Blog Archives

The Parts of a House

Posted by on 12/ 11/ 15

THE CRAFT OF CARPENTRY HAS A LONG AND HONORABLE HERITAGE. Ages be Гоге we began recording our history, our ancestors were shaping and joining materials to create various types of shelters. Today, we are the fortunate inheritors of centuries of accumulated knowledge, experience, skills, and tools. Although carpentry continues to be transformed by technology (from computer-aided design programs to cordless tools and pneumatic nailers), many basic tools and techniques remain unchanged.

It still takes a human hand wrapped around a hammer handle to build a decent place to live.

Like basic carpentry tools, many parts of the house have stayed the same over the years. Technology has improved some of the parts, as well as created new ones...

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BINDER

Posted by on 12/ 11/ 15

In this section, we will examine the different types of bituminous binders used in SMAs and methods for selecting one.

3.3.1 Types of Applied Binders

Various SMA binders may be seen in the highway engineering practices of many countries. These binders can be divided into paving grade bitumens (unmodified), polymer-modified bitumens (PMB), and special binders (multigrade and others).[16]

Paving grade bitumens are frequently used. In Europe the most commonly used binder is the penetration graded 50/70 type, and to a lesser extent the 70/100 type...

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The Relationship Between Allergies and Chemical Exposure

Posted by on 12/ 11/ 15

Inthe 1950s it was estimated that about Mpercent of the population suffered from allergies. Accord­ing to some estimates, this proportion at present is estimated at between 40 and 75 percent. Why the dramatic increase? Allergists in Japan pondered the same question. A hypothesis was put forth that certain chemicals act as sensitizing agents. To test the hypothesis, two groups of mice were exposed to high levels of the Japanese equivalent of juniper pollen, and then tested for an allergic re­sponse. In both the study and the control groups about 5 percent of the mice developed allergies to the pollen. The study group was then exposed to benzene fumes from car exhaust...

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A Good Home

Posted by on 12/ 11/ 15

A small house is not merely as good as its larger correlate; it is better. A home that is designed to meet its occupants’ domestic needs for contented living without exceeding those needs will invariably surpass the quality of a bigger one in terms of sustainability, economics and aesthetics.

Sustainability

Under no circumstances does a 3,000-square foot house for two qualify as "green.” All the solar gain and reclaimed materials in the world can never change that. At 2,349 square feet, the average American house now emits more carbon dioxide than the average American car.2

Our houses are the biggest in the world—four times the international aver­age...

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Some Holes Are So Big That Nobody Notices Them

Posted by on 12/ 11/ 15

It’s not only insulation and HVAC con­tractors who are inadvertently sabotaging our houses. Framers often construct large holes that extend from the basement to the attic in the form of chimney, plumbing, and duct chases. These chases are hidden behind drywall or are covered by fiberglass-batt in­sulation. But insulation alone won’t prevent conditioned interior air from escaping. Big holes should be sealed with plywood, rigid foam, or drywall and caulk or spray foam.

Kneewalls and rim joists are two more often-missed ex-

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amples. Think of them as long holes in a house. Kneewalls are the short walls found in finished attics and in bonus rooms above the garage...

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Industrial Waste

Posted by on 12/ 11/ 15

Approximately 150 million tons (136 X 109 kg) of industrial waste of the type that can be potentially reused to some degree in highway projects is produced annually in the United States. Little of this waste can be landfilled. Many kinds of industrial wastes are not suitable for highway use because they are hazardous or because leachate from these mate­rials are a threat to the environment. Through treatment, some industrial wastes otherwise deemed a threat to the environment may be rendered usable. Petroleum-contaminated soils, for instance, once thermally treated, can be used as fill material and have been used in asphalt mixtures as fine aggregates...

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Something in My Home is Making Me Sick: General Testing Protocols

Posted by on 12/ 11/ 15

The process of performing a building inspection to address a client’s concerns is much more than taking instrument readings and reporting on the findings. A good building inspectorshould be part building scientist, part investigative journalist, part psychologist, and part building contractor. A nickname for the home inspector is"house doc­tor," which makes sense since the process of diag­nosing and curing a sick home has many parallels to diagnosing and curing an ailing person.

The homeowner perceives a need and con­tacts the inspector to help address it. The building inspector’s job is to understand how a building is affecting the client or how environmental condi­tions are affecting the building. It is critical to ask the right questions...

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Construction Waste

Posted by on 12/ 11/ 15

Much construction demolition debris consists of wastes with little recycling value for high­ways, such as wood and plaster. However, demolition debris also includes concrete, glass, metal, brick, and asphalt, most of which can be reused in highways as aggregate. In order to be a viable resource and meet the standard specifications as aggregate when crushed, the construction and/or demolition rubble must be separated from the other debris and cleaned of detritus. Construction wastes generated and the associated annual tonnage produced are presented below. Tonnage estimates were collected from numerous sources and summa­rized in NCHRP Synthesis 199.

Reclaimed Asphalt. Asphalt pavement from the demolition of parking lots, roads, and highways can be reclaimed...

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First of the maritime civilizations

Posted by on 12/ 11/ 15

We complete this overview of the very first hydraulic works with a brief look at early navigation, which has prehistorical origins. The migrations that accompanied the Neolithic spread toward the western Mediterranean are thought to have been by sea. The island of Cyprus, already populated in the IXth millennium BC from Palestine or from southeast Europe, experienced the neolithic migration about 7500 BC, including the arrival of cattle from the continent. Crete was populated about 6000 BC from Anatolia.

The Sicilian Neolithic was populated through seaborne migration from the Near East, thought to have passed through Greece on the way.[28]

A fundamental invention for the development of long-distance maritime commerce appeared in the IVth millennium BC: the sailboat...

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