On occasion we observe a construction detail that causes us to think or even say aloud, “What were they thinking?” Here are a few: Why is this chimney so tall? I’ll bet Santa doesn’t use this chimney. Why are the… Read More
Category Archives: The Unusual
The Sky is Falling! The Sky is Falling!
“The sky is falling, the sky is falling”, said Chicken Little. No my little feathered friend its just ice…very large pieces of ice. See featured photograph. Throughout our years of structural investigations we have seen various building components, such as,… Read More
Update: Low-flying Planes (Still) Damaging Roofs in Poland
In July 25, 2016 we reported a story in the Dziennik Polski that low flying airplanes were damaging clay roofs tile on homes nearby the airport in Morawica. This is an ongoing story in Poland as the authorities have been flummoxed… Read More
What Burns Faster…… ?
This is an interesting question. What burns faster a traditional sawn lumber (2×8, 2×10, etc) floor system or an engineered (I-joists) lumber floor system? According to an article in the October 2016 Angie’s List Magazine, a floor system built with engineered… Read More
Here’s a Layout You Don’t See Often (or Ever Before, for Me)
Things that came to mind at first glance: How does a roofer handle this? Did the architect see this coming? How can this not leak? Now what can be done? Answers (Guesses): He routed one valley into another. Probably not.… 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
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