The typical loads are: Dead loads – the weight of the building itself (concrete, wood, metal, permanently attached equipment…) Live loads – the rated weight of everything to be placed in the building (people, furniture…) In structural engineering there are other loads that need to be accounted for by code (per ASCE 7), if they …
Continue reading “What are the different types of loads on buildings?”
Well, driveways are made with cheap materials. The difference is how it is built. Typically, you want 3″-4″ of concrete thickness in your driveway. 6″ if large trucks drive on it regularly. If your driveway has rocks larger than a golf ball you’d want to add about the same thickness. But, rocks are okay as …
Continue reading “How can you tell if your driveway was built with cheap materials (rocks)?”
Romans use what is called saltwater cement and we use portland cement. Both are the binder for concrete. We can tell by analysis of roman concrete what the composition is but there is debate about the formula used. This is likely because like modern cement there is a large number of combinations and proportions that …
Continue reading “What is the difference between ancient Roman cement and modern Portland cement?”
Firstly, there are different types of both aluminum roofing and shingles. Aluminum shingles – some people like the look, many don’t. They are fairly fragile to impact but otherwise can last 10–15 years. Inexpensive. Aluminum requires precautions when touching other metals. Aluminum sheet or standing seam roofing – very distinctive look. Considered one of the …
Continue reading “Is aluminum roofing better than shingles?”
Okay, there are several things at play here. Screws are a mechanical fastener that cuts into the wood and holds because you’d need to either pull the plug of wood out also or pull hard enough for things to sufficiently deform for the screw to slip past. Now, in each case the screw will likely …
Continue reading “Does adding glue inside a screw hole strengthen the connection of a wood screw?”
On the surface that sounds reasonable, but the answer requires more. As several others have mentioned cinder blocks are different from CMU (concrete masonry units) but still the price is similar. A block may cost about $1.00 ea while wood studs are $2–3 ea. You need one stud every 16″ plus bottom plate, double top …
Historically there have been a number of factors limiting wood framed high rises. First, has been combustibility. With such large populations that have to pass through such narrow areas such as elevator and stair cores an increase of possible fire made such designs unfeasible. North America and Europe had hard caps on wood framed buildings …
You’ll get a lot of simple single point answers on this, but there are a lot of reasons for and against. Let’s start with a simple pro and con list: Pros Pretty or at least attractive to most people Decreases thermal gains in the structure Increases the insulation on the largest surface area of most …
Continue reading “Why don’t home builders put sod on the roof instead of shingles?”
Firstly, ferrock is concrete, just with a different aggregate make-up. It is applied like concrete, transported like concrete; it is concrete. So, ferrock is concrete with a sizable content of waste iron and silica. The strength varies greatly depending on the proportions used, but, generally, it comes in at 5,000psi – 7,000psi at 7 days. …
This question contains two parts going in different directions. The typical answer (the one supplied by most building codes) is 1/4″ per foot for drainage. The actual minimum slope for drainage is closer to 1/64″ per foot. At that slope gravity stops becoming the driving force behind water. Air movement, surface tension, and capillary flows …
