There's more to nailing than just ready-aim-swing. Face nailing is what we all learn how to do first. Drive the nail straight through one piece into the other. This is the quickest and easiest way but not really the strongest. For added strength try toe-nailing. Drive a pair of nails at opposing forty-five degree angles. This is the method carpenters use to frame a house.

Take extra care when nailing your deck. Instead of driving the nails completely in with a hammer. Use a nail set to finish off the job and avoid damaging the wood. Also, use 16 penny common nails as spacers and pull the boards tight to correct any natural curve they might have.

Here are some basic things to remember when building your own deck. Attach the joist hangers 16 inches apart on center to the side rails. Assemble all floor joists and side rails before nailing. Then, nail all at once, using galvanizd nails. Overhang the first floor board by half an inch using galvanized finish nails. If you have an enclosed deck or a screened porch you can use tongue and groove flooring.

Here's how to install window casings. After the window stool and apron are in place, start with the top casing and nail with brads. Glue the joints of the side casings and tack nail the miters. Pipe clamp the molding to get a tight fit (on the joints). Finish nailing the casing with brads to the premarked reveal line. Then use finish nails to secure the casing to the studs.

This project initially began as a basement refinishing project and has grown into a project for a growing family. The front porch of the Melrose home was in need of repair. This involved not just the decking but the structure underneath, which had suffered rot and insect damage. The finished wood deck features Ipe, a renewable tropical wood from Everlasting Hardwoods. This wood is one of the best decking products available but does not nail easily. To get around this, Tiger Claw hidden deck fastening system is used to keep the wood in place without any obvious face nailing. Don Martel of Tiger Claw explains how the product is installed. The version being used is designed for extremely dense materials, like the Ipe decking used here. The fastener attaches to the edge of the board. A screw is then drilled through the fastener into the joist. The fastener holds the board and the screw holds the fastener in place. The fastener is coated in black oxide so it is not visible between the seams of the deck. Every Tiger Claw kit comes with a installation tool. The fastener is insterted into the tool, placed against the board, and hammered into place. Using a hammer board, the next board is put into place with one tap. The fastener from the previous board grips it tight as it is tapped in. The Ipe decking is not only strong but naturally insect-resistent without the use of any chemicals.

Bob talks with Leslie Chapman-Henderson from the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH) about the technologies involved in securing a roof. Chapman-Henderson explains the importance of keeping a roof secure in high-wind situations. Uplift force is explained as wind is that pulls on a roof, with a force that can tear the roof right off the home, causing catastrophic building failure. Keeping a roof secure involves affixing the roof decking, the plywood, so no new holes are created during a storm that would allow more wind to come in. FLASH standards specify plywood of a certain thickness, 5/8" minimum thickness with 6" inch nailing pattern, securely nailing into the trusses. Pneumatic nail guns, employed in a hurry to save costs, often miss the underlying truss. Simpson StrongTie straps are used to secure the truss to the structure. Tie-downs secure the roof vertically and horizontally. Bob and Chapman-Henderson review the Punta Gorda storm-ready project completed last season. The house in Punta Gorda was a monlithic concrete structure, poured in one solid pour with steel reinforcing bars embedded throughout. Steel fastenerstied directly to the exposed rebar to secure the roof. The roof decking and tie-down followed FLASH's Blueprint for Safety, just as the current roof does. Chapman-Henderson presents Bob with an award from the Governor's Hurricane Conference for his work to increase awareness of the need for storm-resistant homes. According to Chapman-Henderson reviews the governor's program that makes $250 million in Florida funds and $100 million from HUD to help people in Florida retrofit their homes to bring them up to code and make them storm resistant. The My Safe Florida Home is available to low- and modest-income residents. Eligible viewers are encouraged to call the 800 number or go to mysafefloridahome.com to begin the process.

Nails are classified both by their length in inches and by their "penny" size, written with "D" on the package. Here's how to determine the penny size of a nail. Take the length of the nail you need, subtract a half inch, and then multiply by four. For example, if you need a two and a half inch nail, subtract a half inch which leaves two, then multiply by four. This means you need an eight-penny nail.

Bob and crew travel to Wareham, Mass., to visit the Tremont Nail Mill. Tremont Nail, manufacturer of the cut nails used in the antique pine flooring installation in the modern Colonial's sister house, still makes use of original production equipment dating back to the mid-to late-1800s. The tour, which looks at the machinery as well as the nails it produces, offers a glimpse of turn-of-the century manufacturing in New England.

Re-roofing is an opportunity to retrofit your home to prevent wind and water damage. After removing the old roof covering, improve the connection of the sheathing to the framing by adding more nails or screws. Check local building codes for spacing. (It can vary from 4 to 8 inches on center.) Seal the sheathing seams with a self-adhesive membrane. Finish with a new roof cover.

This wooden-handled hammer may look strong enough to pull any nail, but because the grain of the wood is wekaer in this direction, you can actually break the handle if you pull straight back too hard. Here are a couple of tips on pulling nails. Once you get the nail partly drawn, slip a piece of scrap wood under the head of the hammer for better leverage, or try pulling the handle to the side for a better angle on the nail.