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Bob in the backyard of the Medford restoration project where Charlie and Matt are finishing up the picture framing for the mahogany deck. The mahogany will be left unfinished�allowing it weather and take on a beautiful silvery sheen. The first nail goes in about an inch from the edge at one end, then one at the other end, and then every 16" in between. The end piece is brought in at the miter and nailed. Charlie is working with mahogany in an assortment of lengths�20s to 6s. Charlie prefers to space his joints at least 32 inches apart staggering them by at least two bays. He uses 16-penny spikes as spacers between the boards as well as between the butt ends of the boards and the picture frame. He's using 2 1/2-inch stainless steel annular ring nails. To avoid putting dimples into the mahogany, he doesn't hammer them all the way in but leaves them just on the surface and then uses a nail set to drive them home. Charlie believes that sometimes it's best to predrill at the butt end of board rather than risk splitting the wood by driving a nail that's close to end.

Professional builders use a plumb bob to make sure their walls are vertical. Here's how: Measure 2" away from the top of your wall, set a nail, hang the plumb bob, and let gravity draw the string into a vertical reference line. When the plumb bob falls exactly two inches away at the floor your wall will be plumb.

With patience and attention to detail, installing a new wooden floor can be an easy home improvement project.

Bob and Ryley take a look at the corner of the house where the sidewall has been removed to show the plywood and Douglas fir sheathing. Ryley explains that the gaps between the boards are there because of shrinkage over the years. He points out a bedroom window on the wall that is now in the middle of the addition. The window needs to be removed to take part of the wall down and moved to the corner so that the bedroom still has adequate light. Bob and Ryley remove the window and next, Ryley uses a reciprocal saw to cut the new hole in the sheathing. The window hole is already framed on the inside to receive the window. Ryley continues cutting as Bob starts closing in the window with studs and three quarter inch plywood. They hang the window in the new opening, level it, and nail it into place every twelve to sixteen inches.