Looking to enhance your outdoor space? Make the most of meals and get-togethers in your yard by adding a picnic bench — a great, low-cost project that will give you extra seating and table space for barbecues, dinners and parties. Continue reading “DIY: How to Build a Picnic Table Using Screws”
Perfect Pergola Planned: Elements of an Achievable Pergola Plan
Lumber prices are continuing to return to Earth, making it possible to start dreaming once again about backyard projects. It’s the perfect time to take our new, easy-to-use Pergola Planner Software™ for a spin. Pergola Planner Software enables contractors or homeowners to design the perfect pergola in just a few minutes. Earlier this year we asked homeowners who might be considering a new backyard pergola to try out the software and send in their pergola designs.
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How Jackson Lumber & Millwork Used Pipeline LBM Software from Simpson Strong-Tie to Boost Takeoff Speed and Efficiency by 50 Percent
Can running takeoff software and generating materials lists for new construction projects be as fun as playing a video game? The inside sales team at Jackson Lumber & Millwork sure seems to think so. Founded in 1946, Jackson is a third-generation, family-owned lumber and building materials dealer serving custom homebuilders, contractors, remodelers, and homeowners across Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire.
Building Safety Month 2021: Prevent, Prepare, Protect
What comes to mind when you think of May? May flowers (from April showers)? Horse racing (the Kentucky Derby and Preakness)? Car racing (the Indianapolis 500)? How about some special days, like Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, Teacher Appreciation Day or Armed Forces Day?
Mothers, teachers, and members of the military definitely deserve all the recognition they can get. But what about your safety? There are two month-long observances in May that also deserve some attention: Building Safety Month and Deck Safety Month.
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DIY: How to Spray-Paint Metal Connectors
While many people like the look of galvanized metal connectors on their DIY projects — as we have shown with the Simpson Strong-Tie® Rigid Tie® RTC connectors on our DIY standing desk and heavy-duty workbench — others prefer a painted look.
Simpson Strong-Tie Shows You How to Build a Stronger Deck — in Eight Easy Videos
The year 2016 saw its share of momentous events, if you care to recall: Britain voted to leave the EU, Russia interfered in the US presidential election and North Korea conducted nuclear tests. At that time, the world was still in an economic expansion and Americans were still living their usual busy social lives — which in most cases meant a daily commute to work or school, shopping, eating out once or twice a week, and planning fun adventures for spring and summer vacations.
Continue reading “Simpson Strong-Tie Shows You How to Build a Stronger Deck — in Eight Easy Videos”
How Pergola Planner Software™ Helped Turn My Parents’ Patio into an Oasis
This past summer, my parents and I were talking about some of the latest home improvement projects that they had going on, and the topic of providing more shade for their backyard patio came up. For the last couple of years, they’d been looking into different ideas of what to do with this space, including sketching out on notebook paper layouts and particulars that would be nice to have. They’d tried portable patio umbrellas and various other ways to shade this area and had come to a decision that it was time to add a permanent structure that would serve as both a backyard shelter and an aesthetic complement to their home.
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DIY: Nominal Lumber Size Versus Actual Lumber Size
Every so often a homeowner tackling a new project will reach out to ask why their lumber doesn’t fit the connector. We sympathize. Lumber size can be confusing, especially when someone is first getting started with DIY woodworking. Nearly every single time this question comes up, it comes down to “nominal” dimensions of the purchased lumber.
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2020: The Year You Did It Yourselves
It’s no surprise that with so many of us stuck at home for most of 2020, there’s been an increased interest in DIY projects. Homeowners have been using the time to build everything from desks to alternative dwelling units. That interest is reflected in where we see visitors going on our website. We’ve seen a significant increase in the number of people downloading free project plans and an especially high interest in free pergola plans.
Three Critical Steps to Seismic Retrofit a Home
In our first blog post in this series, we identified why older homes are more vulnerable than newer homes to earthquake damage. We described what retrofitting is and how it strengthens your home’s structure. And lastly, we posed five questions you should ask yourself when deciding if your home needs retrofitting.
Continue reading “Three Critical Steps to Seismic Retrofit a Home”
