“What the Heck?” is a series of articles that discuss things I have experienced that are troubling to me. For example, I drive by a building on Leavitt Road regularly (see featured photograph). In fact, I looked forward to checking… Read More
Category Archives: The Unusual
Continuing With the Theme of Labor
Now that I have your attention. A job well done will usually stand the test of time or whatever else is thrown at it. Here are a few that did not. And what did we learn from these? Redundancy is… Read More
What Were They Thinking?
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
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