I’ve been a home-improvement writer for nearly 25 years, and have visited remodeling jobs and construction sites all over the country. And as a member of the press, I’ve had privileged access to some astonishing projects, including a California hillside home, which had a freeform redwood deck cantilevered over a 100-ft.-deep ravine; a 10,000-sq.-ft. beachfront South Carolina home that was framed entirely out of 2×12s (including all the interior walls!); a French-built tramway over the Mississipp