Recent posts

#51
Owner-Builder Projects / Re: Kodiak Alaska - Our journe...
Last post by OlJarhead - March 09, 2023, 03:18:15 PM
Just checked out the latest on Flicker and it's shaping up nicely!
#52
General Forum / Tall retaining foundation wall...
Last post by carlsonNY - March 09, 2023, 11:14:44 AM
Hey guys,

I am designing a house that will be built into a pretty tall ledge rock/clay which means I need a tall concrete retaining foundation wall. I am attaching a drawing to help explain my question: Does a hung wooden floor joist system as pictured in my diagram count as lateral support to my 19' tall concrete wall? Is there a better way to construct this idea of a basement + 1st floor that needs to hold up to 19' of soil pushing against it?

Please let me know if you need more data to be able to answer this question and I thank you all very much for reading.

https://postimg.cc/Fd1pdm3D
#53
Owner-Builder Projects / Re: Okanogan 14x24 by a lurker...
Last post by OlJarhead - March 09, 2023, 10:48:15 AM

Woot!  Gotta love a good fire!
#54
General Forum / Re: three short questions abou...
Last post by rusticrural - March 09, 2023, 09:52:44 AM
i've noticed the slight slowdown on forum too but I suspect it might partially be to do with this weird winter itself too who knows? won't think too much about it nevertheless :-)

and i'll see what might eventually happen to that when the weather actually warms up some more I might try visit at least one of these few with-a-website log beams yards as to see what the real quality looks like for when I'll want to later cherry pick that particular yard for my pending plans (to put it this way in my viewpoint: i'm not fussy about reclaimed beams but at same time anything thats feeling soft on any particular long side or has a long big crack running across it I may rather want to leave these behind for someone else instead etc)

anyhow as for your last question, nearly all beams i'll be looking at getting would be facing the weather on a single-floor forest house affair, beside a small number of smaller beams for the roof rafters (at least these beams being 'indoor facing' I won't have to weatherproof them holes-and-whatsnot). and I still have to think about my subfloor (more specifically as base for possible earth floor? this is still to-be-determined yet mind you) as well
#55
General Forum / Re: critique my paper plan for...
Last post by jsahara24 - March 08, 2023, 09:22:41 AM
Quote from: NathanS on February 18, 2023, 10:59:55 AMAs an owner-builder it means more labor... and believe me simplicity is both your friend and reality when it's DIY.

Couldn't have said this better myself....
#56
General Forum / Re: critique my paper plan for...
Last post by OlJarhead - March 07, 2023, 07:41:11 PM
There are some huge log homes that make 40x40 look like cottages ;)
#57
General Forum / Re: three short questions abou...
Last post by OlJarhead - March 07, 2023, 07:39:51 PM
There used to be some pretty amazing builders posting here but it's been quiet lately.

I guess it depends on what you have in mind to do?  Structurally as long as the beams are solid with no rot at all, they may be fine.  Holes in the degrade the strength but that also depends on placement of the holes.

How would you use these?
#58
Owner-Builder Projects / Re: Okanogan 14x24 by a lurker...
Last post by OlJarhead - March 06, 2023, 12:10:16 AM

The start of another cabin adventure!
#59
General Forum / three short questions about he...
Last post by rusticrural - March 05, 2023, 10:14:09 AM
is it unusual or not that too unusual to have non-square beams such as 12x13 for example? of course I can wonder if its simply a website typo but..just in case it wasn't

and just curious for being new myself but generally when through holes were made on both axis of a barn beam are these perhaps not the best choice for to reclaim for exterior house walls or is there actually a general agreement on regarding 'weatherproofing' the weather-facing hole?

and finally please don't mind my naiveness if thats the case but for reclaimed hewn logs thats simply been stored in loose heaps just about off the ground outdoor - how should I handle these if I had wanted to build a house in the same year?
this is one particular example I meant about
(some web browsers seem to error on that webhost's http-vs-https redirects for some reason just as a friendly warning)
#60
General Forum / Re: regarding wood or corrugat...
Last post by rusticrural - March 04, 2023, 08:26:09 PM
thanks to both of you, funny enough I had also been wondering a bit about reasonable ideas for different bottoms and mm I guess I hadn't really thought of a formed concrete slab so that one'll go onto the list too