Framework

Your home's framework—from the walls to the foundation to joists—supports everything else. Understand, maintain, and improve yours with our expert guides.

A person holding a level against a wall stud.

How to Frame a Wall

close-up of construction worker balancing on wood frame house working with hammering tools

How Much Does It Really Cost to Build a House?

Steel beams at construction site

Steel Studs vs. Wood Studs for Wall Framing

Load bearing wall with wood support beams

How to Replace a Load-Bearing Wall With a Support Beam

A person removing a stud from a wall frame.

How to Remove an Interior Wall

Load bearing wall structure exposed to be removed

Guide to Removing a Load-Bearing Wall

Load bearing wall with exposed ceiling and wooden structures

How to Tell If a Wall Is Load-Bearing: 9 Signs

Underlayment exposed to the left of ceramic tile floor with level and hammer on top

Subfloors and Underlayment for Ceramic Tile Floors

Sanding the leveling compound so it is flush with the subfloor

How to Level a Floor

Cutting a plywood subfloor with a circular saw

OSB vs. Plywood: Best Subfloor Material Compared

Wooden joists in renovated staircase

What Is a Floor Joist? Overview, Span, Size, and More

Crawl space under a house

How to Fix Water Problems in the Crawl Space

Lumber

Dimensional Lumber Sizes for Building and Remodeling

Hands holding cellulose insulation

What You Should Know About Blow-In Cellulose Insulation

Laminate flooring hammered into place

Choose the Best Underlayment for Laminate Flooring

Laminate planks installed over underlayment layer

Laminate Underlayment: Installation Basics

Installing new flooring

8 Ways to Soundproof Between Floors to Dampen Noise

Subfloor vs. Joists vs. Underlayment

Subflooring vs Joists vs Underlayment: What's the Difference?

Cement backer board on wooden floor with light and shadows casted across

How to Use Cement Backer Board

Footing foundation

Building Code Foundation Requirements

Earth mover in backyard

How to Jack up a House

A home at the "rough in" stage

What Is Rough-in Plumbing?

Concrete house foundation

House Foundation Types, Uses, and Pros and Cons

A person driving a screw into a peice of drywall.

How to Build a Basic Interior Wall in Just a Couple of Days

Building a Vaulted Ceiling

How to Convert a Flat Ceiling to Vaulted

Smooth the Crack Filler

How to Repair Cracks in a Concrete Wall

A country kitchen with an open beam ceiling

Exposed Beam vs Exposed Joist Ceilings

Building Looking at Room Addition Under Construction

10 Tips for Building a Room Addition With Contractors

A-frame log cabin

15 DIY Cabin Plans for Every Size and Style

Switching roof

How to Estimate Framing Materials

Explore More Exterior Remodel

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