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Hi everyone, I encountered this under a basement of a house, kver 40 years old. There is a gap that appears to be consistent under the whole concrete basement slab. This is kne foot deep under the slab soffit. The grade under it is almost flat. Concrete footing surface along on the perimeter...

Hi everyone, I saw this detail in one residential buildings in Ontario. It's a concrete footing of a tube steel column. The footing is located under the concrete slab in the basement. Between the slab and the footing, gravel was placed. Why wasn't the footing poured right at the slab level...

Hi everyone, We have a situation where the wood floor joists are not bearing on an LVL beam. The contractor suggested that the gap between the joists and the LVL be filled by shimming 3 plies of 2x4s. The 2x4s will be stacked one abkve the next one, where the smaller dimension (1.5 inch) will...

Hi everyone, I reviewed a residential house last week in Ontario and I noted that not a single tube steel column in the basement is anchored to the footing (where footing or concrete piers were visible, or as construction photos show). The contractor is arguing that he consulted with an...

Hi everyone, I have a situation very similar to the attached photo. A wood deck post is significantly off centred, and was installed right at the edge of the sono tube. How problematic is this? I know some footings can be eccentrically loaded, but this is a small sono tube, so calculating...

Hi everyone, Guidelines, related to construction vibration monitoring, present maximum allowed values for vibration parameters. However, these guidelines do not show how to look at the vi ration monitoring data and how to interpret them. Anybody has got samples of vibration monitoring data...

Hi everyone, I encountered wood joists which their actual size is 1.5 by 9 inch (exactly). They are SPF No.2. Why does it measure this way and how would these joists be checked using the building code tables? Would these be considered deficient 2x10? Or buffed 2x8?

Hi everyone, What's the maximum acceptable moisture content (humidity) of granular fill under concrete slab on-grade? I know it may differ from code to code, but what's generally the maximum that we shouldn't accept?

Hi everyone, I have this existing building with above-grade exterior concrete block walls and steel columns. The steel columns werr not air sealed and you can feel air draft through at the web and flange corner. The attached sketch illustrate the situation. How do I air seal the gaps between...

Hi, Most resources differentiate between structural metal stud walls, and non-structural 'interior' walls. What about exterior walls that have metal stud framing but is non-structural framing? What standards apply to these? What gauge, bracing, etc.? Can you please refer or provide me with...

Hi All, This is a widely debated topic and I apologies if I'm repeating any similar conversations happened in the past. How would you deal with rusted and corroded metal studs? By rusted I mean it's not as deep as corroded, and corroded is obvious. Will you clean and coat studs or will you...

Hi everyone, What is your opinion on making a pedestrian traffic coating upturn (elastomeric waterproofing) on a solid masonry brick wall? The wall is an exterior wall of a building (occupied). I know that solid masonry walls have no weep holes, but my concern is the bond between the...

Hi everyone, I have a suspended floor that appears to be very thin, so vibrations due to walking are annoying. Designing dampers for relatively small buildings could be expensive and the floor is office area and cannot be divided by walls. What other solutions could be contemplated to reduce...

Hi everyone, Does wood-framed wall assembly required waterproofing membrane? Some argue that the air barrier will provide water-tightness. However, the effect of this barrier waterproofing efficiency is debated, if not refuted. Some others argue that the sheathing grade plywood glue is...

Hi everyone, I have a situation where a footing of a home storage room pillar is missing. The pillar is located at the end of a stud wall. The stud wall has footing which ends just before the pillar, leaving the latter with no footing. What do you suggest to correct this? The concern is...

Hello everyone, How would you replace a garage door header which was damaged by a car impact considering there is an exterior wall above the header? The header should be replaced. How would you temporarily support the wall above it until replacementis complete? Please refer to the sketch as a...

Hi, Do you think that visual investigation of roof trusses / frame accessed through the attic can identify all damages, twists and plate defects caused by, say, a tree impact that badly affected the roof? Do you think that such an examination in dark and restricted movement conditions, and in...

Hi, Should we account for snow drift load from the higher roof (house) on the porch roof when the higher roof (house roof) slopes to the other sides away from the lower roof (not towards the lower roof)?

Hi, In most garages I review, I see that the builder had constructed the header beam (LVL or double-ply sawn) just under the roof frame but above the cripples (the 1~2 feet high studs above the garage door). This is definitely not right as the beam should be the lowest component, working as a...

Hi, Can you please refer me to books on the behavior and conceptual design of wood-framed houses? Not framing books for people who wanna build their houses, and not books conclosive on individual wood components design. I am looking for design of whole buildings covering conceptual design. I...