If youre working alone, this book will be your second set of hands. You won't have to wait for a helper or pass up a job that seems too difficult to do alone. And if youre a homeowner working on your own house, you will be amazed at what you can accomplish.

Written by a builder with 30 years' experience, Working Alone is packed with more than 50 innovative tips and techniques. You'll learn how to handle nearly every aspect of home construction alone, from foundation layout to raising walls to building decks.

This book, the only one of its kind, offers a myriad of unique solo solutions. A perfect example is the problem of bringing a large sheet of plywood up a ladder. Even with a helper, this is a difficult and dangerous task. But if a large C-clamp is fastened to one end of the plywood, it's easy to pull the sheet up the ladder from behind. Clever techniques like this will have you solving common problems safely and efficiently.

Introduction

1 Replacing a Helper's Hands

The principal challenges of working alone
Three ways to overcome the challenges

2 Masonry Work

Working with mortar
Laying out a foundation
Squaring up small projects
Setting up scaffolding

3 Floors and Walls

Framing floors
Building walls
Erecting walls

4 Stick-Built Roofs

Laying out the roof
Building the roof

5 The Shell

Framing nonbearing walls
Finishing the eaves and rakes
Installing windows and doors
Shingling the roof
Installing wood siding

6 The Interior

Hanging drywall
Working on doors
Running trim
Hanging wall cabinets
Squaring up a large tile layout

7 Decks

Outside structure
Inside joists
Final steps

8 Limitations of Working Alone

Jobs for more than one
Using subcontractors to finish the job
Facing the workday alone

Resources

Index