One-person construction tips/tricks

[patandchickens]

I was wondering what cheats and workarounds y'all have figured out when doing normally two-person stuff without a helper. I've acquired a reasonable number of such things over the years, but am always looking for more

Things like: if you are putting a beam or horizontal board high up on a building or fence or whatever, and would otherwise need someone to hold up the other end, you drive a temporary nail or screw to rest one end on (at the correct height), prop that end up and tie it on with baler twine so it doesn't fall back off. Then go up to the other end, raise it and nail or screw it in properly but with just a single screw or nail, go back to the first end, adjust its position (because it is never *exactly* right, from being propped up there) and nail/screw it properly, then go back and finish the first end. Whew, that is confusing to write out but it works well. I put up a bunch of 20' 2x12 pressure-treated beams, 12 feet off the ground, like that when I was pregnant with son #1, so, you can do a lot that way

Or: for putting up plywood sheets on a wall singlehanded, start in the middle of the sheet, arrange a teeter-totter style lever underneath so that by stepping down harder or lighter you can adjust exactly how high the plywood is, then when it's in the right place put a couple quick screws in to hold it so you can move around to screw the rest of it.

And a buncha other things like that.

What's your handy trick?


Pat

 

[Beekissed]

Pound nails into boards while they are still on the work surface and then place the board with nails sticking out against the attachment point, then drive the nail into the attachment surface. Nothing more frustrating than trying to hold a board, hold a nail and hammer, all at the same time.

I have a ramp up into my building that I will lay a board on, step on the board to stabilize, and bend over and saw...which takes the place of someone holding the board for you. A little more awkward for sawing evenly, but it gets the job done.

 

[poppycat]

A set of really good clamps has been very useful for me.

I'd say it generally depends on the project. I would probably build a tripod type thingie to hold up a beam.

I'm completely drawing a blank right now on more specific stuff, although heaven knows how many times I've said to my self, "this would be a whole lot easier if someone just held..."

Honestly thought I'm not the best carpenter. I'm way more handy with mechanical stuff. Fortunately DH is great at building stuff, but he couldn't fix a leaky pipe to save his life.

 

[patandchickens]

A set of really good clamps has been very useful for me.

Ha... when I was a kid my father (very old-school mortise-and-tenon type carpentry geek, in a hobbyist way) made the mistake of showing me, once, a "spanish windlass" as a substitute for a clamp.

This is where you take a length of nonstretchy strong rope, tie it in a somewhat loose loop around the part to be clamped, then stick in a piece of 2x2 or a wrench handle or hammer or whatever's lying around and twist that up til it's very, very tight. Then use the end of the rope to tie that handle in place so it doesn't untwist til you want to unclamp.

I now use this for the majority of my large-construction-project clamping needs, to the extreme disgust of my now 86-yr-old father who considers it a shoddy lazybutt practice and bitterly regrets ever demonstrating it.

WORKS GOOD, though Especially if you find yourself having to clamp over a long distance (even 12' or more) and don't have suitable pipe clamps.


Pat

 

[keljonma]

I have used ladders to hold up the other end of wood beams. Set one ladder up where the end of the beam will be, put that end up on the ladder. Pick up the other end and carry it up.

DH is 6'4" and I'm 5'.... so I use our flexible ladders for scaffolding to complete jobs "high up".

 

[enjoy the ride]

Always carry a cell phone in case of an emergency, especially if up on a roof. Put a piece of baling twine on the top of a ladder and tie the other end to a nail tapped into the wood near the roof you've decide to get up on- the embarassment of being stuck on a roof with no one there is very bad.
I also use deck or wood screws for everything with my cordless drill. I put up plywood sheets on walls by putting two screws on the two studs at the approximate height I need then put the sheet on the two screws and lift it where I need it, hold it against the wall with my shoulder and put a couple of screws in to hold it while I finish it off.
I break up packs of shingles and carry them up the ladder in managable weights.


Not construction but I've done this for years. When stacking small square bales, you can get as high as you want without lifting by making steps of the bales then flipping the bales up the steps, end over end til your where you want to be.

 

[poppycat]

A set of really good clamps has been very useful for me.

Ha... when I was a kid my father (very old-school mortise-and-tenon type carpentry geek, in a hobbyist way) made the mistake of showing me, once, a "spanish windlass" as a substitute for a clamp.

This is where you take a length of nonstretchy strong rope, tie it in a somewhat loose loop around the part to be clamped, then stick in a piece of 2x2 or a wrench handle or hammer or whatever's lying around and twist that up til it's very, very tight. Then use the end of the rope to tie that handle in place so it doesn't untwist til you want to unclamp.

I now use this for the majority of my large-construction-project clamping needs, to the extreme disgust of my now 86-yr-old father who considers it a shoddy lazybutt practice and bitterly regrets ever demonstrating it.

WORKS GOOD, though Especially if you find yourself having to clamp over a long distance (even 12' or more) and don't have suitable pipe clamps.


Pat

Sounds good to me. I'm not exactly a purist. Although I love that PBS show that I think is called The Woodwright. That dude does everything right.

 

[lupinfarm]

Well, when I did fence rails by myself (and I'm talking the round 3" diameter rough cedar rails) I used a second rail to prop up one end while I held and nailed the other. I'd dig one end of the prop rail into the ground, and slip the other end under the rail I was putting up, it'd hold it up while I was nailing the other end.

If that makes sense LOL.

Also, putting up cleats works really well too, put up some small pieces of 2x4 on the wall just below where you want to put the plywood, and then lift your plywood onto it... again if that makes sense.

It worked for doing drywall in the old houses garage.

 

[sylvie]

Always carry a cell phone in case of an emergency, especially if up on a roof. Put a piece of baling twine on the top of a ladder and tie the other end to a nail tapped into the wood near the roof you've decide to get up on- the embarassment of being stuck on a roof with no one there is very bad.
I also use deck or wood screws for everything with my cordless drill. I put up plywood sheets on walls by putting two screws on the two studs at the approximate height I need then put the sheet on the two screws and lift it where I need it, hold it against the wall with my shoulder and put a couple of screws in to hold it while I finish it off.
I break up packs of shingles and carry them up the ladder in managable weights.

OSHA specifies always tying off the ladder and my DH insists on it. We tie it in 2 places from the ground and one high to stabilize it.

I also use 2 step ladders (tied off of course)with heavy plank boards lain at the same height step to paint an entire area instead of moving a ladder over every few feet. I've also put up gutters this way. I stand, walk or or sit on the boards.

 

[Cassandra]

This is not for a two person job, but tricks that helps me with a ONE person job. (I'm not the most graceful of carpenters.)

I use a pair of needle nosed pliers (instead of my fingers) to hold nails or staples in place for hammering. Makes it much less likely to bust a thumb this way. (I got a LOT of practice at this while putting poultry staples into weld wire around my chicken run.)

I was trying to put up some shelves one time for my mom. I screwed some L brackets into the wall and screwed the shelves on top of them. I was having a miserable time holding the brackets in place and holding the screws in place to screw them in. (Pre-drilled holes in the wall would have been the right way to do it. But all I had was a cordless screwdriver, LOL) So, what I did was, hot glue the bracket to the wall. Then put a dollop of hot glue on the screw hole, put the screw into the glue. Then, I had both hands free to push the screw through the wall with the screwdriver.

Cassandra