Posted on Sep, 13th 2011 By Todd Hallett
We all have our eye opening moments in life. When I was 17 my dad would often remind me to keep checking the oil in my 72 Bonneville. I did check the oil frequently (in my mind anyway) for a while. It was only after the old workhorse left me stranded on the expressway with a thrown rod that it
Posted on Sep, 6th 2011 By Todd Hallett
Check yourself before you wreck yourself. This delightful saying comes from a rap song by Ice Cube. Mr. Cube’s message urges us all to make use of a verification system (the balance of his message is not quite suitable for this blog). A simple method of ensuring your design specifications are
Posted on Aug, 30th 2011 By Todd Hallett
Have you ever heard a framer say, “I just make it look like the picture”? I have — far too often. They are referring to a lack of elevation detail on the construction drawings. For some reason this is relatively common.
Many drawings I have reviewed show that there was a good deal of effort
Posted on Aug, 23rd 2011 By Todd Hallett
As I sit on a plane bound for Fresno I am procrastinating. I know I have to put together this week’s blog but there are a few things to handle first. I need to thoroughly read my Newspaper (front to back even the boring stuff). Of course I cannot get started until the snack portion of the trip is
Posted on Aug, 15th 2011 By Todd Hallett
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Posted on Aug, 9th 2011 By Todd Hallett
Growing up near Detroit, I know that old plans are like old cars —sooner or later they start costing you more money than they are worth. It is tempting to hold onto a previous best seller and keep it in the system for no other reason than that you have the bugs worked out. The contracts are set,
Posted on Aug, 2nd 2011 By Todd Hallett
Headers, headers everywhere! Nearly every builder I have ever worked with (regardless of geography) initially had far too many headers and/or headers that were way oversized in their homes.
Code requirements are typically 250 percent over failure, so designing above code is typically a waste. An
Posted on Jul, 26th 2011 By Todd Hallett
Lots of matrimony talk lately. From the saccharin sweet royal wedding to the much publicized split between J’Lo and Marc Anthony - some marriages are meant to last while others fade away. The marriage that I am most excited about (save for my own naturally) is the one between Lean design and curb
Posted on Jul, 18th 2011 By Todd Hallett
Plans, plans, plans, it’s sometimes difficult to know what they should include and what they shouldn’t. After spending the last two years with Scott Sedam and TrueNorth working with builders, suppliers, and trades all over the country we have developed a number of plan dos and don’ts regardless of
Posted on Jul, 15th 2011 By Todd Hallett
Monday morning 6:30 a.m. Jeff the lead carpenter rolls out the latest set of prints for the new Thornberry model. He sighs as he scans the plans and elevations knowing it is going to be a long week piecing together his latest framing puzzle. He has worked for this builder for 3 years so he
