Blog Archives

Techniques MAKING AN OUTLET-BOX CUTOUT

Posted by on 20/ 11/ 15

PRECISE CUTOUTS ARE SOMETIMES REQUIRED

for certain situations, such as fitting siding panels over vents or electrical outlet boxes. Careful layout is the key here.

1. Place the siding panel directly below where it will be installed. Mark where the sides of the box hit the panel.

2. Reposition the panel to one side of the box, clipping it into the panel just below the box. Mark where the top and bottom of the box hit the panel.

3. Outline the cutout where the horizontal and vertical lines intersect, then cut the opening with a sharp utility knife.

The panel is now ready to install.

Techniques MAKING AN OUTLET-BOX CUTOUTTechniques MAKING AN OUTLET-BOX CUTOUT

side for expansion. These notched cuts can be made with a utility knife, a hacksaw, or tin – snips. Use a snap-lock punch to create crimps, I or tabs, lA in...

read more

Positive Placement Nail Guns

Posted by on 20/ 11/ 15

Earthquakes, hurricanes, and tornados continue to wreak havoc on our wood frame houses and buildings. We will never be able to completely protect against the worst case scenario, however our codes are continually improving so that we can make our buildings stronger. A big part of this improvement has been the addition of connection hardware. Whereas most connections used to be secured by nails, connections needed to establish shear and diaphragm strength are now secured by hardware. Most of this hardware is fastened with nails and in many cases a large number of nails. For example, where a small framing clip may take 12 nails, a four foot strap may take 32 nails, depending on the particular size and type of connector.

Because of all the additional hardware nailing, nail gun manufacturers h...

read more

CALCULATING PROPER FIXTURE SPACING AND PLACEMENT

Posted by on 20/ 11/ 15

S

tandard fixture layouts are dictated by local plumbing codes. Plumbing codes require certain amounts of space to be provided in front of and be­side plumbing fixtures. The rules for standard fixtures are different than those used to control the installation of handicap fixtures. We will use this chapter to cover the essentials of standard fixtures and address the topic of handicap fixtures in the next chapter. For now, just concentrate on typical fix­ture installations when you review the information in this chapter. Before we get into deep details, I want to remind you to consult your local plumbing code for requirements specific to your region. The numbers I give you here are based on code requirements, but they may not be from the code that is enforced in your area.

If you wor...

read more

Identifying Need for Supplemental Advance Warning Devices

Posted by on 20/ 11/ 15

Locations which would benefit from the installation of supplemental advance warning devices typically exhibit safety and/or operational problems. Establishing the need for supplemental devices, therefore, requires identifying the problem locations and performing a safety and/or operational analysis. Deficient locations can be identified by a traffic safety management system, citizen complaints, employee observations, and by safety analysis during a planned resurfacing, restoration, and rehabilitation (RRR) project.

Accident-based studies are used to identify locations that can be considered haz­ardous due to a large number of accidents. These studies involve the review and analysis of systemwide accident information...

read more

Finding the Sweet Spot: Siting a Home for Energy Efficiency

Posted by on 20/ 11/ 15

Finding the Sweet Spot: Siting a Home for Energy Efficiency

BY M. JOE NUMBERS

A

rchitecture professors love a good riddle. Here’s one: How do ancient Greek town grids, Anasazi Indian pueblos, and New England saltbox houses differ from most residential construction today? Give up? Each culture understood how to site a
house. The ancient Greeks oriented their town grids to receive winter sun and sum­mer shade. The Anasazi Indians located their dwellings beneath cliff overhangs to take advantage of natural shading. Early Ameri­can settlers oriented and configured their saltbox houses to minimize the cold north­ern facade and to maximize the warm southern facade.

Regrettably, the siting lore known to our ancestors has practically disappeared because of central-heating and – cooling systems...

read more

Design of Supplemental Warning Devices

Posted by on 20/ 11/ 15

Designing a warning device that provides a clear, unambiguous message to the motorist can be a difficult task. The difficulty is due in part to the concern of the engineer to act in a “reasonable and prudent” manner. Increasing motorist safety and minimizing lia­bility require that the device provide a readily understood and unambiguous message.

In the design of warning signs, it is important to remember that signs are designed to draw attention to themselves through contrast, color, shape, composition, reflector – ization, and illumination, with a simple message providing a clear and understandable instruction to the motorist. Sign size, symbol size, lettering size, and placement should be such to allow adequate time for proper response...

read more

Romans and dam technology

Posted by on 20/ 11/ 15

In about 60 AD the Emperor Nero built his villa at Subiaco, on the river Anio upstream of Tivoli (Figure 6.8). He formed lakes for his personal pleasure by damming the river. The largest of the structures he built for this purpose is across a natural gorge and at 40 m, is the highest dam of all the Roman Empire. Rectilinear, 80 m long at its crest and 13.5m thick, it is what one would call today a gravity dam, relying on friction at its base to resist the force of water in the reservoir behind it. This dam remained standing until 1304, when the monks of a neighboring monastery dismantled it to recover the stones for other use.[263] Forty years after Nero, Frontinus built the new intake for the Anio Novus aqueduct on one of these lakes to improve the quality of its water, as we have seen ea...

read more

Economic development of the provinces: dams for irrigation and industry

Posted by on 20/ 11/ 15

The abundance of water and water infrastructure in the city of Rome not only provides for essential needs, but also serves as a cultural background for the urban life and pleas­ures of Rome’s citizens. Water plays an equally important role in the economic devel­opment of the Roman provinces. We have already described the development of the water wheel as it appeared in all of the Empire. But water management and exploitation went much further than this. Water had to be removed from the deepest galleries of mines, and massive quantities of water were needed to obtain lead, silver, and gold from their ores; the remnants of such ore-washing installations have been found in many of the provinces. In addition, the textile industry relied upon a steady supply of water...

read more

Basic Dimensions and Potential Restrictions

Posted by on 20/ 11/ 15

Every inch counts in a small house, so knowing exactly how many inches are required for each element is important. Dimensions for the integral parts of a house are listed here. The wall, floor and roof thicknesses listed are for the most standard type of construction—that which uses 2x lumber and half-inch plywood as the primary building materials. The greater the distance a rafter or joist needs to span, the thicker it and the roof or floor it comprises will need to be. A list of the most standard sizes for appliances and some considerably smaller options is also provided.

A house in Mendocino, CA

Span Chart

RAFTER SPAN RATINGS (for roofs with a pitch over 3 in 12):

SPECIES

2 x 6

2 x 8

2 x 10

(16’

’ o. c. / 24”

o. c.) (16” o. c. / 24” o. c.) (16” o. c...

read more

STEP6 Install the Siding Panels

Posted by on 20/ 11/ 15

Thanks to the work you did in the previous step, panel installation can go quickly, espe­cially when you have a good-size crew, as we did on this job. The first panel course is always the bottom-most course. Start against the cor­ner on one side of the house (preferably the back corner). Pull up the first panel, snap it into the starter strip, and slide the end of the panel under the corner trims top edge. Keep the panel seated in the starter strip as you drive nails into each stud. The nail heads should be ‘/в in. proud of the flange. Don’t drive nails at the edge of a slot or through the vinyl itself. If the prepunched slot is not cen­tered over a stud, lengthen the slot with a util­ity knife or a slot-punch tool.

Once the panel is nailed in position, check whether you can slide i...

read more