Blog Archives

Stair configuration

Posted by on 25/ 11/ 15

The shape or configuration of a stairway is determined primarily by the circulation patterns of a building and by available space. Virtually any configuration of stairway may be constructed using the standard details of this chapter by merely breaking the stairway into smaller pieces and reassembling them. Several typical configurations that are worthy of note are shown in the drawings that follow; for clarity, these drawings do not show railings.

Straight-run stair—The straight-run stair is the most economical standard stairway from the stand­point of efficiency of floor space taken up by the stairway itself. The straight-run stair works best in two-story buildings.

Stair configuration

The bottom and top steps are separated horizontally from each other by the entire length of the stairway, so that...

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Install the base cabinets in kitchens and baths

Posted by on 25/ 11/ 15

Cabinet installation details are the same, whether you’re working in the kitchen, the bathroom, or any room. Some people prefer to install wall cabinets first so they won’t have to reach over the base cabinets. Perhaps
because 1 am tall, I generally install base cabi­nets first. Either way, it’s best to begin in a corner. Corner cabinets tend to be large and are trickier to install because they have to fit against two wall surfaces. But once you get a corner cabinet installed plumb and level, you’ll have an easier time with the rest of the job.

PLANNING AND PREPARATION ARE IMPOR­TANT. Before you screw any cabinets to the wall, it’s a good idea to line them up and see whether they will fit into the allotted space.

It’s not unheard of for one or more cabinets to be manufactured in...

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Machinery: hydraulic mills and wheels, lifting machines and norias Lifting machines

Posted by on 25/ 11/ 15

Water lifting machines respond to a very basic need of civilization – that of raising water from a river, canal, or cistern for its distribution to agricultural or urban uses. The Near East had used the shaduf (Figure 2.4), a balance-beam device, for a very long time – but this device was not used in China. We have seen that more sophisticated devices appeared in Egypt during the period of Alexandria (the end of the 3rd century BC), then in the Roman Empire. Examples include the Ctesibios pump (Figure 5.5), the Archimedes screw (Figure 5.3) and the muscle-powered lifting machine (Figure 6.20).

The first written evidence of lifting machines in China is found in a treatise of Wang Ching during the latter Han period (80 AD)...

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Wall Sheathing After Walls are Standing

Posted by on 25/ 11/ 15

1. Make sure the first piece goes up plumb. If you are installing more than three pieces in a row, use a level to set the first piece plumb.

2. It is easier to install the plywood if you are able to fit a 16d nail between the concrete foundation and the mudsill.

a. Place two nails under each piece near each end.

b. Remove the nails when you are finished.

3. The easiest and fastest way to handle an opening in the wall is to just sheath over it, then come back and use a panel pilot router bit to cut out the sheathing.

Roof Sheathing

1. Make sure the first piece goes on square.

2. Chalk a line from one end of the roof to the other.

• When measuring for the chalk line, make sure you consider how the plywood intersects with the fascia...

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Forced-Air Heating

Posted by on 25/ 11/ 15

Throughout most of the country, forced air is the most common form of heating and cool­ing in new construction. Besides quick re­sponse time, the main advantage of forced – air heating lies in the opportunity it gives the homeowner to commission modifications and additions to standard equipment to cre­ate a healthy air-distribution system. A modi­fied system can control humidity, filter air, and introduce fresh, conditioned air from the out­side. Disadvantages of a forced-air system may include greater operating costs, noisy opera­tion, larger space requirements for equipment installation and ductwork housing, deple­tion of negative ions, and the need for regular maintenance and cleaning of ductwork to pre­vent mold and dirt buildup.

Disadvantages of a standard forced-air system ca...

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A Constant Supply of Warm Dust

Posted by on 25/ 11/ 15

A retired couple contacted John Banta because they were experiencing eye irritation and diffi­culty breathing caused by dust in their home. In spite of frequent vacuuming and dusting, an un­usually heavy deposit of dust was noted on the furnishings during the house inspection. John suspected that the furnace system was the source of contamination because the heat registers in the home were lined with a fine dust and the clients’ symptoms worsened when the furnace was on.

John was puzzled, though, by the lack of dirt on the cold air return filter and the absence of air movement. He opened the cold air return and ex­amined the inside wall to see if there were any vis­ible obstructions. To his surprise, he found no duct at all. The cold air return was a dummy and went nowhere.

Further inv...

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Installing the Five-by-Ten Rafters

Posted by on 25/ 11/ 15

As with the four-by-eight floor joists, we used two different methods of extending the five-by-ten radial roof rafters. The existing rafters, protected by a good overhang, were in excellent condition and extended between 18 and 23 inches (43.7 and 58.4 centimeters) from the cordwood walls. On the east and west rafters (which eventually would have supporting cordwood walls below them), we left the original overhanging rafters as they were, but cut a 2-by-io by 22-inch (5.1-by-

25.4 by 55.9-centimeter) piece out of the new rafters so that they could fit up to the side of the overhanging rafters, as seen in Fig. 5.33. Then we used four one-half – by eight-inch lag bolts to hang the new rafter onto the old. The hex-heads and washers show on the outside. Carriage bolts are an option here.

Подпись: Fig. 5.33: Rohan Roy tightens the nuts onto the lag bolts. Four one- half-inch lag bolts are plenty strong enough to make this joint. Notic...

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DEFINITIONS

Posted by on 25/ 11/ 15

Stone mastic asphalt is defined as a gap-graded asphalt mixture that has bitumen as a binder, and is composed of a coarse crushed aggregate skeleton bound with a mastic mortar.

The standard defines two types of recipes (job mix formulae [JMF]):

• Input target composition—this is the determined composition of the mix­ture given through listing its constituent materials, the gradation curve, and the percentage content of binder added to the mixture; this formula is the result of laboratory validation of the mixture.

• Output target composition—this is the determined composition of the mixture given through listing its constituent materials, the midpoint grada­tion, and the percentage of soluble binder content in the mixture, which are obtained as results of the composition analysis (ext...

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A wall against the sea – the tidal bore of Hangzhou

Posted by on 25/ 11/ 15

The major city of Hangzhou, prominent in the account of Marco Polo as we have seen, is located at the head of an estuary that is nearly 100 km long. The land there is quite flat and thus exposed to the tidal surge and waves associated with strong storms. Moreover in this particular estuary there is an additional extraordinary phenomenon: one of the largest tidal bores in the world.

The tidal bore is a wavelike disturbance, or a series of disturbances, resulting from the progressive steepening of the tidal wave as it propagates into a sufficiently long and shallow estuary. At Hangzhou in the Chien-Thang estuary the mean height of the bore is the order of two meters. But during equinox tides, it can reach 7 or 8 meters...

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Residential Heating and Cooling

Posted by on 25/ 11/ 15

Methods of heating, cooling, and ventilating homes have many important health ramifi­cations that will affect us long after the initial building materials have outgassed and reached a neutral state. If we lived in a pristine natu­ral environment with low humidity and mild temperatures, we would be able to condition our homes without mechanical assistance by means of solar gain, shading, and cross­ventilation. Residents throughout most of North America do not have this luxury. Cold and cloudy winters, hot and humid summers, and polluted or pollen-filled air are realities from which homes must shelter occupants.

We have come to expect a level of comfort and temperature control in our homes un­dreamed of by our not-too-distant ancestors...

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