Best Of
Re: Home Ownership And You!
You installing structural plates with decking screws or am I looking at this wrong 👀
Nvm I see you are using simspon sdw
Carry on!
No, I made sure to use the correct hardware. My dad had the stainless steel framing nails leftover from a deck he built a few years ago. The rest of the hardware was bought new. The structural connector plates are all Simpson Strong Tie Z-Max stuff and the SDWS fasteners was about $750 alone. With the hardware for the deck boards I had to repair and re-hanging the railings and the 2.25" stainless framing nails for the blocking, I was, like, $20 shy of a thousand bucks for just hardware alone. If I had to buy the 3.25" stainless framing nails, I would be $1500 in to it for hardware.
It makes a big difference because those Simspon fasteners will not just screw stuff together, they will clamp it down too so the glue joints on my "laminated" posts are all tight.
The old posts would ring like bells and vibrate the porch floor if you hit them.
The new posts...they go thud and that's it. No vibrating floors, no shimmying or ringing. Just thud. Even just smacking it to say "That ain't goin' no where!" is unreal with how solid they are.
Also, previously, you could see how the "beams" were off and not level. I checked everything with a 24 inch level and a 6 foot level and now every single "beam" is within a sixteenth of an inch of being true and every post is within a sixteenth of an inch of being true as well.
Jstas
1 ·
Re: Home Ownership And You!
What I figured out about the 4x6 based columns is that I could span the entire width of the "beam". But, when I pulled the flashing down and realized that the "beam" was a C-channel, the only thing holding the C from collapsing in on itself was the porch columns. To be able to pull the columns out and not have the column collapse...it was very difficult and a HUGE safety concern 'cause I had no idea how it would shift and that's a lot of roof to come down on my head. So I decided to cut the posts flush with the Sawzall and leave them in place and I would block them in with 2x6 blocking.
Then I cut the porch decking away and found that the deck framing was heavily lap-jointed into the 6x6's.
That's no big deal, the porch framing is 2x10's with 2x8 joists between the sections, kinda overbuilt but fine be me! But, remember when I said I knew why the porch supports didn't extend from the concrete footer all the way up to the roof? This is why. The porch deck was built by someone who knew what they were doing and they did an excellent job. The porch roof was built by someone who didn't really know and it was put on AFTER the porch was built. 'Cause I can't fathom that the guy who built the deck would have wanted to be anywhere near associated with the clusterf... Yeah, I digress.
So the only problem with the framing being lap jointed was, I got myself Simpson Strong Tie post joining brackets. I didn't see how any other kind of bracket would work here but it was going to be hard to secure the bracket to the framing because of how the holes were oriented.
The fix was to cut footer plates from 2x6's and nail them in with more stainless steel nails to the framing so they wouldn't shift around. Using a plumb bob hung from a nail, I found where the outside edge of the "beam" was and then measured the 8.5 inches back and cut the floor out so that when the new post was in, we knew where it had to sit so it wasn't sitting proud of the outside of the "beam" and was supporting the whole "beam" front to back and side to side.
Once those were secure, the post connection bracket was screwed down with more Simpson SDWS Framing Screws.
Then, the new post was cut to length and put in place and trued up
The bottom connector was screwed in to place on each side with the framing screws. Then at the top, I used more Simpson Strong Tie beam to post anchors on the front and back of the beam and they were secured with the Framing Screws as well.
We followed that process for each post. Brian helped me on day 1 and we were only able to get 4 done, figuring out the first one and getting set up took a couple hours but once we had it down, it took 45 minutes per post for the two of us working together. The next day I wanted to continue. Brian couldn't be around to help and the Beer and Pizza Brigade was no where to be found. So my 70-75 year old parents came to help me with the small stuff and holding things for me. I got 2 more posts done the next day. Then the next Saturday, Brian came back and we knocked out the last 4 in about 5 hours, the one corner post by the wide stairs needed some extra work.
The railings were a pain to remove because the posts we rotted and we I was trying not to destroy the vinyl by just prying them out so I could put them back up. I won't be able to do pretty work until Spring so I needed them in one piece to put back up so the town inspector and the insurance company didn't lose their **** on me.
In total about 22 hours of work from building the posts to installing and repairing everything. Had a hospital visit and injured my left foot to the point where I still can't walk due to the tendon injury but it's healing. It's done, though and the pretty work won't be anywhere near as heavy of a physical lift
It was none too soon too as this was the condition of the posts as we were taking them down. If I tossed a post on the lawn, it would explode in fractures at the finger joints. Even just laying them down gently they would crack and fail. That was what was holding up the porch for 20 some odd years and I really don't think they would have lasted through the winter.
That was, by far, the heaviest lift of any home improvement project I've ever done and I've done some real unhinged stuff to houses, sheds, garages and pools. Never a structural repair like that though.
I was told by a few professionals that they wouldn't want to take the job on and I was nuts for tackling it myself hence the reason I did it myself. I'm pretty sure I was over-quoted too as a way to say "I'm not doing this job" without saying "Sorry, bro, yer eff'ed!". Another friend who does custom houses called me up after he saw the pictures and said he wanted to come by. When he got here and looked at everything we did and listened to all the answers I gave him on his questions he said to me "Yo, you and your boy Brian want jobs?" I blew it off as just flattery and turned to go put the ladder we were using away. He grabs my shoulder and says "No, I'm serious. I have a crew of as many 20 guys at times and I'd fire them all for just 3 Brians and 3 Johns. If you ever need work, just call me. I'll have you on payroll and in charge of a team of chuckleheads before you hang up the phone. And! And the best part is, I've seen your finish work and you're better than anybody I can get to work right now! We'd have work for you. As much as you want, just call, dude." So that was kinda nice.
Then I cut the porch decking away and found that the deck framing was heavily lap-jointed into the 6x6's.
That's no big deal, the porch framing is 2x10's with 2x8 joists between the sections, kinda overbuilt but fine be me! But, remember when I said I knew why the porch supports didn't extend from the concrete footer all the way up to the roof? This is why. The porch deck was built by someone who knew what they were doing and they did an excellent job. The porch roof was built by someone who didn't really know and it was put on AFTER the porch was built. 'Cause I can't fathom that the guy who built the deck would have wanted to be anywhere near associated with the clusterf... Yeah, I digress.
So the only problem with the framing being lap jointed was, I got myself Simpson Strong Tie post joining brackets. I didn't see how any other kind of bracket would work here but it was going to be hard to secure the bracket to the framing because of how the holes were oriented.
The fix was to cut footer plates from 2x6's and nail them in with more stainless steel nails to the framing so they wouldn't shift around. Using a plumb bob hung from a nail, I found where the outside edge of the "beam" was and then measured the 8.5 inches back and cut the floor out so that when the new post was in, we knew where it had to sit so it wasn't sitting proud of the outside of the "beam" and was supporting the whole "beam" front to back and side to side.
Once those were secure, the post connection bracket was screwed down with more Simpson SDWS Framing Screws.
Then, the new post was cut to length and put in place and trued up
The bottom connector was screwed in to place on each side with the framing screws. Then at the top, I used more Simpson Strong Tie beam to post anchors on the front and back of the beam and they were secured with the Framing Screws as well.
We followed that process for each post. Brian helped me on day 1 and we were only able to get 4 done, figuring out the first one and getting set up took a couple hours but once we had it down, it took 45 minutes per post for the two of us working together. The next day I wanted to continue. Brian couldn't be around to help and the Beer and Pizza Brigade was no where to be found. So my 70-75 year old parents came to help me with the small stuff and holding things for me. I got 2 more posts done the next day. Then the next Saturday, Brian came back and we knocked out the last 4 in about 5 hours, the one corner post by the wide stairs needed some extra work.
The railings were a pain to remove because the posts we rotted and we I was trying not to destroy the vinyl by just prying them out so I could put them back up. I won't be able to do pretty work until Spring so I needed them in one piece to put back up so the town inspector and the insurance company didn't lose their **** on me.
In total about 22 hours of work from building the posts to installing and repairing everything. Had a hospital visit and injured my left foot to the point where I still can't walk due to the tendon injury but it's healing. It's done, though and the pretty work won't be anywhere near as heavy of a physical lift
It was none too soon too as this was the condition of the posts as we were taking them down. If I tossed a post on the lawn, it would explode in fractures at the finger joints. Even just laying them down gently they would crack and fail. That was what was holding up the porch for 20 some odd years and I really don't think they would have lasted through the winter.
That was, by far, the heaviest lift of any home improvement project I've ever done and I've done some real unhinged stuff to houses, sheds, garages and pools. Never a structural repair like that though.
I was told by a few professionals that they wouldn't want to take the job on and I was nuts for tackling it myself hence the reason I did it myself. I'm pretty sure I was over-quoted too as a way to say "I'm not doing this job" without saying "Sorry, bro, yer eff'ed!". Another friend who does custom houses called me up after he saw the pictures and said he wanted to come by. When he got here and looked at everything we did and listened to all the answers I gave him on his questions he said to me "Yo, you and your boy Brian want jobs?" I blew it off as just flattery and turned to go put the ladder we were using away. He grabs my shoulder and says "No, I'm serious. I have a crew of as many 20 guys at times and I'd fire them all for just 3 Brians and 3 Johns. If you ever need work, just call me. I'll have you on payroll and in charge of a team of chuckleheads before you hang up the phone. And! And the best part is, I've seen your finish work and you're better than anybody I can get to work right now! We'd have work for you. As much as you want, just call, dude." So that was kinda nice.
Jstas
2 ·
Re: Post a picture.....any picture...part deux...
And illustrated!mhardy6647 wrote: »Love and Marriage 062 - Sexology - 1909.11.20 by Johnny El-Rady, on Flickr
Now I am kinda curious...
msg
2 ·
Re: Post a picture.....any picture...part deux...
Love and Marriage 062 - Sexology - 1909.11.20 by Johnny El-Rady, on FlickrNow I am kinda curious...
mhardy6647
2 ·
Re: Post a picture.....any picture...part deux...
If it can still move under its own propulsion in that condition, it just might be the world’s toughest automobile ever.
That would actually be the Toyota Hilux that Top Gear attempted to destroy, several times before success.
https://topgear.fandom.com/wiki/The_Indestructible_Hilux
I had one of those. The engine grenaded somewhere around 200,000 miles.
Mine was the SR5 extra cab version with all the fixings. I added real off road tires. It was under powered and scary off road.
F1nut
2 ·
French Bulldog
A French Bulldog fell in my lap, had to bring her home.
Meet Zoey..
She is pretty smart, and pretty close to being potty trained. She is a little more than 6 months old..
Meet Zoey..
She is pretty smart, and pretty close to being potty trained. She is a little more than 6 months old..
Toolfan66
12 ·
Re: Well Crap, My Amp Needs Repair
So, here's the rest of the story. I decided on having EBC Electronics do the repair. Also had an overall refresh done getting the small caps replaced. Decided to drive it there instead of risking shipping a 70lb amp. About 2 hrs each way. Paul was great to work with. Easy to make an appointment. Repair and refresh was very reasonable cost wise. Done in less than 3 weeks. Amp sounds great!
I was impressed enough to drop of my 555 for a complete refresh when I picked up the Aragon.
Two thumbs up for Paul at EBC!
I was impressed enough to drop of my 555 for a complete refresh when I picked up the Aragon.
Two thumbs up for Paul at EBC!
DaveHo
10 ·