the Ititarod

February 12, 2006 - Your House's Defense Against Rising Energy Costs
January 8 , 2006 - Not Your Father's Living Room

2005
December 12, 2005 - The Best Design Book Ever
September 23, 2005 - Further Adventures in the Eternal city
August 28, 2005 - Lessons from Rome
July 31, 2005 - Roadside at the Tour de France
June 9, 2005 - My Accidental Getaway Room
May 8, 2005 - Lighting Basics: It's the layers
April 10, 2005 - Architecture School: The Reality
March 13, 2005 - Southampton Concrete Slab Floors: What's to Know
Jan. 30, 2005 - Some Basics to Know Before You Build

2004
Dec. 26, 2004 - News Flash: Good builders earn their money
Nov. 14, 2004 - The Wonderful Failure That is Benicia
Sept. 26, 2004 - Energy Laws and Your Building Project
August 14, 2004 - Architecture Goes to the Movies
July 11, 2004 - What's Really Up with a 2nd Floor Addition
May 30, 2004 - Home Design in Earthquake Country
May 2, 2004 - Sightlines Make a Huge Impact
April 11, 2004 - Meeting of the Minds in Your Design
March 21, 2004 - Welcome to the New Column