Sagging Roof

I was looking at a home inspection book that it had a picture of a structure that had several distinct problems. The roof had peaks at each gable end and a sway back in the middle. It also had bulging walls. This turned out to be a symptom of missing ceiling joists, or collar ties which prevent this from happening. That was when it struck me that I had seen a structure just like it on a project I was in the middle of.

Sway Back Garage

I have seen multiple examples of bowing walls and collapsing gables, usually where work has been done without a permit.

The pattern goes something like this: “Hey, wouldn’t it be great if we opened up the ceiling and created a loft or vaulted area? We have all that wasted space above our ceiling.”

Structurally, the components that are being removed must be replaced to keep things together – or the roof, as well as the walls, will splay over time. At one home I was inspecting for a friend who was looking to buy, a 2 car garage had been converted into a guest house and during the remodel had had it’s ceiling joists removed to create a nice high ceiling. The only problem was that, although folks had lived in the space for some time, it was an accident ready to happen, I got the creeps and could not stay inside once I realized what they had done.

Bowed Wall

In another home, the ceiling joists had been removed from the front room, which created a nice half vault. However, the entire front of the home was bowing out towards the street and the roof line had a large sag in it. For starters, removing the ceiling joists will cause over spanning and sagging of the 2×6 or 2×8 roof rafters, and the wall then loose its top anchoring component.

Other problems are created as well, especially with lack of insulation. Unless you fill the entire 2×6 joist with closed cell foam and perhaps add an additional layer of foam board insulation, there is no way to achieve the R-38 insulation factor required. Because of that, tremendous heat loss and gain occurs over the seasons.

I have created several attic upgrades. In each case, a structural engineer has verified that the project was a sound idea, then used extremely efficient insulation to create a true thermal break.

Although it is not common to hear reports of building collapse, it is note worthy that not taking structural integrity will lead to a catastrophic failure of a structure one of these days. All it will take is a little tremor for those houses of cards to come tumbling down.

All of Levco’s work is verified by structural engineering experts to be structurally sound and done with proper city building permits.

Disclaimer: Some of these images came from the WEB. If they are yours, and you object to them being used, please claim them and I will gladly remove and replace them at once.

2009 IRC

As of January 1st 2011 Boise City along with all of the other jurisdictions that adopt building codes, followed the states lead and adopted parts of the 2009 IRC international Residential Building Code. The last code was the 2006 IRC which was implemented in the same year. Plumbers use their own code 2003 UPC and electricians use their own code 2008 UEC, there are fire codes, mechanical codes, and energy codes to navigate as well. Thankfully the inspectors in this city are fantastic. As long as it is clear that they are not the enemy, they do a great job of mentoring. Why they all don’t use the same one is a bit of a mystery to me, that is another story.

Us remodelers got spared most of the changes the new construction companies are subjected to, many of which involve mechanical things like ducting and proper sizing oh HVAC systems. In fact the HVAC contractors were pretty worried about all of the things they have to be responsible for. It includes blower door testing for new homes. Seems the government wants us to have much more energy efficient homes. You can read all of the updates here or see the Boise City website for updated documents and requirements.

Areas that effect Levco include framing upgrades and lots about trusses. Including Carbon Monoxide detectors outside of bedrooms along with smoke detectors. Thankfully there are some good dual acting units on the market now. All in all I am seeing some strong progress in the insulation division as well as mandating energy efficiency as well as eliminating heat loss through shabby workmanship.

Boise City also requires us to install egress size windows when possible whenever changing out windows in bedrooms. This includes above ground applications.

Oldies but goodies

As far as plumbing is concerned I discovered something that bares a mention. I was under the mistaken belief that toilets that are the old high water 3GPF (Gallons Per Flush) usage were outlawed. “RONG” sort of. They are outlawed to be manufactured so they are essentially no longer available. This means you can’t install them in new residents… If you pull one out however, and relocate it or want to reinstall it… you are allowed to reuse it. The question that comes to mind is why you would want to n light of the water savings provided by the newer technology.

The truth is the the 1.6 GPF ones are working fantastically now and they are perfecting even more water conscious ones that work well. Initially they had problems clearing the tank and there was concern that there was not enough water flowing to keep material headed towards the sewage treatment plants. Turns out that was a myth. I just saw a .8 GPF toilet for sale at the supply house. Don’t forget the dual flushers, we just installed some that use .8 GPF for liquids and 1.6 GPF for solids and the report is that they can handle the business.

Special thanks to Perry E Paine for helping with this post

Plans Examiner II
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Floor joists TJI's

This is the fun stuff, At Levco we blast through the rough framing with gusto. Pat and his crew impressed us all by working in between storms to set the floor walls and trusses. It is a little known fact that framing techniques although similar have improved in recent years with the advent of Green Building Techniques. We do different corners than we used to. This allows for better insulation and less thermal bridging.

Eye in the sky

Possibly the coolest thing that happened is that we got an aerial shot of the project in progress, you never know who is watching. I always warn my crews to keep on the lookout for low flying helicopters. As far as the speed of framing goes, don’t be fooled, we give careful attention to detail and assurances that we are always level and plumb. Extra attention is used to ensure that headers and floor joists are made of engineered lumber when possible

Ta Da

This includes using OSB sheathing, and OSB sub-floor. Manufactured trusses makes for a straight and strong end product. This phase went so quickly I had to rely on the owner to get some photos for me. In the end everyone wins when we use advanced materials and techniques to construct our remodeling projects. Sure no one ever sees behind the Sheetrock again but it is these and other minor details that make us proud of what we do.

Truck Repairs

To access the downstairs, Levco needed to add stairs right where a large original foundation wall was. Our plan was to use the concrete chain saw to make the cuts ourselves. Diane assessed the situation and it became clear that a gas powered device used inside no matter how much ventilation is used is dangerous.

Cutting Concrete

We contacted A-Core our specialty sub contractor that used truck mounted hydraulic saw to do the dirty work. After a brief interruption for truck repairs the job was completed and the stairs were installed.

New Stairs

Gaining access to the basement meant no more ladders and time to clean up the place.

This project includes two new additions and a 2 car garage addition. Framing on new

foundations is akin to building a new home. at Levco It is easier and quicker, the progress is truly hard to document because we can put up a structure in a day. Here is the beginning of the kitchen addition and the roof of the garage.

As the walls go up and the structure is sheeted we also placed the roofing underlayment to protect the materials from the weather. This is probably the most exciting part of construction. If you don’t see the project for a day you cant help but be amazed by the progress. At this point we are on schedule and there have been no serious surprises. We were lucky to have the weather improving gradually during this phase. We use engineered lumber TGI’s for the roof structure and headers for a number of reasons including strength over span and it is a green building technique for resource conservation rather than using dimensional lumber from larger trees. You can see we use 2 x 6 construction on walls for new construction to improve our R value another green  building technique.

Improperly framed arch

Framing in an older home is challenging to say the least. We study the existing conditions and make a plan of action based upon the new codes and structural knowledge of the materials that are available to us now. New metal connectors and straps help as well as engineered lumber to keep the look of the old home and allow for more open spaces with long beams.

Properly framed arch

Often re- framing old components is necessary because although they worked for years… they were not properly attached or supported. such was the case in the living room arch

Mixing the old and new

We needed to improve the structure and add the charm back in when it was too difficult to remove the lathe and plaster. Sheetrock will cover the new structures with ease. We also blended new framing in with the old as it was unnecessary to take the entire structure down. In the studio we reconstructed the same design of the parapet wall of the home and carried it through. This project has a nice mixture of old and new construction. It is amazing how much faster the new 2 car garage went up compared to the reworking of the existing structure.