The past week the framers have accomplished a great deal.
Front porch. The framers have lifted the front porch joists as far as they could. What they found is the end of the front of the building wasn't even touching the joists, but was "hanging" about 3 inches above the joists. You can see by the pictures they have wood pieces in the joist hangers, where they shimmed as they lifted the front.
Unfortunately, with the current condition of the beams and where the previous owner spliced in new beams, the building cannot be jacked up further. If the framers kept lifting, where the new wood was joined to the old wood would break under the weight. Looking at the architectural drawings that were submitted to the city at the time this area was repaired, it becomes apparent that the engineer improperly drew the real structure and the work was done improperly.
My architect confirmed this. So, the plan is to replace the critical beams over the front door and the beams going to the main porch supports with laminate beams (which are like steel). All the joints will be sistered with laminate. The whole structure then can be lifted.
Over the 6 years I've owned the building, I felt the front of the house was still sinking and not stable. Primarily because of the new cracks that had been appearing. I knew when I did the restoration, this structural issue would have to be addressed. Also, since the pitch downward had not been corrected, the front of the porch pitched up from the house -- not a good situation -- and the porch consistently leaked where the 2nd floor wall met the porch roof, because there was a valley there. Unfortunately, this was true, because the work done previously was a jury-rigged affair, and the choice to put the new wood into the old, obviously rotted beams was a poor one.
The framers are going to wait to tackle the front porch until my engineer completes drawings to calculate the load and type of framing required. When my engineer looked at the porch, the issue is the weight of the house is over this huge span ... about 20 feet. Definitely will need engineered lumber.
The framers also created the opening for the new stairway from the 2nd to 3rd floor. They installed 2 laminate beams sistered together to a main beam located in the arch over the 2nd floor and installed the arches on the 3rd floor to open up the existing great room into two previous bedroms, to create an even large event space. The plan is to trim the new arches like the trim on the 1st floor entry hall arches.
Front porch. The framers have lifted the front porch joists as far as they could. What they found is the end of the front of the building wasn't even touching the joists, but was "hanging" about 3 inches above the joists. You can see by the pictures they have wood pieces in the joist hangers, where they shimmed as they lifted the front.
Unfortunately, with the current condition of the beams and where the previous owner spliced in new beams, the building cannot be jacked up further. If the framers kept lifting, where the new wood was joined to the old wood would break under the weight. Looking at the architectural drawings that were submitted to the city at the time this area was repaired, it becomes apparent that the engineer improperly drew the real structure and the work was done improperly.
My architect confirmed this. So, the plan is to replace the critical beams over the front door and the beams going to the main porch supports with laminate beams (which are like steel). All the joints will be sistered with laminate. The whole structure then can be lifted.
Over the 6 years I've owned the building, I felt the front of the house was still sinking and not stable. Primarily because of the new cracks that had been appearing. I knew when I did the restoration, this structural issue would have to be addressed. Also, since the pitch downward had not been corrected, the front of the porch pitched up from the house -- not a good situation -- and the porch consistently leaked where the 2nd floor wall met the porch roof, because there was a valley there. Unfortunately, this was true, because the work done previously was a jury-rigged affair, and the choice to put the new wood into the old, obviously rotted beams was a poor one.
The framers are going to wait to tackle the front porch until my engineer completes drawings to calculate the load and type of framing required. When my engineer looked at the porch, the issue is the weight of the house is over this huge span ... about 20 feet. Definitely will need engineered lumber.
The framers also created the opening for the new stairway from the 2nd to 3rd floor. They installed 2 laminate beams sistered together to a main beam located in the arch over the 2nd floor and installed the arches on the 3rd floor to open up the existing great room into two previous bedroms, to create an even large event space. The plan is to trim the new arches like the trim on the 1st floor entry hall arches.
1 comment:
Olive,
Good for you, you are taking your time and doing things right. I am sure people will flock to this Inn once you open. Next time I am in NJ I will try and drop in.
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