Is this structurally sound?
Craig Foster
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Craig Foster
last yearMark Bischak, Architect
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Pergola design/load help needed
Comments (10)thanks for some of the comments above..I've done some additional research on the web, there're company sell pergola with the same size however they use 2 thin 2x6by 16 beam for each side and 2x6 rafters as well. they assure that its structurally sound given they have extra corner post/beam, post/rafter 45 deg support bracket ...still 2x6 seemed flimsy... my revised design to see if it makes sense....use same post of 6", 2 2x8 or even 2x10x16 beam...and 2x8 rafters. Perhaps because one uses 2 beam each side, I would use 2 sets of bolt and nut through holes to hold these on... Any suggestions of using 2x8 or 2x10?, 2x10 seems bulky but don't know if 2x8 would be ok structurally. Thanks, Lad...See MoreAdvice on how much to renovate
Comments (7)Skin and bones. If the bones are good, sometimes a simple facelift will suffice. Sounds like your bones are good. If you like the cabinets but not the color, then yes to the following; prep, prime and paint. Behr is fine. If the cathedral doors bug you, you can just replace the doors. There are door resellers online, the prices are not outlandish and you could then get the style of door you like and if you want to paint, the color you like too. I don't think it's too far out of line to replace the countertop, sinks, and faucets. Changing that will bring the vanity into your design world. As far as having to change the tub because you changed the vanity top...really think about it. Can't they be independent of one another? Or are they truly tied together, as a pair? It's certainly your choice. The typical lifetime of cabinetry? As has been mentioned, if it's of decent quality it can last longer than you. Style-wise it might become outdated. Taste-wise you might not prefer it. If you listen to the designers out there who's job it is to come up with the latest and greatest trend, it'll "last" 4-6 months! But tasteful doors in an easy-on-the-eye design can actually be "in style" pretty much forever. Good stuff doesn't go out of style, whether it be modern or traditional. It's appreciated generation after generation, much to the chagrin of the trend-setters. If you did replace the tub, is there any way you could add a border of completely different tile up against the tub and keep your existing tile? It could act as an accent stripe, etc. Just sayin'...there are ways and there are ways. Sometimes you can tinker. If you plan on staying in this house for a while, then the more the current design grates at you, the more I'd encourage you to really go for what you want. Putting your imprint on something and being happy with it can brighten up your day a bit, starting each and every morning....See MoreURGENT - Foundation advice needed...(long and lots of pics)
Comments (20)Thank you to everyone and especially to Worthy for posting my pics on the "builder's only" site. That was really helpful. After reading all the comments here and on the site Worthy posted on, plus everything else I can find about foundations and foundation repair and after talking to an engineer (from another state unfortunately) who has the expertise to actually do non-destructive foundation testing, we've finally decided that our best option at this point is to go ahead and allow the builder to do the "cosmetic fix" with high-strength, non-shrinking grout and then keep our fingers crossed that no structural effects show up down the road. Turns out that appropriate non-destructive testing of the foundation is pretty much cost prohibitive for a residential project. Plus, such testing can only result in one of two outcomes: 1) A finding that there are no structural problems which means we've bought "peace of mind" at the cost of not having enough money to finish the build unless we scale back to the very most basic of finishes and leave out pretty much every detail that made this our "dream home" to start with. - ergo, we wind up with a basic tract-home quality house that was built for a high-end custom-home price and which we would never ever be able to sell for what it cost to build; or 2) A finding that there are structural problems which will cost who knows what amounts to fix and which, in theory, our builder should be liable for. Unfortunately, in the past two weeks, I have also discovered that our builder lied to us and to our bank about having appropriate insurance in place before the foundation was poured. That in itself was a total breach of our contract and fraud but no insurance company will now insure the foundation because the work done prior to coverage! Plus, it has become clear to me that despite my having checked his references - including his financial status with his bank - he is actually on very thin ice financially. I suspect his bank is actually aware of this but was less than forthcoming to me about his status. All of which means, if we found out we actually do have foundation problems, he would probably bail from the whole contract and possibly even split town! My lawyer tells me a lawsuit in that event would be throwing good money after bad because if the builder is essentially broke and had no insurance then he is pretty much judgment proof which means even if I win there would be no way to ever collect from him. So, if there are foundation problems, we would have to pay to have them fixed or sell the property - with a known bad foundation sitting on it but no house - to someone who could afford to either fix the foundation and finish the house or have it jackhammered out and start over fresh. (Can't even imagine what it would cost to jack-hammer out nearly 2000 sq ft of rebar reinforced concrete slab!) So, we have fingers crossed that there are no real structural problems and are going ahead with the build on the CHANCE that the foundation is "good enough" and we'll wind up with our dream home without losing our shirts in the process. I'm not usually a head-in-the-sand kind of person but, at this point, I don't feel I have any other viable choice. Needless to say, I am livid especially because I DID check this guy's references every which way from Sunday including checking the website of our state agency that is supposed to register and police builders. They showed him as having a clean slate but it turns out that their on-line records appear to be at least 18 months out of date because in the last two weeks I've found out about 2 major lawsuits that have been pending against him for well over a year - both of which include claims of fraud as well as whole strings of construction defects. Plus, I've found out that the county D.A. is considering bringing a grand jury on him and indicting him for criminal fraud! At this point, I'm hoping he manages to stay out of jail and not declare bankruptcy long enough to even finish my house. And in the meantime, I'm at the site every single afternoon checking every single thing that has been done that day for myself and spending half the night researching what each stage of the build SHOULD look like. Builder is still scheduling subs and directing the build but, after confronting him about his lack of insurance and the two lawsuits, he agreed that from this point on, all financial matters will be routed through me and I made d--n certain he got the requisite coverage. I have also contracted for an independent third party inspector (not ATS) to come out an do several "phase inspections" at key points in the build - although I can't imagine any other problems/defects that could be quite so potentially expensive to correct. Hopefully this nightmare won't get any worse but with all of this going on, I probably won't have much time for visiting this forum so again, thank you to everyone and I would deeply appreciate prayers, blessings, good thoughts, and/or the sending of positive karma my way....See MoreNew pool construction with rocks
Comments (1)Keeping the rocks above the waterline is a good idea since mortar can absorb water. When it freezes. water expands and can crack the mortar an stone. There are many types of stone. The harder the rock, the better. If you're looking at using Oklahoma Field Stone, I would discourage using this material with either a puck fed or salt cell system of adding chlorine. Scott...See MoreJoseph Corlett, LLC
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