Tools of the Framing Trade

To frame a typical custom home during the mid-1970s, I would roll up on the job site in my El Camino, pull down the tailgate, and unfurl plans that I had last seen when I bid them. To put the frame together, all I needed was my Skilsaw, extension cord, nail bags, and some seldom-used hand tools that resided in the bottom of a wooden toolbox. Homes were typically built on a slab and came in around 2,000 square feet. They had 8-foot walls, flat ceilings, and 4/12 roofs with a couple of hips. Times have changed, and so have the custom homes around here. They are no longer