Blog Archives

STEP5 Install the Decking and Stair Treads

Posted by on 21/ 11/ 15

With the floor and stair framing complete, you can start installing the decking boards and stair treads. I mostly use 2×6 PT decking, because the ready supply of redwood decking disappeared along with the big trees.

Cedar decking is available in some areas, but at a premium price. More and more people are using plastic decking material or deck boards that are a combination of wood chips or sawdust and recycled plastic. Although the up-front cost of this high-tech decking is greater than that of PT wood, the new mater­ials don’t warp, crack, or require regular fin­ishing treatments to maintain an attractive appearance. They are worth considering.

If you’re installing wood decking, keep in mind that many boards have a tendency to cup because of their circular grain structure...

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Visco-Plastic Equivalent Models

Posted by on 21/ 11/ 15

Visco-plastic equivalent models based on an equivalent time: number-of-cycles re­lationship, have been developed by Suiker and de Borst (2003) for the finite element modelling of a railway track structure and by Mayoraz (2002) for a laboratory study of sand.

Suiker has developed a cyclic densification model. It is based on repeated load triaxial tests carried out on two ballast materials. The idea was to develop a model that captures only the envelope of the maximum plastic strain generated during the cyclic loading process. The unloading is considered as elastic. The plastic deforma­tion behaviour is composed of two different mechanisms namely: frictional sliding and volumetric compaction. In general, both mechanisms densify the material...

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Other Roman ports and navigation works

Posted by on 21/ 11/ 15

We should not forget the role of the port of Alexandria during the Roman period, as it closely follows the Ostia complex in importance. The port was built in the Hellenistic period, and we have already described it at the beginning of Chapter 5 (Figure 5.2). A squadron of Roman warships is based at the port, a point of departure for Egyptian wheat bound for Rome (via Pouzzuoli before completion of the port of Trajan). But Alexandria is also an intermediate stop for products coming from Sudan, Arabia, and the extreme Orient. The Romans continue to use and maintain the canal of Necho that we described in Chapter 3. Trajan develops Clysma (Suez) and undertakes repair of the canal.[292] The canal constitutes one of the routes to Arabia, India, and China, without ever really seri­ously challeng...

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STABILIZER LUMPS

Posted by on 21/ 11/ 15

Stabilizer lumps occur rarely, but sometimes they bring fairly unpleasant consequences. The problem lies in the fact that symptoms may only be seen some time after the placement of an SMA course. Results such as the following are quite spectacular:

• Initial formation of bulging spots in a newly made course

• A spot of mixture that separates from the mat

Both cases are caused by lumps or pieces (Figure 11.6) of an undistributed (unmixed) stabilizer of loose fibers. Moisture absorbed by a stabilizer is able to lift

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FIGURE 11.4 An example of randomly scattered circular fat spots of about 1-15 cm in diameter. (Photo courtesy of Krzysztof Blazejowski.)

 

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FIGURE 11.5 A circular fat spot about 20 cm in diameter, enlarged. (Photo courtesy of Krzysztof BlaZejowski.)

 
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Install the stringers and treads

Posted by on 21/ 11/ 15

If you’ve done the stair layout and cutting cor­rectly, the stringers should fit against the rim joist (or beam), with the level cut or cleat for the top tread located ТА in. down from the top of the deck framing. Snap or mark a line at I that level on the rim joist so you can make I sure the stringers are aligned. I

There are several ways to secure the I

stringers to a deck beam or rim joist. Some – I times the stringer butts against a post, so it I can simply be nailed to the post and to the I beam or rim joist. In other situations, a metal I strap can be nailed to the top of the stringer, I then to the beam or rim joist (see the bottom I photo at left)...

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KEEPING THE NUMBERS STRAIGHT

Posted by on 21/ 11/ 15

Keeping the numbers straight for standard plumbing fixtures doesn’t require a lot of brain space. There are very few numbers to commit to memory. The process gets somewhat more complicated when you are dealing with handi­cap or "accessible" fixtures. We’re done with standard fixtures, so let’s explore accessible fixtures.

HANDICAP FIXTURE LAYOUT

Layouts for handicap plumbing fixtures require more space than what would be needed for standard plumbing fixtures. When you are planning the instal­lation of accessible fixtures you must take many factors into consideration.

There are regulations pertaining to door widths, compartment sizes, fixture locations, and so forth. These rules and regulations are generally provided in local plumbing codes...

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Ostia and the imperial ports of Rome

Posted by on 21/ 11/ 15

Rome’s food supply depends on the chain of maritime transport of wheat from Numidia and Egypt. For a long time Rome could offer only minimal port facilities to cumber­some and large loaded boats needing to enter the Tiber at Ostia. Mooring there was especially dangerous when the Auster, an ill-reputed west wind today called the Libeccio, blew. Moreover, access by large boats was made problematic by a shoal. Here is how Strabo describes the situation, in about 25 AD:

“This city has no port, owing to the accumulation of the alluvial deposit brought down by the Tiber, which is swelled by numerous rivers; vessels therefore bring to anchor further out, but not without danger; however, gain overcomes every thing, for there is an abundance of lighters in readiness to freight and unfreight the ...

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ELECTRICAL

Posted by on 21/ 11/ 15

Electrical codes and their implemen­tation are normally not very flexible. But costs can still be reduced by several methods within the codes.

Floor plans can often be adjusted to reduce electrical costs by reducing length of wiring or eliminating outlets while staying within the code. For example, since one outlet is needed for each 12 feet of wall, shortening or eliminating walls or moving door locations can reduce wiring, recep­tacles, switches, etc.

If all points requiring heavier appli­ance circuits are clustered and located close to the distribution panel, expen­sive heavy cable can be minimized.

Check the house during construction to make sure extra outlets are not arbitrarily installed...

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. Fat Spots of Mastic without Segregation

Posted by on 21/ 11/ 15

If porous spots are not visible around the fat spot, this is not a case of classic segrega­tion. We may suppose that the fat spot appeared because of an excess of mastic volume (an error of design). It may also have been caused by too much energy applied during compaction (improperly adjusted or unskillfully applied vibration); this will lead to the crushing of the coarse aggregate skeleton and the squeezing out of the mastic. Then the surface with the bleeding mastic will make up a major part of the surface (which, simply put, is any area where bad compaction was applied). A related prob­lem, described in Section 11.5, describes an SMA surface that is too closed or tight.

11.1 SMALL CIRCULAR FAT SPOTS

Small fat spots with a circular shape of approximately 3-20 cm in diameter may appear ...

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INSTALLING A TOILET

Posted by on 21/ 11/ 15

When you’re ready to install the toilet, remove the plastic bag you inserted earlier in the closet bend to block sewage gases. Place closet bolts in the closet flange if you haven’t already done so.

Set the bowl first. Then attach the tank to the bowl. If you’re re-installing an old toilet, as shown in the bottom left photo on p. 296, leave the parts connected, and set the toilet as one piece. But if it’s a new toilet, setting the base first is easier on your back. Place the wax ring in the closet flange, so that the ring’s plastic funnel centers in the flange. Some manufacturers rec­ommend placing the wax ring on the toilet horn and then inverting the toilet bowl, but the wax ring may not adhere and the funnel may not align.

Have help aligning closet bolts to holes as you set the toilet ...

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