One of the local television news programs I watched recently broadcast a story regarding how our bodies were being dried out by the excessive operation of our home heating systems during the extremely cold temperatures. The advice for this… Read More
Author Archives: Jerry Prugar
What the heck? (Volume 1)
Here we see some construction details that caused me to say, “What the heck? What were they thinking?” Is that vent backwards or am I just disoriented? Is THAT FOUR LAYERS of shingles under that vent? There is a reason… Read More
Traditional Sawn Lumber vs Engineered I-Joists vs Wood Trusses
What’s best for floor joists in residential construction: traditional sawn lumber, engineered I-Joists, or wood trusses? The answer to this is more complicated than “which is the best.” The answer is subjective. That is, it depends not only on the… Read More
Is there anything new under the sun?
I got a real chuckle this week reading an article entitled Lateral Loads Generated by Occupants on Exterior Decks on page 36 in the January 2014 issue of Structure magazine. As the title indicates it was about lateral design loads… Read More
What caused my brick porch pier to lean like that?
I don’t know how many leaning porch piers we have evaluated, but I can say – “a lot!” Leaning porch piers are usually noticed by the tenant or owner of the property after a strong wind storm, a vehicle impact… Read More
The Making of a Ceiling Collapse
We have seen ceiling collapses that have been caused by pressurizing of the attic with high winds after a gable end wall failure, from someone stepping on the drywall rather than the ceiling when in an attic, or from excessive… Read More
Collar Ties Vs. Rafter Ties
In common rafter framing the rafters support the weight of the roof construction and snow or live load by pushing against the opposing rafters (at the ridge plate at the peak), pushing horizontally outward at the top of the supporting… Read More
Happy New Year 2014!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Did you know that the term “engineer” is from the Anglo-French word “enginer” which means to devise or construct? Some etymological sources state that “engineer” proceeded from the Latin word “ingeniare” which also means to contrive or devise. From these roots we… Read More