Before you can consider that extra room in the basement as a legal bedroom, several requirements of the 2015 International Residential Code and NFPA 101 need to be met. Start by considering the following questions: Is my ceiling at least 7 feet tall? Does the room have adequate insulation in the walls? Is there sufficient… Read More »
Pre-engineered metal buildings have been built for decades and are growing in popularity. “Pre” engineered is a bit of a misnomer – our experience these days is that the buildings are engineered as part of a typical design process, and just designed by someone other than the structural engineer of record. The manufacturers of the… Read More »
So many great things came out of 2020. One of the many is that our long-time friends at 101-103 School Street Condominium in Concord said yes to proceeding with needed structural improvements to this “multi-level” garage. For many years, the cars on the upper level would drip salt and sand through the old wooden floor… Read More »
Around here, most residential garages, whether attached to the house or detached, include a concrete slab-on-grade. Concrete slabs-on-grade are strong, durable, and easy to maintain. To provide more usable square footage, garage floors are sometimes built elevated – we’ve designed a few ourselves using framing systems like cold-formed steel joists, pre-stressed concrete plank, and structural… Read More »
Take a look at this metal deck and open web steel joist floor structure. As you can see, the metal deck and the open web steel joists are severely corroded. If you zoom in, you might be able to see where the steel is starting to flake and can easily be pulled apart with bare hands.… Read More »
We have had the pleasure of working with Chuck Wood of Colonial Builders recently. He is leading spectacular renovations of a few old buildings in Concord. Each time I visit the site, I’m impressed by the experience of his crew. Said another way, many of his team members have been carpenters for decades! Said yet… Read More »
Whether you are looking for a lower cost retaining wall to enhance your yard or to support your driveway, the Interlocking Concrete Block (ICB) (a.k.a. segmental concrete block) retaining wall may be your best option. Up to 4 feet tall (base to top of wall), it can be designed and installed by a qualified landscaper. … Read More »
Last year our family was lucky to inherit a swing set that had served another family well but was beyond its originally intended service life. Amongst many inadequacies, the original cedar floor framing provided little by way of load capacity, proven by my very imprecise 160lb load test. But much of it was still salvageable,… Read More »
ICF is the abbreviation for Insulated Concrete Form, an emerging new building technology which simplifies constructing foundations. These forms are made of rigid insulation tied together in hollow blocks which stack together like Legos. They come in sizing ranging from 4” up to 12” wide so they will work with nearly all standard residential foundation… Read More »
Structural steel is becoming more common in homes, as structural steel gets stronger and lighters and its cost per pound comes closer to alternatives like engineered lumber. The challenge with using steel in primarily wood structures is often the interaction – how do you connect the two? It takes some thought, but collaborations between framer,… Read More »
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