nealtw
Contractor retired
The probem with the contractors are the real good ones will be reluctant to get involved in the middle of the job and want an engineer to write the instruction or you find another like the one you had.
The probem with the contractors are the real good ones will be reluctant to get involved in the middle of the job and want an engineer to write the instruction or you find another like the one you had.
"I wish i could get past this structual stuff already and into the finish work though where i have plenty more experience. I have done tons of tile work, hardwood flooring ,drywalling,furniture building etc and damn good at that stuff. "
Wait till you realize how much mold is coming off the wood. When you see black looking wood it means it's rotten, you can hit it with a hammer and hear the hollow sound too. Not only is it weak structurally, it's toxic. The black mold can be really bad for allergies, the wood
In your last photo it appears a heavy beam running the length of the building on the outside wall. Is that correct?
NYSandyVictim
I have been reading this thread all along and havent posted as you were getting good advice from others. I have gutted and rebuilt a couple of homes as old as yours or older and Im also a tool maker by trade and a designer now so we have something in common. I cant offer a great deal of technical information beyond what you are being given, but I can offer support as I know how a big project working mostly alone will wear you down, and working at the same time at a regular job and doing this part time takes a toll on you mentally and physically. From what I see in your photos you are making real progress and the work you are doing looks a lot better than the so called contractor you had. Its a real shame people are taking advantage of a bad situation for so many people like that.
What you need is constructive help with the problems at hand and overall support for what you are going thru doing the project. What you dont need is suggestions of problems you might or might not have down the road without any suggestion of what to do about them. The house Im ripping apart over the last 6 months is a circa 1900 thats been standing strong for well over 100 years and the framing is dirty and black and dry. And when I cut into it its just like yours as solid and hard as the day it was erected. When you get a whiff of that pine smell when sawing, I always take it in as its a sign of the good old strong bones your building has still.
You are taking all the correct steps and when you are done you will have something to really be proud of. During the process you need to stay focused on the rest of life and the truly important stuff like family and health also. It becomes a battle about time and not having enough of it and when you get a free couple hours we view it as I could get this or that done on the project. I find it hard to force myself away to just do something removed from the project like dinner or a movie with a special person, but you need to do that and come back with fresh body and ideas.
I have been working on this latest house with my girlfriends grandfather in his 80s and a retired toolmaker and home builder. He has a saying he keeps saying each time we get a little step done he says Every little thing makes it better. After hearing that about a thousand time when Im working alone I find myself saying it.
If I lived closer I would hope I would come over and offer a hand. Good luck I will keep reading as I find this thread very inspirational as Im sure many others do as well.
Bud
Yup 6x6 sill beam running down the sides of the house that joists sit on . It has 16" wooden piers holding it up every 12' and a cinderblock wall between pier spans.
No I ment above the wall, is that a beam above the header over the window?
That beam seems to be doing all the work of a header, I would double up the studs on each side of the window and don't worry about the header over the window and just rip the junk out.
Here we would be required to cut and fit solid blocking in the rim joist area and then solid blocking between the studs at the floor level. Rim blocks for earth quakes so they don't lay over and stud bay blocks for firestopping. We usually see bat insulation under the floor, no vapour barrier as the plywood is a solid surface and the other side wants to breath. They often have chicken wire to hold it up and keep critters out.
We also see solid foam cut to pressure fit and sealed with some special glue or caulking, that might work for you but is would want to be installed so it is in contact with the plywood when your done. tricky but not impossible I guess. Thoughts??
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