Temporary Radio Silence

[9zero1790]

wow...

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[DukeCanBuildit]

A quick update….

I managed to take care of the structural elements of the balcony. Replaced one support column and was able to use the other. I put in a 3-ply drop beam that runs the span of the entire deck, rather than rely on just the two attachment points in the original design. The inside joists support the porch ceiling with the outdoor lamp, so they had to stay. They were about 10-20% deteriorated along their top sides near the outer edge, so I sistered new joists to them. The outer rim joists are all glued and screwed. I was surprised at how thin the old hangers were and by the small gauge nails that fastened them in place. I used pressure treated lumber for anything I replaced, even though it will be completely covered and “water proof”.

I’m waiting for the city inspector to approve the structure then I can put on the floor, build a curb wall up top, and start boxing in the bottom with PT plywood. Then, I can install the flat roof, flashing, Tyvek, outer cement fibre siding and trim, and install the railings.

Surgically disassembling something so you can understand how it’s built, salvage what you can or need to, and make sure it can all go back together again is a slooooow process. The weather has been incredible and is expected to continue so I’m happy about that.

 

[TJC]

Coming into focus nicely! Amazing how destructive a water leak can be.

Friends took a weekend away, and forgot to turn off the water, sprang a leak on the second floor. Came home exhausted and opened the door to a flood! $250K and 9 months later they moved back in. Had to gut the entire house. They just moved back home less than 30 days ago.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

Coming into focus nicely! Amazing how destructive a water leak can be.

Friends took a weekend away, and forgot to turn off the water, sprang a leak on the second floor. Came home exhausted and opened the door to a flood! $250K and 9 months later they moved back in. Had to gut the entire house. They just moved back home less than 30 days ago.

Thanks Tony. Water can certainly be a force. You know, hydrogen and oxygen are also used to make rocket fuel. ?

 

[TJC]

Being so far north, I imagine water from snow melt, then freezing overnight can do a lot of damage.

Living most of my life well south of the Mason Dixon line I have never given it much thought until now. I never saw a frost, let alone snow until I was 20 and joined the USAF. (Raised 35 miles south of Miami). Our problem was termites!

 

[KJRR]

Looking good and thanks for the update!
Was wondering if we were going to need to send out a search party if we didn't hear from you.

 

[RedlandRanger]

Its funny, we got into a similar project recently. I had noticed some water damage at the bottom end of one segment of our siding so I hired some guys to some dig it apart to see how bad it was (I'm getting too old to work on ladders like that) - what they found was good and bad - good that the rot was only in the sheathing - it hadn't gotten into the structure - bad that it had spread a good bit - and bad that it is what appears to be a defect in the window - there is a hole in the frame below the sash that let water go straight down into the sheathing - the window manufacturer is coming out today to inspect - it will be interesting to see where it goes - based on that finding I checked all the other windows and found a second one with the same issue so we have to repeat this exercise again.

I hate water intrusion.....

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

Being so far north, I imagine water from snow melt, then freezing overnight can do a lot of damage.

Living most of my life well south of the Mason Dixon line I have never given it much thought until now. I never saw a frost, let alone snow until I was 20 and joined the USAF. (Raised 35 miles south of Miami). Our problem was termites!

We have termites too - so glad we don’t have alligators.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

Its funny, we got into a similar project recently. I had noticed some water damage at the bottom end of one segment of our siding so I hired some guys to some dig it apart to see how bad it was (I'm getting too old to work on ladders like that) - what they found was good and bad - good that the rot was only in the sheathing - it hadn't gotten into the structure - bad that it had spread a good bit - and bad that it is what appears to be a defect in the window - there is a hole in the frame below the sash that let water go straight down into the sheathing - the window manufacturer is coming out today to inspect - it will be interesting to see where it goes - based on that finding I checked all the other windows and found a second one with the same issue so we have to repeat this exercise again.

I hate water intrusion.....

Ugh! I hope it gets taken care of. Always good that you caught it early.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

Looking good and thanks for the update!
Was wondering if we were going to need to send out a search party if we didn't hear from you.

Thanks KJ. Still here, just busy.

 

[KJRR]

With all this water intrusion talk, I'm thinking I should trade in my house now since I may have problems down the road.

 

[LaBalbe]

Years ago we noticed that one of the pillars holding up an overhanging room in the house was starting to tilt. We looked into it to straighten it out, and discovered that the pillar was sitting on a pad that was barely bigger than the pillar at the bottom end, and wasn't actually attached to the house at the top in; the cross beams holding supporting the house were just resting on top of the pillars and relying on gravity to hold them in place - yep, we checked ALL of the pillars, and that's how it all was, and this is a house that's built on the side of a mountain! That was a fun and urgent restoration project. Fortunately, our neighbour is a semi-retired contractor, and he handled the project for us at cost.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

With all this water intrusion talk, I'm thinking I should trade in my house now since I may have problems down the road.

It’s like getting a catch can for your house.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

Years ago we noticed that one of the pillars holding up an overhanging room in the house was starting to tilt. We looked into it to straighten it out, and discovered that the pillar was sitting on a pad that was barely bigger than the pillar at the bottom end, and wasn't actually attached to the house at the top in; the cross beams holding supporting the house were just resting on top of the pillars and relying on gravity to hold them in place - yep, we checked ALL of the pillars, and that's how it all was, and this is a house that's built on the side of a mountain! That was a fun and urgent restoration project. Fortunately, our neighbour is a semi-retired contractor, and he handled the project for us at cost.

Yep, I see this all the time. All those typical two-storey brick house we see in the big cities (think All in the Family or King of Queens). The roof section above those front verandas are usually just resting on those wooden columns. Good thing you got it done when you did.

On this project, every single joist is attached to the drop beam with a Simpson Strong-Tie hurricane tie - each tie has five #10 Simpson structural screws in the joist and five in the beam. Overkill? Not according to Simpson, not according to Code, and not according to Duke.

 

[Jhbryaniv]

A quick update….

I managed to take care of the structural elements of the balcony. Replaced one support column and was able to use the other. I put in a 3-ply drop beam that runs the span of the entire deck, rather than rely on just the two attachment points in the original design. The inside joists support the porch ceiling with the outdoor lamp, so they had to stay. They were about 10-20% deteriorated along their top sides near the outer edge, so I sistered new joists to them. The outer rim joists are all glued and screwed. I was surprised at how thin the old hangers were and by the small gauge nails that fastened them in place. I used pressure treated lumber for anything I replaced, even though it will be completely covered and “water proof”.

I’m waiting for the city inspector to approve the structure then I can put on the floor, build a curb wall up top, and start boxing in the bottom with PT plywood. Then, I can install the flat roof, flashing, Tyvek, outer cement fibre siding and trim, and install the railings.

Surgically disassembling something so you can understand how it’s built, salvage what you can or need to, and make sure it can all go back together again is a slooooow process. The weather has been incredible and is expected to continue so I’m happy about that.

I think you need a few more bits of hardware to keep that thing together. . .

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