The structural tag has no wiki summary.
3
votes
0answers
51 views
How can I reduce the bounciness of a floor?
My apartment is on the second floor of a low-rise building. There are no units directly under it; the apartment sits above the open-air garage.
I feel basically everything that my next door ...
0
votes
1answer
94 views
How much does weight affect a house?
I just demo'ed a bathroom. At 50 trashbags at 50 pounds a piece I am guesstimating that I took out 2500 pounds. The materials I am using to replace everything in the bathroom are about 800 pounds ...
4
votes
4answers
232 views
How do I deal with a joist in the way of where I need to run a pipe?
I'm in the process of installing central vac lines (2" OD) in a finished house, and I am trying to run a line into the upstairs hallway. I have removed drywall in the garage below and drilled a hole ...
2
votes
1answer
86 views
How can I calculate the yield strength of steel tube?
There's a lot of information -- and even some debates -- on which has a stronger yield strength between square and round steel tube. The majority points to square when the dimensions are equal at the ...
6
votes
1answer
128 views
Can I safely make a door frame taller?
The 3 door frames on my second floor are 6 ft tall. Myself, being a hair over 6 ft tall, often hit my head. Our ceilings are also 7 ft tall, and we have sloped ceilings upstairs, so it already feels ...
8
votes
2answers
214 views
Is joist sag at connection with header a problem?
I am having the ceiling in the finished part of my basement redone, and have it fully open now. I can see the connection of the joists to the headers have given somewhat, as the house is 85 years old ...
1
vote
1answer
186 views
Can I use a threaded rod for a rafter tie?
Long story short: I am working on a 1960's house with no rafter ties. The rafters themselves are now attached with screws and strong-ties (previously just double nailed!) but I don't have faith in the ...
5
votes
2answers
781 views
What size ceiling joists and rafters should I use for a 14' span?
I'm going to build a single story addition to my home with a width of 14ft. I plan on using ceiling joists every 16" but I'm not sure which size to get. The roof will be asphalt shingles and the attic ...
3
votes
2answers
623 views
What should I do about this load bearing wall that is only supported by a joist floor?
My floors pitch in the same spots as they do on the 1st and 2nd floors.
My home was built in the 1890's. I have some soft spots in the basement joists and added 4x4" posts to each side of the main ...
0
votes
1answer
96 views
How can I remove an inner wall of a gambrel house?
We own a Gambrel house built in 1978. I want to remove a six foot wall section that includes a doorway. This wall runs parallel to the floor joists in the basement. The main center beam is about three ...
0
votes
2answers
712 views
My 5th (top) floor apartment is shaking; what might cause this?
I live in a developing country (so don't have much faith in building codes), and have been experiencing increasingly noticeable and frequent "shaking" in my top fifth floor apartment. I'm seriously ...
4
votes
2answers
581 views
How much sagging is considered normal for floors in old (100+ years) houses?
I am currently looking at a house in New England that dates back to the 1820's that has a sagging floor in the living room. The floor dips down about one inch near one of the walls and I was told by ...
7
votes
2answers
862 views
What are these beams for in my loft?
I have very good building experience but in a house we bought recently I have been wondering what the heck to do with my loft. Initially its converted to a mini workshop / storage
The max height is ...
2
votes
2answers
1k views
Can I get away with 5/4“ cedar decking across a 24” span in a children's play structure?
I am currently in the process of designing/building a play structure for my son. The structure will include a 5' high elevated deck, that is 6'x4'. The supports for the decking will be 24" ...
1
vote
3answers
206 views
What information do I need to size a sawn or hewn beam?
I have a load bearing wall in my house that a previous occupant decided to cut a hole in to make things feel more open. They did not add a header, much to my chagrin. I'm planning to put an exposed ...
3
votes
1answer
1k views
How far can I move ceiling joists up?
The second floor of our house has a fairly low ceiling, perhaps 6'8" or 6'10".
The width of the structure is only about 16' with standard construction and the ceiling joists running parallel to to the ...
6
votes
1answer
267 views
Designed a floating corner table, unsure of its potential strength. Any ideas?
I pretty much want to attach some angle iron to the studs and some threaded rods to the angle iron. I'll rout out the profile of the angle iron into the butcher block so it sits flush and so that when ...
10
votes
3answers
4k views
How do I improve Pergola Stability?
The deck is nearly finished but I have a small structural problem with the pergola. A left or right force near the top of the pergola (such a a tall person leaning on the post) leads to a bit of ...
3
votes
1answer
286 views
What is involved in enlarging a concrete garage door opening?
I have a concrete garage with an opening measuring 99" wide by 85" high. There is 10" of concrete from the door opening to the left and right walls and about 1' above. All walls are 8" thick and ...
9
votes
1answer
2k views
Is my rapidly failing foundation dangerous?
I'll be succinct. I'm afraid we're having a full structural failure. Over the past week, crack after crack has been appearing in our plaster and walls. I'm honestly concerned for our safety.
Our ...
4
votes
1answer
311 views
Can a load bearing beam be offset from lapping joists?
I'm replacing a section of 4'' load bearing wall by a large 8''x8'' steel beam, and due to the size of the beam it would stick out to one side too much if I were to install it exactly centered with ...
3
votes
1answer
468 views
When will drilling through wall members affect structural integrity?
When can you freely drill medium to large sized holes in studs or door jambs, and when do you need to be concerned about damaging the structural integrity of the structure?
2
votes
2answers
896 views
Fixing a sagging foundation
We are currently renting our house and considering purchasing it from the owner, but it is sagging, and in some rooms it is rather significant and noticeable, with the worst parts being approximately ...
6
votes
1answer
736 views
Should I worry about sagging joists?
I have a two story house and some of the joists between the floors are sagging about an inch or two. When I walk around upstairs I can feel the level difference and downstairs you can slightly see the ...
46
votes
9answers
7k views
Is there a case where nails are better than screws, from an engineering/structural standpoint?
Is there a case where nails are better than screws, from a structural standpoint?
For instance: Say you used screws instead of nails on a backyard deck, when the design specifically called for nails. ...
8
votes
1answer
1k views
How do I know if it is safe to remove a wall?
When looking at a wall, how can I tell if I can safely remove it?
17
votes
3answers
2k views
Are there ways to determine if a wall is load bearing?
Other than looking up blue prints, which many homeowners may not have, are there ways to determine if a wall is load bearing?
Methods I can think of might include:
Going up in the attic to check if ...
