Taught here is a small frangible shim with handle for fine tune leveling which is wedge shaped, and pre-scored to enable an unneeded portion to be easily removed during use. Such shims are used in the construction industry utilized for adjusting the spacing of various construction members. The shim may be fashioned from any suitable material to provide stability, ease of use, and ease of manufacture. Further, the shim contains surfaces with properties of both friction to retain the shim in place once deployed and smoothness to allow the shim to slide easily into position. The shim taught here is small compared with existing shims for use in situations where delicate, fine-tune adjustments of leveling is desired.

The siding holder includes a planar body having first and second longitudinally opposed ends, an upper surface and a lower surface. A siding panel holding assembly is secured to the first end of the planar body for releasably holding a bottom portion of a first siding panel for installation thereof An alignment abutment plate is releasably secured to the lower surface of the planar body, adjacent the second end thereof, and has a longitudinally adjustable position relative to the planar body. The alignment abutment plate is adapted to abut a bottom edge of a second siding panel which has already been installed. A pivotal handle connector is secured to the upper surface of the planar body and is provided for removable attachment of a handle.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are directed to an adjustable retaining bracket that can be secured to a surface and adjusted in a first elevational direction relative to the surface, in a second direction along an axis substantially perpendicular to the first elevational direction and towards or away from the surface and in a third direction substantially perpendicular to the second direction. The adjustable retaining bracket may include a base brace and at least one adjusting bolt configured to secure the adjustable retaining bracket to the surface. The adjustable retaining bracket may also include an outer tube operationally engaged with the base brace and an adjusting rod configured to move the outer tube along the third direction, and an inner tube in telescoping relationship with the outer tube and configured for movement relative to the outer tube along the second direction.

A support tool for installing tiles onto a wall above a niche in the wall provides support for tiles being mounted above the niche. The tool includes a support plate configured to be secured to or braced against an upper surface of the niche. A tile support bar supporting lower edges of the tiles may be adjusted and held in a selected vertical position relative to the plate, so that lower edges of tiles may be placed in a desired vertical position relative to the upper surface of the niche. The tile support bar may be slidably supported on a support rod in a selected position by a nut threaded onto the support rod. The tool may be secured in position by screwing the support plate onto the upper surface of the niche, or by bracing the tool in place using a length-adjustable extender assembly.

A crown molding support hanger described herein as comprised of a lightweight durable plastic crown molding support hanger that is an essential crown molding installation tool for all sizes of crown molding that may be quickly and effectively installed by a single user. The crown molding support hanger has a support surface that engages and holds a length of crown molding while the mounting member secures the crown molding support hanger to the wall. The support member is adjustable to the different sizes and shapes of decorative trim molding by simply snapping off the tab on the support surface that engages the front section of the molding. The mounting member is removable from the support member by moving the support member side to side and snapping the support member tab at the v-groove, releasing the support member. The mounting member remains hidden behind the crown molding.

A tile spacing tool is disclosed herein that spans a gap between tile rows where the gap is sized to receive a decorative insert or the like. The spacing tool spans the gap and transfers the weight of the upper tile rows across the gap to the lower tile rows, which are supported by a floor or ledge. As a result, the entire wall can be built including the decorative insert without waiting for the bottom tile rows to dry to support the weight of the tile rows above the decorative insert.

Reinforcing bracket system, for use with gypsum sheathing and other construction materials. The brackets are made from a resilient material, such as metal or metal alloy, and consist of a generally flat, planar main body, possibly with a central portion, which may be solid or hollow, and/or a raised lip, and fastener bores for attaching the bracket to sheeting, and legs for anchoring the bracket in a panel. Mending plates may also be used in a system, along with special-purpose tools for applying adhesive and affixing the brackets and plates.

A tile support apparatus that includes: a central frame member; a left frame member; and a right frame member, wherein the left frame member and the right frame member movably attach to opposing ends of the central frame member, wherein each frame member includes a plurality of fastener receivers and spirit levels. The left frame member and the right frame member movably attach to opposing ends of the central frame member by using a hinge and are adapted to move independently move between an orthogonal orientation relative to the central frame member. The plurality of fastener receivers is adapted to enable the frame members to be fixed to a wall with a mechanical fastener. Further, the spirit levels are adapted to determine for each individual frame member whether an abutting surface is level.

A separator for insertion between building construction sheets for externally cladding buildings that has a handle part securable to an existing sheet and a spacer bar that overlies the edge of an existing sheet in order to project into the path of an incoming sheet and space it from the existing sheet. The handle and spacer bar are made of metal. Four separators are required for insertion at two adjacent edges of an incoming building sheet.