Two observations and a promise regarding labor on this Labor Day. Observation #1 Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. (Psa… Read More
Author Archives: Jerry Prugar
Case Study: A Sagging Roof
The roof of this barn exhibits a sag (featured photo). The roof is framed with rafters (Figure 1). The rafter ties are set very high to allow clearance for interior activities; however, this prevents the ties from adequately restraining the… Read More
The Need for Membrane Flashing Under a Threshold
Whether a manufactured stone with multiple joints or a solid board is used under the threshold of a door (featured photo), a flexible membrane flashing is necessary to stop the infiltration of runoff. On the inside, runoff infiltration through a… Read More
Lightning Damage
A large tree was struck by lightning (Figure 1). The home owner claimed interior damage to drywall. Although the tree was not adjacent to the dwelling it was very large and old. The roots probably extended to nearthe dwelling and there were… Read More
A Lifted (Heaved) Basement Floor Slab
What would cause a concrete basement floor slab to lift in this fashion? The basement floor slab was lifted up about eight inches or so. The area of floor slab over the sanitary sewer lines was lifted more than the… Read More
Hail Damage Revisited
It is that time of year again when we have thunderstorms with hail. And, we are sometimes called in to evaluate damage to roof to determine whether or not it is hail damage. There are times when these evaluations are… Read More
Just When You Thought You’ve Seen It ALL!!!!!!!!!!
This article caught my eye in Dziennik Polski: A man claims that clay tiles were disturbed on his roof by a low flying plane. The continuous line of disturbed tiles indicates that some type of moving phenomenon probably shifted the tile.… Read More
Wow! What Did That Look Like Before It Fell?
That’s a statement that we usually think when we see a collapse. Through the wonders of technology we can now often find an answer. In this case, we were able to view the porch roof a year or so prior… Read More