(Do you need braces for the floor joists? Ideally, the sheathing should provide the compression chord bracing, I guess in an uplift scenario you need bottom chord bracing, but that depends on the design wind speed in the area. Some form of solid blocking at mid-span or third spans would likely...
(A standoff base and reasonably good waterproofing detailing should buy you 25-50 years of life (neglecting termites as they are highly location dependent).) We don't have Termites around here - yet. But I've using Stainless Steel Termite Mesh, anyways. CLICK HERE Contrary to the Web Site's...
Stud-Walls - yes, a sensible choice. Nothing wrong with them. But the large timbers and joinery visible inside will be much more attractive to my eyes.
And I like doing something different; something interesting to me. It's just for myself, and I want to enjoy the experience.
For example...
Keep in mind that as time passes, if your wooden elements keep dry, they will shrink and your initially tight connections will be loose. This will exacerbate the situation.
With a lip of Steel Welded underneath the Wooden Beam, you'd be so much better off.
If you must use Drawing #1 or #2, drill only the two LOWER HOLES into the wood, and for #2 use an L-Bracket on both sides so as to minimize the TWISTING that Drawing #2 introduces.
Honestly, both Drawings concern me a lot if you're using Sawn Lumber.
As others have said, I believe both solutions are problematic as you are relying on a very small area presented to the wood by the top of each screw or bolt.
The chance of the wood splitting and failing catastrophically is too great.
You really need some steel UNDER the wood. The Screws/Bolts...
I think you're right - that if the base of the Column gets wet, it will rot. The Simpson products, ultimately, will not prevent rot - though they may slow it considerably. And that no metal, nor resin, will stop rot if the wood is still getting wet. For that matter, when the zinc coating wears...
I will be using Simpson (or Simpson-Style) Hangers on the connections between the Rim Joists and Floor Joists (both likely by Weyerhaeuser), so I'm not adverse to them. I expect I'll be using many overhead.
On the Foundation, however, I'm looking for an extreme solution. We don't get High Winds...
I've got a 20' X 22' poured Concrete Foundation in my backyard. It's very strong; very stable; and has cured for 20 years. I had planned to built a 2-1/2 story Post-and-Beam Addition, but time flies, and needs change.
My new plans are to built a nice Deck over it, with Storage underneath. The...
