Author: Flavia Santibañez

It is usually more accurate to hold a board in place to mark its length rather than to use a tape and involve numbers. A tape can flex and change shape, and the movable end hook bends easily, affecting accuracy.

Use reveals, and avoid flush edges

Wood moves — as it dries out, as the house settles, as you cut it and as you’re nailing it up. It’s almost impossible to get flush edges to stay that way.

Split the difference

If you’re running courses of material between two diverging surfaces, it’s obvious that if you start out working parallel to one, you won’t be parallel to the other.

Avoid exposing end grain

End grain will always absorb stain and paint differently than face or side grain; even if left natural, end grain reflects light differently.

Fit the joint before cutting to length

If you’re coping or mitering a joint on a piece of base, chair rail or crown, make sure that joint fits well before you cut the other end to length.

Don’t be fussy where you don’t have to be

Learn to think ahead to see if what you’re working on will later be covered, which is often the function of molding. At the intersection of wall and floor, for example, the drywall doesn’t have to come all the way down to the floor, nor does the flooring need to meet the wall perfectly, because the baseboard will cover the gap.

Plan your sequence to avoid perfect cuts at both ends