Home Improvement Stack Exchange
Home Improvement Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [building]

89 questions
18
votes
10 answers

Could a layman build a house from plans?

i am looking at pre-made architectural house plans on the Internet ranging from 300 to 800 square feet, some multi-level. I have no housebuilding experience. I don't imagine many of the millennials for which these are designed do.. I'm not even an…
DVCITIS
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13
votes
5 answers

How to stop a wall from falling

My Beloved Barn roof has almost gone and, without the money to repair it, I had to let it go. This has meant the walls have started to go and, as you can see from the picture, half the front part has gone. I now have to protect the road from debris…
Jason K
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8
votes
4 answers

Bridging one deck joist over a formal pond

I have built a small formal pond out of concrete block. I have also constructed a deck frame which part crosses the formal pond. Visually, I intended for it to appear that the water disappeared away under the deck. There are 4 joists for the…
Chris Evans
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5
votes
4 answers

Is framing with screws legal?

A friend used trim head screws for ALL of the 2x4 framing (including the outer walls) of his 2400 sq. ft. house. The house uses 8x8s to carry the load; none of the 2x4 framing is load bearing. The inspector did not see a problem with it (but maybe…
Ben Welborn
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4
votes
2 answers

Is stacking material under an I-Beam to make it level structurally sound and passing code?

Saw this in my new home construction, I am concerned, wondering if this is common. Thanks!
bladefist
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3
votes
0 answers

Can the parties who sign a building permit be liable in any way, shape or form of water damage to a building?

Suppose you have a condo building. That condo building was built 10 years ago. The statutes of limitations is only good for 6 years (for negligence purposes). There is water damage to the condo's exterior, and was discovered 10 years after…
Entree
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3
votes
1 answer

Do we need to put cement on all sides of bricks when building house walls?

I have started building walls on my house and I have noticed that the builder in the third row just put the bricks next to each other without any cement in between at all? just to note the first three rows will be filed with sand inside. I am not…
Madian Malfi
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3
votes
2 answers

How to drain grey water in clay ground in safe and secured manner

I have a building which sits on top of clay ground so I couldn't soak away the grey water. I explored solutions like leechfield,soakaway,cement ring well but all fails in clay ground. I'd like some insights on how to handle the grey water coming…
CuriousMan
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3
votes
2 answers

Fixing very old, very undersized ceiling joists

I own a 24x60' uninsulated building that's about 100 years old. The roof is matched 2x4 rafters (no ridge board) with 2x4 ceiling joist (technically rafter ties I guess). As you can imagine, the joists are sagging quite substantially. Previous…
Jack Baker
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3
votes
1 answer

Ridge Beam Crack?

My wife and I are roofing our home, we are retired and living on a budget. I came across a rather deep and long crack on what I believe is the ridge beam and I am wondering if it's something I should be overly concerned about. Thank you for your…
J MP
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3
votes
0 answers

What is this noise from next door?

There’s a strange mechanical whirr coming from the building next door. It buzzes every four minutes. Listen here: https://clyp.it/3qwn1qhc We keep the windows open in our bedroom during the winter so this is been wreaking havoc on our sleep. More…
joeforyou
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2
votes
0 answers

Power & Cables to outside workshop

(I am in the UK so UK Regulations apply) I want to run mains power from my (new) house to an outside workshop, a cable length of about 50m. The workshop will have its own separate consumer. I also need to run a number of other cables from the house…
Adrian
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2
votes
1 answer

How can I build a permanent shelter in very remote area?

I can haul material with large 4 wheel ATV. Was thinking about one of those 7x7 resin sheds, but want to explore less expensive options for a camp get-away on property I own. 3 season use, but only for a few days at a time, including sleeping. I…
House DiY
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2
votes
1 answer

Should columns supporting a beam be fastened to the floor?

I am trying to take down a load bearing wall and have had an engineer draw plans and advise I use a steel beam and columns to support the floor above. Do I need something to secure the columns to the floor so they do not move or can the rest direct…
Seamusthedog
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2
votes
3 answers

Running EMT conduit through soffit into attic

I am running a couple of new circuits to the bathroom which will involve running THHN wires through the emt conduit. The problem is that my panel is on the exterior wall and the conduit will need to enter the attic space. It was suggested that I…
cryptic0
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