Camping Out

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image8I had managed to side-step building codes by constructing not a building, but a "travel trailer.” With that stumbling block out of the way, I still faced a zoning problem. I want­ed to live in town, and, like most towns, Iowa City does not allow trailer camping just anywhere. You cannot just buy an old lot and park there indefinitely. The restric­tions do, however, allow for "camping out” in one’s own backyard.

Upon discovering this, I snatched up a small fixer-upper on a large wooded par­cel and proceeded to set up camp. The rent collected from the big house covered the ensuing mortgage and taxes. I would "camp out” in my own backyard for the next five years before selling the property and heading West.

Federal Requirements Protecting Air Quality and Noise

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Clean Air Act (42 USC §7401-7626). The 1970 amendments to the Clean Air Act (CAA) provided a comprehensive approach to regulating the nation’s air quality. The CAA addressed both mobile and stationary air pollution sources and required the EPA to set and enforce national ambient air quality standards (NAAQSs). The CAA has been amended several times since 1970. Amendments to the CAA that were adopted in 1990 were particularly extensive and included provisions for stricter mobile source emissions, as well as restrictions on emissions linked to stationary sources including hazardous or toxic pollutants.

EPA has overall authority for the implementation of CAA requirements. Pursuant to the CAA, EPA established primary and secondary NAAQSs for six pollutants: ozone, carbon

TABLE 1.8 Major Federal Environmental Legislation and Regulations/Responsible Agencies

Clean Air Act (42 USC §7401 et seq.)/U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Noise Control Act, amended 1978 (42 USC §§4901-4918)/U. S. EPA

Clean Water Act, 1972 (33 USC §1251 et seq.)/U. S. EPA, Army Corps of Engineers

Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA; 42 USC §300)/U. S. EPA

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), 1974, amended 1984 (42 USC §6901 et seq.)/ U. S. EPA

Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), 1976 (15 USC §260 et seq.)/U. S. EPA Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), 1980 (42 USC §9601 et seq.)/U. S., EPA

Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA), 1986 (42 USC §6991 et seq.)/U. S. EPA Farmland Protection Policy Act, 1981 (73 USC §4201 et seq.)/U. S. Department of Agriculture Federal Coastal Zone Management Act, 1972 (16 USC §§1451-1464)/U. S. Department of Commerce Wild and Scenic Rivers Act 1968, (16 USC §§1271-1287)/U. S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act 1934 (16 USC §§661-666)/U. S. DOI U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) 1973 (16 USC §£1531-1543)-U. S., DOI, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, DOC, National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS)

Rivers and Harbors Act, 1899 (33 USC §401, et seq.)/U. S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACOE), USCG

National Historic Preservation Act 1966 (16 USC §470 et seq.)—Advisory Council on Historic Preservation

Historic Buildings Act of 1935 (16 USC §£461-471)/National Park Service/DOI The Archaeological and Historical Preservation Act, 1974 (16 USC §469)/DOI Archaeological Resources Act, 1979 (16 USC §470 et seq.)/DOI Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990/DOI Department of Transportation Act, Section 4(f), 1966, (49 USC §303)/DOT

Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965, Section 6(f) (16 USC §§460l-4 through 460l-11)/DOI American Indian Religious Freedom Act, 1978 (42 USC §1996)

Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Properties Acquisition Act, 1970 (42 USC §4601)

monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter. The CAA also regulates hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) released by chemical plants, dry cleaners, print­ing plants, and motor vehicles.

States are responsible for meeting CAA objectives by developing state implementation plans (SIPs). SIPs integrate regulations with other measures designed to meet NAAQS and associated CAA requirements. Federal agencies must comply with the approved SIP of the state in which they are operating. Many SIPs include air quality goals that exceed federal requirements and carry their own set of penalties and fines for noncompliance.

Current provisions of CAA relevant to highway engineering are included in Title I (Attainment and Maintenance of NAAQS), Title II (Mobile Sources), and Title VII (Enforcement). Title I addresses air pollution control requirements for “nonattainment areas,” (i. e., those metropolitan areas in the United States that have failed to meet NAAQSs.) Ozone is the most widespread pollutant in nonattainment areas. Therefore, the focus of controls in these areas is on controlling the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides that are precursors to the formation of ozone. Title II regulates tailpipe emissions from motor vehicles and sets emission limitations for carbon monoxide,

Executive Order 13423, Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation

Management (January 24, 2007)

Executive Order 13352, Executive Order Facilitation of Cooperative Conservation (26 August 2004)

Executive Order 13274, Environmental Stewardship and Transportation Infrastructure Project

Reviews (18 September 2002)

Executive Order 13212, Actions To Expedite Energy-Related Projects (18 May 2001)

Executive Order 13211, Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use (18 May 2001)

Executive Order 13186, Responsibilities of Federal Agencies To Protect Migratory Birds (10 January 2001)

Executive Order 13175, Consultation and Coordination With Indian Tribal Governments (6 November 2000)

Executive Order 13158, Marine Protected Areas. (26 May 2000)

Executive Order 13150, Federal Workforce Transportation (21 April 2000)

Executive Order 13141, Environmental Review of Trade Agreements (16 November 1999)

Executive Order 13112, Invasive Species (3 February 1999)

Executive Order 13089, Coral Reef Protection (11 June 1998)

Executive Order 13057, Federal Actions in the Lake Tahoe Region (26 July 1997)

Executive Order 13045, Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks (21 April 1997)

Executive Order 13031, Federal Alternative Fueled Vehicle Leadership (13 December 1996) Executive Order 13006, Locating Federal Facilities on Historic Properties in our Nation’s Central Cities (21 May 1996)

Executive Order 12969, Federal Acquisition and Community Right-To-Know (8 August 1995) Executive Order 12902, Energy Efficiency and Water Conservation at Federal Facilities (8 March 1994)

Executive Order 12898, Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations (11 February 1994)

Executive Order 12889, Implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (28 December

1993)

Executive Order 12856, Federal Compliance With Right-To-Know Laws and Pollution Prevention Requirements (3 August 1993)

Executive Order 12843, Procurement Requirements and Policies for Federal Agencies for Ozone-Depleting Substances (21 April 1993)

Executive Order 12123, Offshore Oil Spill Pollution (26 February 1979)

Executive Order 12114, Environmental Effects Abroad of Major Federal Actions (4 January 1979) Executive Order 12088, Federal Compliance with Pollution Control Standards (13 October 1978) Executive Order 11990, Protection of Wetlands (24 May 1977)

Executive Order 11988, Floodplain Management (24 May 1977)

Executive Order 11912, Delegation of Authorities Relating to Energy Policy and Conservation (13 April 1976)—partially revoked by Executive Order 12919 Executive Order 11514, Protection and Enhancement of Environmental Quality (3/1970) as amended by Executive Order 11991 (24 May 1977)

Executive Order 11593, Protection and Enhancement of the Cultural Environment (1971)

hydrocarbon, and nitrogen oxides. Provisions for enforcement under Title VII include fines and terms of imprisonment. Federal violations prosecuted by EPA may result in civil penal­ties of up to $25,000 per day and criminal enforcement if the violator fails to abate on notice [42 USC §7413(b)].

If a SIP is not effective in achieving NAAQSs in a nonattainment area, EPA may pre­pare an implementation plan of its own and/or impose construction bans on stationary sources, or withhold EPA-approved federal funds (such as transportation improvement grants) targeted for the state.

Transportation Conformity. The CAA required EPA to promulgate rules to ensure that federal actions do not impede efforts to attain or maintain compliance with the NAAQS. These rules require that metropolitans and statewide transportation plans conform to CAA requirements. These transportation conformity regulations apply to highways.

The transportation conformity rules published under 40 CFR 93, address this requirement with respect to actions of certain transportation agencies, including funding or approvals, that involve projects in nonattainment and maintenance areas, (i. e., areas that were previously des­ignated as nonattainment but currently in compliance with the NAAQS). The transportation conformity rule established the criteria and procedures by which the FHWA, the FTA and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) determine the conformity of federally funded or approved highway and transit plans, programs, and projects to SIPs. Conformity ensures that transportation plans, programs, and projects do not result in new air quality violations, worsen existing violations, or delay timely attainment of the NAAQS.

Noise Control Act (NCA) 42 USC §4901-4918. The Noise Control Act (NCA) was enacted to control noise emitted from human activity. The NCA include two requirements that are relevant to highway engineering: (1) the required developing of state and local pro­grams to control noise, and (2) the required controlling the sources of noise of surface trans­portation and construction activities.

The NCA also created the EPA Office of Noise Abatement and Control (ONAC). ONAC promulgated regulations to implement the NCA (40 CFR 201 through 211). Noise limits for motor vehicles involved in interstate commercial activities are identified in 40 CFR 202. While noise emissions from construction equipment and compressors are regu­lated by 40 CFR 204. Noise limits and measurement procedures for trucks over 10,000 lb and motorcycles are included in 40 CFR 205.

Control of highway noise is currently under the jurisdiction of FHWA. FHWA noise reg­ulations are found in 23 CFR 772 and include the FHWA Noise Abatement Criteria (NAC). The NAC include maximum noise levels for various of land uses from adjacent highways. When highway noise levels approach or exceed the NAC, or when highway noise signifi­cantly increases above existing noise levels, noise abatement measures must be considered. FHWA allows individual states to define “approach” and “significant increase.” Typically, “approach” means within 1 or 2 dB and “significant increases” are typically defined as increases of 10 or 15 dB above existing noise levels.

Brief History of Engineering Reliability Analysis

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Development of engineering reliability analysis started with the desire for prod­uct quality control in manufacturing engineering three-quarters of a century ago (Shewart, 1931). World War II considerably accelerated its advancement. During the war, over 60 percent of airborne equipment shipped to the Far East arrived damaged. About half the spares and equipment in storage became un­serviceable before use. Mean service time before requiring repair or replace­ment for bomber electronics was less than 20 hours. The cost of repair and maintenance exceeded 10 times the original cost of procurement. About two – thirds of radio vacuum tubes in communications devices failed. In response to the high failure rates and damage to military airborne and electronic equip­ment, the U. S. Joint Army-Navy Committees on Parts Standards and on Vac­uum Tube Development were established in June 1943 to improve military equipment reliability. However, when the Korean War began, about 70 percent of Navy electronic equipment did not function properly. In 1950, the U. S. Department of Defense (DOD) established an Ad Hoc Group on Reliability that was upgraded in November 1952 as the Advisory Group on the Reliability of Electronic Equipment (AGREE) to monitor and promote military-related reli­ability evaluation and analysis.

Meanwhile, the civilian-side activities on reliability engineering also became active in aeronautical engineering (Tye, 1944) and in communications. In 1949-1953, Bell Laboratories and Vitro Laboratories investigated the relia­bility of communications electronic parts. Carhart (1953) conducted an early state-of-the-art study of reliability engineering. He divided the reliability prob­lems into five groups, namely, electronics, vacuum tubes, other components, system personnel, and organization. He listed seven factors that determined the worth of manufactured systems: (1) performance capacity, (2) reliability, (3) accuracy, (4) vulnerability, (5) operability, (6) maintainability, and (7) procur­ability. In 1953, RCA established the first civilian-organized industrial reliabil­ity program.

Contributions to reliability engineering through development of missiles be­gan with a DOD project to General Dynamics in 1954. Bell Aircraft Corporation issued the first industrial reliability handbook (LeVan, 1957). In the following decades, reliability engineering played important roles in aerospace and air­craft engineering.

Henney (1956) edited the first commercial reliability book. Chorafas (1960) published a textbook combining statistics with reliability engineering. More comprehensive textbooks on reliability related to manufacturing engineering started to appear in the early 1960s (Bazovsky, 1961; Calabro, 1962). The first reliability engineering course was offered in 1963 by Kececioglu at the Uni­versity of Arizona. In 1955, the Institute of Radio Engineers [IRE, now the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE)] initiated the Reliabil­ity and Quality Control Society, and in 1978, IEEE established its Reliability Society.

The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the Soci­ety of Automotive Engineers (SAE), and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) initiated the Annual Reliability and Maintainability Con­ferences in 1962. It became the Annual Symposium on Reliability in 1966 and Annual Reliability and Maintainability Symposium in 1972, the year that the Society of Reliability Engineers was founded at Buffalo, New York.

Beyond manufacture-related reliability engineering, on the infrastructural side, Freudenthal (1947, 1956) was among the first to develop reliability anal­ysis for structural engineering. Public attention on the safety of nuclear power plants and earthquake hazards has provoked significant development on re­liability engineering for infrastructures, leading to publication of a series of comprehensive textbooks on the subject (Benjamin and Cornell, 1970; Ang and Tang, 1975, 1984; Yao, 1985; Madsen et al., 1986; Marek et al., 1995; Harr, 1996; Ayyub and McCuen, 1997; Kottagoda and Rosso, 1997; Melchers, 1999; Haldar and Mahadevan, 2000).

The Indus and the Harappa civilization Bactria and the Margiana, on the banks of the Oxus

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It is somewhat frustrating to write of the great civilization of the Indus Valley. Its ori­gins, near the beginning of the IIIrd millennium BC, are unknown; and the reasons for its demise, a thousand years later, hardly less so. What is known results from archaeo­logical digs at the two large sites of the twin cities Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. The civ­ilization is thought to be the country called Meluha. The towns of the Indus civilization are built on terraces raised above the flood level, their perimeters protected from erosion by brick structures. One of the most notable aspects of these towns is, as we will see later, the large number of wells and the integrated water use in the housing, including wastewater drainage. The writing of the Indus civilization has not yet been deciphered. The civilization had maritime trade with Sumer, the two cultures having some elements in common.

It is known that there were also land links in this period between the Indus civiliza­tion and Mesopotamia, passing to the north by Bactria and the Caspian Sea, supporting the trade in lapis lazuli (a semi-precious stone).[15] Indeed, at Shortughai, in the eastern portions of the Oxus basin (present-day Amou Daria) the remains of a substantial estab­lishment of Harappean culture have been found. Here, in the middle of the IIIrd millen­nium BC, extensive irrigation was practiced, as evidenced by 25-km long canals (see

Figures 2.20 and 7.2). Moreover, Harappean relics have been found in towns that flour­ished to the west in the same period, such as Altyn, proof of long-distance commerce. Should one then consider the Indus as the origin of irrigated agriculture, key to the sub­sequent prosperity of central Asia, whereas conventional wisdom considers Mesopotamia to be the origin? The answer is not simple.

In the VIIth or VIth millennium BC the Neolithic revolution reached the regions to the southeast of the Caspian Sea, to the plains where the Gorgan and Atrek rivers flow, and to the foothills of the Kopet Dag mountains (Figure 1.3). The Jeitun culture that developed at the foot of these mountains had already likely developed modest irrigation, even if there is no formal proof of this. Somewhat later, population increase led to new

The Indus and the Harappa civilization Bactria and the Margiana, on the banks of the Oxus

Figure 1.3 From Sumer to the sites of the Indus Valley (Harappa civilization), and the Oxus Civilization, c. 2500 – 2200 BC. The oasis of Geoksiur is shown because of its importance to the history of irrigation, but its settlement dates from much earlier (5th and 4th millennia BC)

settlements to the east, first where the Tedzhen River forms a branched delta that van­ishes into the desert of Kara Kum, in the Geoksiur oasis. Artificial irrigation appears in this oasis during the IVth millennium BC. Russian archaeologists have studied deriva­tion canals extending perpendicular to the Tedzhen. These canals are 3 – 5 m wide, 0.8 – 1.2 m deep, and can be identified along a distance of 3 km. It is interesting to note, moreover, that the most active of this irrigation activity, supposedly the first to occur out­side of Mesopotamia, apparently coincides with the concentration of population into a single site of the oasis. The settlements had previously been dispersed around the oasis, suggesting that the irrigation efforts were a response to the gradual weakening of the water supply, a prelude to complete abandonment of the oasis. The neighboring cities of Namagza and Altyn, whose existence would be inconceivable without intensive irri­gation, surely were the destinations of the dislocated peoples. This culture and its tech­niques, conveniently called the Oxus civilization, come together later in the IIIrd and IInd millennia BC in all of the Bactria-Margiana region. Traces of this civilization have even been found to the north at Sarazm, on the Zeravchan River (later to become the sites of Boukhara and Samarcand).[16]

Despite the decline of urbanization in central Asia, including the disappearance of the cities of Altyn and Namagza in about 2200 BC, the destiny of Bactria and Margiana is to remain civilized, an obligatory passageway between Mesopotamia and the Far East. The destiny of the large cities of the Indus, on the other hand, is to vanish forever. After several centuries of existence, they become uninhabited, for reasons unknown. Around 1750 BC, Harappa is destroyed, and Mohenjo Daro is abandoned.

Framing Terms (continued)

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Roof sheathing

 

Blocking Roof truss

Double plate

 

Top plate

 

Studs

 

Subfloor sheathing (decking) Bottom plate

 

Rim joist (ribbon)

 

Double plate

 

Floor joist

 

Top plate

 

Stud

  Framing Terms (continued)

Bottom plate

 

Framing Terms (continued)

Cat’s paws and flat bars

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These prying tools really come in handy dur­ing new construction and remodeling work. Your hammer’s claw will generally work fine for removing exposed nails. When a nail is buried, though, a cat’s paw is the tool to use. With a couple of hammer blows, you can sink the cat’s paw into a board, grab the head of a nail, and lever it above the surface. From there, your ham­mer takes over to completely remove the nail.

A flat bar can also be used to pull nails, or it can be used as a prybar. In new construction, I often use a flat bar to separate boards that have been temporarily nailed together and to slip aluminum or vinyl trim under a drip edge (see the photo at right).

Cat’s paws and flat bars

Cat’s paws and flat bars

A flat bar has many uses. Here, a volunteer uses a flat bar to help slip a piece of aluminum cladding under the roof’s drip edge.

Tool Carriers

Once you have a few tools, you’ll need to carry them with you as you frame walls and install siding or shingles. It doesn’t work well to carry a measuring tape in your jeans and to fish nails from a shirt pocket. Fifty years ago, when I started working as a carpenter, we wore white carpenter’s overalls with a lot of little pockets for nails and tools. Those soon gave way to cloth aprons, which were replaced by heavy leather aprons with a wide leather belt. Today, nylon pouches seem to be taking over, and for good reason: The best versions are lighter than leather and just as durable. As with tools, the selection of tool belts, pouches, and holders can be confusing. There are good belt and pouch systems for both men and women. Inexpensive versions are available for novice and occasional builders. If you’re serious about construction work, consider some of the tool belt systems that allow you to add pouches and holders as you need them.

For larger items or for tools that are used only occasionally, the traditional carpenter’s toolbox has given way to the carpenter’s tool bucket (see the photo at left). This is just a 5-gal. bucket fitted with a bag insert that allows

Utilities

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Like the rest of the house, utilities and appliances were designed with sim­plicity and sustainability in mind. They met my modest needs but would be considered primitive by conventional American standards. These rudimen­tary utilities certainly would not appeal to everyone interested in living in a small home, and it should be made clear that living small does not require deprivation. Hot and cold running water, a microwave oven, and cable TV are all available options.

Water: Tumbleweed was supplied by a simple, gravity-fed plumbing system. A two-and-a-half-gallon pot sat on a metal shelf just above a horizontal sec­tion of stovepipe in the overhead kitchen cabinet and drained into either the kitchen sink or shower through a Y intersection in a short stretch of rubber hose. The water was kept warm as long as the heat stove was on, and it could be made hot by setting the pot directly on the stove or a burner. The pot was filled at a nearby spigot. Gray water drained directly into the garden.

Heating and Cooking: The best source of heat most structures can use is that of the sun. I installed windows on all but what was intended as the north wall of Tumbleweed for good solar gain. A covered porch on the south side kept the heat of the high summer sun out while letting the lower winter rays flood the house with their warmth. A gas heater kicked in on cloudy days and cold nights. I chose a gas stove over a wood one mostly because gas stoves only require about one-sixth as much clearance from flammable surfaces. This, in turn, allowed me to have pine walls without having to put my heater right in the middle of an already tiny room. The cleanliness of gas also seemed to make sense in a small space, and I liked the idea of precise control with a thermostat rather than the frequent stoking that a small wood stove requires.

The propane tank that fed the heater also supplied an R. V. cooktop. It is upon this same double burner that a camp oven was set for baking.

Toilet: My composting toilet amounted to little more than an airtight bucket, a can of sawdust and a couple of compost piles outside. Sordid story short, the bucket was used as an indoor toilet and sawdust was put into the mix to absorb odor and balance out the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio. This bucket was emptied onto one compost pile or the other every so often, then rinsed. (Please see J. C. Jenkins, The Humanure Handbook, for details on this and other methods of composting human manure.) While the idea of carrying one’s own poop (or anybody else’s for that matter) to a compost pile off away from central living quarters may sound both inconvenient and plainly unacceptable to most Westerners, its appeal for more than a few will be its absolute efficiency. Without electricity, running water, or waste and only small inconvenience as its price, a cleaner environment and soil-building compost are made available.

Electricity: By now, these description of rudimentary plumbing and a plastic chamber pot may have made it sound as if my house was more derelict than homey. But, as I have said, these utilities were of my choice, and for me, choice is, in itself, a luxury. In fact, there was plenty of room for modern con­veniences. The integral CD player, TV, and VCR disqualified the house as an ascetic’s shanty. These appliances, along with six lights, two fans, and a radio, were all powered by the sun through a single solar panel. I chose not to mount the panel on my roof but kept it separate. This allowed me to situate the house in a shady place during the summer while collecting energy at the same time.

image7

Insects: Hungry for a Home

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If you’d like to buy a house, make your offer contingent on a licensed pest – control inspector’s report. You probably won’t see insects, but you might see any of these signs:

► Sandy brown tubes, in. in diameter, that run up a foundation wall and wood burrows that run parallel with the grain indicate the presence of subterranean termites.

► Pellets outside insect entry holes and burrowing in all directions of wood grain, with no tubes on the foundation, indicate non-subterranean termites.

► Holes that may range from pin size to BB size and light-colored powdery debris indicate powderpost beetles.

► Подпись: Cracks range from cosmetic surface lines that you can ignore to larger, deeper fissures caused by water pressure, soil movement, foundation failure, or a combination of those causes. In general, a serious crack is any gap that runs through the foundation or is at least 14 in. wide, combined with foundation rotation. Have a structural engineer assess the cause. Vertical cracks through a foundation that are wider at the top may be caused by differential settlement. For example, a corner of the house may be sinking because of drainage problems or a second-story addition that's too heavy for the original foundation. Horizontal cracks through the foundation wall, just below ground level, may be caused by adfreezing, in which damp soil freezes to the top of a foundation and lifts it. This condition most often occurs in unheated buildings. The foundation's bowing-in along horizontal cracks is extremely serious; it's caused by soil movement and strong hydrostatic pressure. Given the magnitude of the problem, the engineered solution will be very expensive. Older foundations of unreinforced concrete or brick may be adequate beneath single-story houses on flat lots. But long term, you should plan to replace them. Unreinforced foundations are often poor quality (crumbling) and may have cracks that go all the way through the concrete. Wood structure is most often damaged from sustained moisture below grade, insect damage, settling of the foundation, or unwise sawcuts into the structure during earlier remodeling. Use your pocketknife to examine the perimeter of the mudsill—and the studs atop it—for rot or insect damage. To prevent recurrence of rot, replace damaged sections with treated lumber, install drainage systems, and slope soil away from the house. If you encounter sagging girders or joists, posts supporting them will likely have sunk. In Подпись: Any crack that runs through a foundation is serious. Coarse sawdust beneath damp wood with galleries excavated parallel with the wood grain indicates carpenter ants. Simply spraying carpenter ant nests usually does the trick.

Insects: Hungry for a Home
Подпись: Knob-and-tube wiring is outdated but often serviceable.image53

this case, upsize the concrete pads beneath the posts or replace posts. In some cases, shorten joist spans by adding girders and posts beneath.

Wooden posts rotting at the bottoms suggest that moisture is wicking up from the ground through the concrete pad. Replace the posts, put­ting a metal or plastic moisture barrier between their bottoms and the concrete.

Joists and girders may have been seriously weakened by cutting to accommodate ducts and drainpipes. See "Maximum Sizes for Holes and Notches,” on p. 287, for information about how much and where you can safely cut and drill structural members.

Mechanical Systems

Mechanical systems include electrical, plumbing, and HVAC. Your comfort and safety depend on up-to-date and adequately sized mechanicals, as they are called.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Подпись: PROTIP If cleanout traps show fresh wrench marks, suspect recent clogging; if traps are badly scarred, they have been opened many times. This may mean nothing more than children dropping things down the sink or it may indicate an inadequately sized pipe that needs replacing. See "Minimum Drain, Trap, and Vent Sizes," on p. 281. 1111 image54Using a voltage tester, you can safely see if house receptacles are operable. If the cover plates of any receptacles are warm, if tester lights flicker, or if there’s an odd smell, there may be aluminum circuit wiring in the walls, which tends to over­heat and cause fires. Have your electrician check for this too.

To prevent electrical shocks in high-moisture areas, all bathroom receptacles, kitchen recepta­cles within 4 ft. of a sink, outdoor outlets, and some garage outlets must be GFCIs. Your local building code will have the final say on GFCIs.

PLUMBING

Questions suggested under "Kitchen and Bathrooms,” earlier in this chapter, should be addressed here, too—particularly if you noted water damage around tubs or toilets. By the way, if the house has only a crawl space, replacing the plumbing will take longer and be more costly than if it has a basement.

Drainage, waste and vent (DWV) pipes should be replaced if they’re rusted, corroded, or leak­ing. Waste pipes past their prime often show powdery green or white deposits along their hori­zontal runs, where wastes accumulate. Also, if joists around the closet bend are discolored, probe for rot. If rotted, they’ll need to be replaced.

Supply pipes. If water pressure is poor and plumbing is old, it’s likely that the pipes are gal­vanized iron. With a typical life span of about 25 years, the fittings rust out first.

Copper pipe will last indefinitely unless the water is acidic, in which case you’ll see blue – green deposits on fixtures and pinhole leaks in the pipe. But if copper pipes aren’t too far gone, an acid-neutralizing filter on supply lines may cure the problem.

If the house has a septic tank, ask when it was last emptied. Most tanks are sized according to the number of users and should normally be emptied every few years. Also inquire how the owner determines the exact location of the tank’s clean-out lid, which will usually be buried under more than 1 ft. of soil.

Then walk the area. If the ground is damp and smelly, the most recent servicing wasn’t soon enough. Besides tardy servicing, this could indi­cate that the tank or the drainage field may be undersize, clogged, or incorrectly installed. A new septic system is a significant expense.

Copper and galvanized pipe joined together will corrode, owing to a process called galvanic action. To join these metals, you need to install a dielectric union between them.

A water test by the health department should be part of the purchase agreement; this is espe­cially important if the house has its own well.

Water heaters. Water heaters 10 years to 12 years old should be replaced. A manufacturer’s plate on the heater will tell its age and capacity.

As a rule of thumb, a 40-gal. gas-fired water heater is about right for a family of four. Electric water heaters should be 50-gal. capacity because they recover a little slower.

Подпись: If a cast-iron waste pipe is this rusty, it needs replacing. Подпись: Corroded galvanized-steel pipe atop a water heater tells you it's time to replace both the heater and the supply pipes.

There should be a temperature-pressure relief (TPR) valve on or near the top of the water heater. Without TPR protection, a water heater can explode and level the house. If the TPR valve drips, you’ll need to replace it. If you own the home, make sure you have a TPR valve.

Gas lines that smell and corroded gas pipes are unsafe: Call the gas utility immediately. (Most provide a free inspection.) Gas lines are typically "black iron” pipe with threaded fittings or copper joined by flared fittings. Gas lines should never include PVC plastic pipe, sweated (soldered) cop­per joints, or compression fittings such as those used for water supply.

Essential Hand Tools

Posted by on 11/ 11/ 15

The fundamental tasks of carpentry are mea­suring, marking, cutting, and joining. And though circular saws and power drill-drivers have largely replaced handsaws, braces, and screwdrivers, many carpentry tasks can still be done with hand tools (see the photo above). Like power tools, many hand tools have improved over the years.

Подпись: A measuring tape is simply a long ruler in a convenient, easy-to-use package. Just like a ruler, a tape is laid out in feet, inches, and fractions of inches. Knowing how to read a tape quickly and accurately is an essential skill for anyone involved in the building trades. The key to being able to read a tape is learn-ing and understanding all the subdivisions of an inch (see the illustration at right). Each inch is divided into halves, quarters, eighths, and sixteenths. Once you can discern the meaning of all these little marks, you'll have no problem measuring 13 ft., 93/i6 in., or any other odd di-mension. Study the drawing and your own tape until you can rattle off accurate readings at a glance. In addition to feet and inches, a tape also has special marks at 16 in., 32 in., and so on to indicate the layout of most floor joists and wall studs. Some tapes also have decimal equiva-lents and a metric conversion scale on the back. Подпись: READING A TAPE MEASURE
Essential Hand Tools
Подпись: It's important to know at a glance what the different marks on a tape measure mean. Practice using a tape so your measurements will be accurate.

READING A TAPE MEASURE

Essential Hand ToolsTape measures

Just as I sometimes enjoy writing letters on my old manual typewriter, it’s also fun to measure with my old 6-ft. wooden folding rule. Flexible steel tapes have replaced old-fashioned wooden rules, because they’re more compact and capable of measuring much longer distances quickly and accurately. Steel tapes come in many sizes and lengths, but the most common are 16-ft., 25-ft., and 30-ft. models. I prefer a 16-ft. tape, because it feels better in my hand.

A 100-ft. tape is useful for checking building lines and squaring foundations. Tape mea­sures have moving parts and receive heavy use,

so use the following tips to treat them with Measuring and marking. A steel tape measure is one of the most-used tools

special care: in a carpenter’s kit.

Подпись: Check a level for level. To check a level's accuracy, place it edge to edge against another level and against a flat surface that's close to level. If the level vials on both tools read the same, you can assume both levels are accurate. Test the vials that read for plumb in the same way. Подпись: Horizontal and vertical. Available in different lengths, levels can quickly test for plumb (vertical) and level (horizontal). [Photo by HFHI/David Spielman]

• Don’t leave a tape extended open on the floor, where it could be stepped on and creased. A creased tape will never work properly.

• If a tape is allowed to retract too quickly, the hook can break off when it hits the case. Learn to slow the tape with your fingers as the hook approaches the case.

• Clean any tape that gets gummed with wood pitch, tar, or caulk. A soft rag damp­ened with mineral spirits works well to remove those materials.

• When working in wet weather, wipe the tape dry with a cloth before reeling it into the case. Moisture inside the tape case can cause rust and friction, which can shorten the tape’s life span.

Pocket calculators

Building a house involves math problems galore. Whether figuring out the amount of concrete needed for a driveway, the square footage of floor space in a house, the number of studs for a wall, or the amount of shingles needed for the roof, these are not numbers you want to leave to

Подпись: New calculators that work in feet and inches make it easy to solve many construction problems. [Photo by Don Charles Blom]

chance. Math challenged or not, I recommend using a small hand-held calculator. There are several on the market, and they work in feet, inches, and fractions (see Resources on p. 279).

Levels

Checking for level (horizontal) and plumb (vertical) are construction tasks that carpenters do every day. Both 2-ft. and 4-ft. levels are good to have around. The 2-ft. model allows you to get into tighter spaces—to check a header or rough sill for level, for example. A 4-ft. or 6-ft. model provides greater accuracy across longer distances, such as when check­ing walls for plumb. More so than perhaps any other carpentry tool, a level must be treated with loving care to remain useful (an inaccurate level does you no favors). Check your levels for accuracy before you put them to work (see the tip at top left).

Подпись: Get the right angle. A small, triangular rafter square is designed to lay out 90-degree and 45- degree angles quickly, but it's also capable of laying out just about any angle you might need.

Essential Hand Tools

Lasers

Everyone wants a house that is built straight, plumb, and square. This may be why lasers are now almost as common as hammers on the job site. Small, self-leveling laser units cast a beam of light that can help ensure accurate measure­ments. Some of these laser units are small enough to fit in the palm of your hand (see Resources on p. 279).

Squares

Most things a carpenter builds are either square or rectangular. With a good square or two, you can mark square lines exactly and make square cuts precisely. These days, the most useful square is a small rafter square, often called a Speed® square—the brand name of a popular model (see the photo at left). This triangular square fits conveniently inside a nail bag. It’s rugged and easy to use and lets you lay out almost any desired angle, in addition to the usual 45-degree and 90-degree angles.

Подпись: Snap a line. Loaded with powdered chalk, a chalkline stretched tightly between two points is snapped to make straight lines quickly and accurately. Marking tools

Once you’ve measured, it’s time to mark. A carpenter’s pencil and a lumber crayon, or keel, are the two most common marking tools you’ll need. A carpenter’s pencil is flat (so it won’t roll away if you set it down), and it’s less apt to break than a regular pencil. A keel marks easily where pencils can’t—on materials such as tarpaper, housewrap, and concrete. It’s waterproof, too.

Подпись: NAILING WITH A HAMMEREssential Hand ToolsEssential Hand ToolsПодпись:Essential Hand Tools
A chalkline is also essential. The first chalkline I used was simply a string pulled through a solid chunk of chalk. Today’s chalklines come in cases or reels that hold both

Подпись:a string and a supply of powdered chalk. You pull the chalk-covered string out of the case, snap your line, and then rewind the string in­side the case, where it becomes covered in chalk again, ready for the next line. The chalk comes in many colors, including a few neon shades. Chalk that leaves a permanent line is good for working in rainy weather.

Hammers

Carpenters can be a bit touchy about their hammers. You may have more luck borrow­ing a carpenter’s pickup truck than a favorite hammer. These days, most framers west of the Mississippi prefer a 21-oz. hammer with a ser­rated face and a 16-in.- or 18-in.-long wooden handle. My preference is the well-balanced Dalluge® hammer. Women friends in the trade tell me they like the Stiletto®, a 14-oz. fram­ing hammer made of titanium with a steel face. East of the Mississippi, I see carpenters mostly using smooth-faced hammers with metal or fiberglass handles.

Hammer faces and weights vary greatly (see the photo above). The best advice I can give is to select a professional-grade hammer that feels
good to you. Definitely check out a hammer in person before you buy it. It should match your physical strength, feel well balanced, and be comfortable in your hand. When I bring a new hammer home, I usually reinforce the upper part of the wooden handle by wrapping it with electrical tape.

Utility knives and tinsnips

A few more essential tools round out a carpen­ter’s basic, must-have kit. Perhaps foremost on this list is a utility knife. On the job site, a utility knife may be used to open packages or cut building paper, fiberglass insulation, shingles, vinyl, or drywall. You’ll also need it several times a day to sharpen a carpenter’s pencil. I recommend using a knife with a retractable, replaceable blade and a handle with space inside to hold several replacement blades. When a blade becomes dull, replace it or restore its edge with a whetstone. A dull blade doesn’t cut as neatly and is dangerous because of the extra force required to make it cut.

Подпись: Shrink-wrap strengthens a wooden handle. Available from electrical suppliers, plastic shrink-wrap can add strength to a wooden hammer handle right where it counts—where the handle meets the head. Slip a 6-in.-long piece of the plastic wrap onto the handle, then shrink it in place with a hair dryer.Подпись: Stay sharp. A good, sharp utility knife has many uses on a construction site, from sharpening a pencil to trimming shingles to opening packing material.Essential Hand ToolsYou’ll need a good pair of tinsnips to cut
steel packaging bands around lumber. Snips are

Подпись: Builder's suspenders can lighten your load. Available where tool belts and pouches are sold, builder's suspenders can help take some weight off your waist and put it on your shoulders. They look good, too.Подпись: Create a tote for tools. Fit-ted with a pouch-covered canvas or nylon insert, a 5-gal. plastic bucket replaces an old-fashioned carpenter's toolbox.also essential when working with aluminum cladding and vinyl siding. Be careful when us­ing these cutting tools. Accidents with utility knives are common.

About Timber Framing

Posted by on 11/ 11/ 15

A Little Background

T

HE BEGINNINGS OF QUALITY TIMBER FRAMING ARE LOST IN PRE-HISTORY, but a reasonable surmise is that simple frames could have been made by supporting beams on columns which had a natural fork at the top, the kind of thing that we boys of the 1950s saw in Boy Scout manuals or Straight Arrow cards stuffed as premiums in Shredded Wheat boxes. (Gee, I wish I still had those!) Once a horizontal timber is supported by the verticals, considerations such as stability and strength enter the equation. Early builders would have recognized the inherent strength of the triangle. The value of the pitched roof would have been recognized soon thereafter, and timber-frame structures were off and running. Refinements in both kind and degree would have evolved by trial and error, a kind of structural evolution, with failed tests being dropped by the wayside and successes passed on through the generations.

Early humankind did not have metal tools and fasteners, but they did have excellent stone tools, and quality timber framing could and would have evolved without metal. Archaeological evidence at Neolithic sites — post holes primarily, as little wood has survived — show the shapes of houses in Europe 5,000 years ago, and suggest the kind of rafter systems that would have been required to roof the structures. Some were quite magnificent, like the huge round wooden temple at Stanton Drew in Somerset, England, which predates the megalithic stone circle at the same site. This earlier structure, discovered by the use of magnetometers in the late 1990s, would have had a diameter of 312 feet (95 meters), and was composed of about 400 very large oak posts. Experts disagree as to whether or not it was ever roofed, but the radial location of posts strongly suggests a radial rafter system. A project of this scale, at that time of much lower population than today, was an infinitely more impressive feat than, say, the building of Londons Millennium Dome or a modem American indoor sports arena.

How long these buildings lasted we shall never know. We know now that longevity of a wooden structure is closely tied to the quality of the foundation and the roof. The primary cause of wood rot is the propagation of fungi, which require air, water, and nutrients. If a constant damp condition can be avoided, wooden buildings will last an awfully long time. You need “good shoes and a good hat,” said the old-time builders, referring to the foundation and roof. I would add, “and good ventilation.”

As a youth of 19, visiting the Alpine village of Wengen, Switzerland in 1967,1 was asked to guess the age of the large chalet where I stayed. The building looked new, but I dutifully guessed an age of twenty years. I was shocked to learn that the home was 500 years old. The alpine climate, the quality of construction, and Swiss maintenance combined to preserve the building in an “as-new” state.

An example of this craftsmanship is worth relating. Wood swells at humid times, and shrinks when the air is dry. There’s not a great deal we can do about it. Nailed-down hardwood floors can buckle when they take on moisture, for example. In some Swiss houses of centuries past, the floorboards were not nailed down. Rather the center plank (or more than one) in the floor were tapered, with their ends actually sticking out of the building, accessible to a wooden mallet. In the winter, when conditions were dry, driving the wedge-shaped boards in from one end tightened the floor. During humid times, the opposite ends of the boards could be struck with a mallet to slightly loosen the floor, thus preventing buckling. And just think of what an easy matter it would be to replace a board.