Ok, so my firm has been holding its own. When the day is done, there is still outstanding work that needs to be finished. We like coming to work; we lament about not having enough but we are thankful for what we’ve got.
We’ve been getting more “one-off” projects these days. By “one-off” I mean those kinds of projects that are well beyond anything we’ve seen before. One example we’re scratching our heads over now is a “re”-relocation of an old church building to another site in a historic district. On that one, it’s a framing question: the building was originally constructed about 125 years ago. It was brought to the current site about 25 years ago but it needs to be moved down the road now, hopefully to its permanent idyllic site. The building is wood frame, approximately 28’ x 44’ and, of course, has actual size lumber (so Simpson connectors are much harder to use for foundation anchoring).
The part we’ve never seen is that the long centerline of the building is bearing, as the lumber used to frame the floor is approximately 14’ long. Ok, for the tricky part – the floor joists do not frame on top of or into the side of a beam of any sort. They just rest on top of a 2x8 laid on its side. Oh, the perimeter beam is 4x6, all the 2x8 floor joists are notched for bearing on the perimeter beam.
So my question here is, “When you’ve never seen a particular condition before, how do you go about solving it?” Obviously my approach is to a) research the known or determinable factors, b) define what the issue or problem is, c) find resources (people, vendors, engineers, whatever) who might have insight, d) work to the answer.
I admit, sometimes I just sit at my desk staring out the window waiting for the divine inspiration on where to look for the answer…How 'bout you?
- Lisa Stacholy, AIA
Comments (4)
Hi Lisa,
I too, am a sole practitioner and run into some strange stuff. There are a few things that would help me better understand the issues at hand. You said that you are in contact with the last mover. That's a big plus. You didn't say if the church is going to have crawl space, or full basement foundation. Either way, the simple and low-cost solution for improving the floor strength/deflection is to install purloins at the mid-span of the joists. Having a cross section would help, but that's what comes to mind without more information.
Hope this helps. Let me know if i can help in any way.
Posted by Denis Dunderdale, AIA | March 12, 2010 5:12 PM
Posted on March 12, 2010 17:12
Mark:
Is "all of the above" a choice for concern? (LOL). Actually I have talked to the building mover; he was the original gentleman who move the structure 25+ years ago (Wealth of information!).
Turns out, the existing floor joists were hand hewn, so the "construction tolerances" aren't as tight; No lumber yard provided with wood.
I'll bet the southern pine of 100+ years ago has strength in excess of contemporary wood/span tables.
In the final location, the building will become "assembly occupancy" so new requirements are in place. We've decided to sister up joists to meet live load requirements.
Posted by Lisa Stacholy | March 9, 2010 2:40 PM
Posted on March 9, 2010 14:40
As a young sole-proprietor (36), I am constantly encountering things I have never seen before! Sometimes I have to refer potential clients to others, which is difficult as I cannot afford to turn down work! But my favorite things about my career are variety and the opportunity to do research on different things. That research allows me to connect with colleagues in ways I might not connect as a sole-proprietor. Overall, I really miss being on a team and business is very slow. So I am seeking to join a bigger picture again which I look forward to. But I hope the new post will still provide me with the opportunity to explore new things!
Posted by Tom Fallon | March 3, 2010 5:36 PM
Posted on March 3, 2010 17:36
Hi Lisa, older buildings were many times assembled with a limited understanding of why somethngs are done a certain way. Most especially in small communities with little more than "local experience" Maybe 14ft joists were all the local lumber yard or mill had and the building was already started. It happend more than you might guess! I think I can visualize the condition, but am not certain.
You do not say whether you concern is more in moving or for final location construction and support. If it is moving, do you know who moved it before and how they did it. If it is after relocating, and if you do not want to rebuild the floor construction, you may have to figure out a way to "supplement" the existing floor framing. Is there a way you could email me a sketch of the cross section so that I can better see what you are dealing with.
As a side note, as a mfg of building materials, we are also seeing more jobs of a peculiar nature/ one off type work. Mainstream work is way on a back burner almost everywhere.
Take care and good luck!!
Mark Mundorff
Mapes Industries
Lincoln Ne
Posted by mark mundorff | March 2, 2010 4:48 PM
Posted on March 2, 2010 16:48