Hey everyone I've been lurking and learning here for a LONG time and I'm very excited to finally be able to contribute a thread of my own! We're going to be building the 14x24 Little house plan this summer and I'll be posting plenty of pictures and keep you all updated with hope that not only will you enjoy it but that many pairs of eyes checking my work could potentially save me some headaches!
A little background...I live in an area in the west which can get quite snowy, the snowload map for our property says snowloads can reach 40-60lbs ( thats if I'm looking at this snowload map right, It may be less). Wind gusts in the area can reach 75 mph although we have trees on our windward side so I don't know how much we actually get.
I want to build the house as strongly and safely as possible and it's been our dream to build our own place for a while. I'm extremely glad a resource like this exists online. I am a complete newbie though so please forgive me for asking any rediculous questions. d*
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So here is where I'm at so far:
I am having a contractor/friend do the 16x16x16 footings and getting them square because If I mess up I really don't want to have to dig one of those suckers out.
Walls will be done with 2x6 studs and hopefully 10' tall if I can figure out the loft.
After reading about cantilevers and because the plans extend 2 feet out from the beams (and considering our potential snow load) I am probably going to be changing the joists to either 2x8 or 2x10s at 12'' or 2x12s at 16'' just for the extra peace of mind.
We will be doing a metal 12 in 12 roof so I doubt the snow load will get that high but I'd rather be safe than sorry. What would you suggest?
As previously stated we'll be going with the 14 x 24 little house plans, very inspired by the Nash house
http://www.countryplans.com/nash.html
specifically the amount of headroom in the large sleeping loft. But I'm confused when looking at the pictures of that loft, and comparing them to the plans and what I've read in many other threads on this website.
The plans call for two partial lofts (we'll probably just do the large loft) and a cathedral area in the middle, but from my understanding, unless you are tieing the walls together with a full length loft, rafter ties are required for the entire length of the house due to roof thrust.
It seems like in the LH plans the loft joists ARE the rafter ties. If this is so, how is the nash house able to safely use 10' walls with only collar ties over the open area? ??? Do the little house plans do this as well? I can't tell because the diagrams only show the rafters from the ends/corners.
I also notice the nash house has a beam right in the middle of the large loft to help support it, is this required or just there for some extra support? Does the beam go through the floor into a footing or is it just tied into the floor joists?
I realize thinking about the roof before I even have the walls up may be putting the cart before the horse but I really want to have a clear mental picture of what we'll be doing before I start.
We're waiting just a few more weeks for the rest of the mud on the road to dry before the footings will be done but I will post some pictures of the site soon!
Thanks for reading this far. See ya soon
w*
Headache #1, well, I can be polite or I can be honest. I'll be honest but it is not with the intent of being impolite. When you choose to build illegally, don't spend more than you can lose. You inquired about a 120 sf house and plan on a 336 sf house, it may pass. If the house is "caught"... and I'm not sure how people expect to hide an elephant in their yard for a lifetime, the inspector will probably want to inspect it and anything not built right will need to be brought up to code, or he can simply have it removed and send you a bill for that. When I say "code" generally what I'm really talking about is rational design based on physics and experience. I'm not enforcement and don't have a dog in it, just seen people do it to themselves before. I've also seen contractors get caught in the middle of a situation like this, lose their license and their "friend" leaves them flapping in the wind. Not too long ago a friend of mine was busted, the homeowner had talked him into working on an unpermitted house. Another contractor that had bid the work turned them in. That guy is a jerk and there is a good old fashioned case of karma coming down on him but he was not wrong either, you never know where it is going to come from. There is an old saying "a wise man learns from the mistakes of others, a fool from his own". I don't think that needs further discussion, your call on how you proceed.
Actually most people put the cart before the horse by not looking at the roof first, that is the correct order to trace the load path. It sounds like you've read enough to know that this roof is not properly tied. You asked how this could be done safely and you know enough to know that what you are looking at isn't safe. One solution is to hang the rafters from a beam at the ridge. A 24' beam would likely be too massive to afford or handle. I would try to use a post from around the center of the ridgebeam down to a properly sized footing. It can also pick up a loft support beam if needed. Another way is to use trusses. You posted a footing size but as yet I don't think you know the loads on the footings, that is putting the cart before the horse.
A pier and beam foundation should be engineered, I've not spoken to an engineer who would sign off on the ones we see pictured here. A post frame also requires engineering but it is something that they can approve. The posts would not be inset in that case, they would be on the perimeter and would run unbroken from footing to top plate. Building prescriptively is another way.
Don, thanks for your concern!
Regarding the build process, when you say that the roof is not properly tied, are you referring to the nash house or the LH plans as designed? I see a cathedral style ceiling in the LH plans as well although not with the extra headroom the nash house has.
I don't think I'm up for converting the roof to a ridge beam plan, so I may wind up looking at trusses or just leaving the plans as they are in that regard.
Would trusses would allow me the ability to notch in a ledger board and start the partial loft at around 8' on 10' walls and then have the rest of the house be a cathedral style without creating outward thrusting forces? How are trusses generally lifted, with a crane or are they not too crazy heavy?
I am unsure as to the loading on the footings and I am just going with the contractors recommendation after showing him the plans, we have relatively rocky soil.
What do you think my idea for the floor joists? Do those seem sufficiently beefy for my needs? I'd rather be overkill than under. I understand the best you can do is speculate and an engineer would have the most accurate answers but unfortunately I'll be doing this without the guidance of an engineer.
I've brought in and set trusses up to about 24' by hand, as well as beams up to 40'. The truss shop printout will have the weight of the truss on it. A number of those shops also deal with post frame buildings and do the engineering as part of the sale. Equipment certainly makes things easier but the ancients were pretty sharp, simple machines work. The "I'm not up for" out of hand dismissals exist in a place between our ears, do recognize that. It limits our options when we start down those thought paths "I can't" vs "How can I". We've also put boom trucks and cranes in some pretty tight places in these mountains, those operators are good and generally not that expensive.
Check out post #88 here;
http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=14235.75
That is one way to tie the rafters using the floor joists. I would make the birdsmouth notches a good bit smaller than in the drawing to preserve more strength but that concept is much stronger than what you're looking at doing.
Scroll up to post 77 to see a post frame. With the posts extending from footing to top plate there is not a pinned hinge supporting the building, the support posts become braced cantilevered beams.
For floor joists you can check them in the code tables, remember those tables are minimums. I'm not going to check them at this point because the design isn't correct yet. Remember overkill in one part of the chain does not correct the weak link in another part of the chain.
Edit;
Running back up on the roof with that "how can it be done" attitude, lets see how big that ridge beam would need to be. I'll assume there is a post at midspan breaking the ridge into two 12' spans. The ridge will carry half the load of the rafters on each side of it, the eave walls will support the lower half of the rafters. So, the ridgebeam will support an area 12' long x 7' wide, 84 square feet. Assuming the weight of the materials is 10 psf + the 60 psf snow load = 70 lbs per square foot X 84 square feet=5880 lbs. Three 2x12's at 12' long would support this... easier than trusses in my book if you can handle the post all the way down.
I think this is the part that Don P is referring to: http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=14235.msg191124#msg191124
And here is how the loft joists are tied to the rafters:
(http://i.imgur.com/OWxWWxe.png)
That is for a full loft. In the timber frame cabin I will build someday I am looking at a partial loft and cathedral ceiling. For that my options are a structural ridge or scissor trusses. If I were on the highway system I would have trusses delivered to the job site, and maybe even unloaded on top of the walls. For my application a ridge beam will be much easier to accomplish.
Wow! What a lot of good information, thank you guys, this gives me a lot to chew on for a while, guess I have some more research to do. I really like the idea of extending the joists to the eave, giving more headroom AND a nice overhang at the same time without comprimising the roof.
I suppose I'll do some more research on ridge beams as well. My statement about 'not being up for' it wasn't so much an unwillingness or laziness to try as it was a concern that either my wife and I wouldn't be able to lift a beam that size (didn't know you could split it), or more importantly, my concern that because I don't have much knowledge about load paths, etc, and I'm not hiring an engineer I didn't trust myself to try and get too creative outside the plans. But I DO have time before I get to that point to try and educate myself a bit more.
Could you recommend a good resource online or otherwise for reading a bit more about ridge beams? I have some framing books but they don't cover that in much depth.
I sincerely appreciate you guys taking time out of your day to help with our little project. [cool]
Edit: What is the name of that style where the end wall studs reach all the way up to the rafters instead of ending in a wall top plate?
I don't know that the name strictly applies for those gable walls, but balloon framing (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Framing_(construction)#Balloon_framing) is when the walls are built first and the second floor put in after. The way I plan to build the loft is balloon framing.
it's nothing like a How-To manual, but the International Residential Code (http://codes.iccsafe.org/app/book/toc/2015/I-Codes/2015%20IRC%20HTML/index.html) is the definitive resource on how to build a house according to code. It takes a while to understand how it is all laid out but is a helpful reference on how to appropriately size joists and rafters, for example. Where I am building there is no permit authority, so I can build whatever I choose. It's important to me to ensure that the structure can withstand the forces that Mother Nature will throw at it, so I will be following code wherever I can.
Full height framing is indeed called balloon framing as opposed to platform framing. The reason you would use balloon framing is to avoid having a weak hinge in a wall. The building code says that studs must run unbroken from points of lateral support. In other words from a floor plane to another floor plane, or from a floor to the roof. What the code doesn't delve into very well is that both the top and the bottom of that wall need to be well connected to the points of lateral support. People do a poor job tying the tops of those big walls to the roof pretty often.
Chapter 3 of the IRC, Building Planning, start here;
http://codes.iccsafe.org/app/book/content/2015-I-Codes/2015%20IRC%20HTML/Chapter%203.html (http://codes.iccsafe.org/app/book/content/2015-I-Codes/2015%20IRC%20HTML/Chapter%203.html)
Notice R301.1.0-3
You can build prescriptively following the provisions in the codebook and as long as you follow those prescriptions you don't need an engineer to check it, we've done those things enough times the same way that we know they work pretty much anywhere. So that is what I mean when I say to build prescriptively whenever possible. The codebook then goes on to say that when you cannot build prescriptively you can look for a solution in several referenced standards and those are acceptable methods. Failing that, the parts of the building that cannote be built prescriptively need to be built according to accepted engineering practice.
That is the section where things such as minimum room areas are given, minimum sizes in baths, headroom, etc.
Chapter 8 is where you'll see the ridgebeam pop up;
http://codes.iccsafe.org/app/book/content/2015-I-Codes/2015%20IRC%20HTML/Chapter%208.html
Go to R802.3.1 "Where ceilg joists or rafter ties are not provided, the ridge formed by these rafters shall be supported by a wall or girder... That girder is also known as a ridge beam.
Go to table R802.5.1(8), (there's the rafter span tables that would cover you) scroll to the footnotes under the table. Notice the small table there, what it is saying is that the rafter tie cannot be raised more than 1/3 of roof height above the plate. (notice the next table is the connection requirements between the rafter and the joist to resist thrust.)
So in the cathedral area the roof is not tied, it then needs a girder, a ridgebeam, to support the rafters. It is pointing to an engineered solution for the cathedral ceiling. When I roughly sized the ridgebeam I was using accepted engineering practice... beam equations from the AWC and wood design data and methods from the NDS, see section R802.2
That's probably enough for one bite :D
Don thanks for the link, that has been a great resource, TONS of info so I've been going through that, although the link seems to be a bit finicky for me.
Not much happeneing here yet unfortunately, the weather has been a big obstacle and this is probably the wettest winter, spring we have seen up here.
I did manage to get up and take a picture of what will be the build site, although not without getting my truck stuck in some SERIOUS soup along the way.
(https://i.imgur.com/njriaaA.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/2aGMxi6.jpg)
Our road seems to have multiple springs bubbling up so while some parts of the road are dry enough to be dusty, others are mucky as hell.
Luckily I know someone with a bulldozer who was able to get up and pull me out! ;D
Until the road gets dry enough to get some concrete up here, I'm relegated to planning and research (which never hurts) although I was hoping to be started by now.
(https://imgur.com/a/Qe5NA)
Holy smokes! The road is dry and we FINALLY got the contractor to come up and do the concrete! :)
Now time to order some wood and get to work! Are solid beams gonna be the best idea for strength or would a home built glulam be just as dandy?
Here are some pictures of the piers/brackets, and I was a bit nervous after speaking with the contractor but I'd like to hear some input before i mention it to him.
First, there is no rebar in these footings, although they DO extend below the frostline (18'') they are 14'' x 24'' deep. He said we have very rocky and stable soil so it wasn't needed (I was away for work while it was poured so I found this out after...)
Secondly all of the Simpson strongties are lined up with each other very well (although some are not dead center on the pier), but some of them are mildly out of plumb, probably 1/4'' or less, do I just shim the posts somehow? Is that kind of common or should I be worried? Having a bit of anxiety about that. ???
Here are some pictures..
(https://i.imgur.com/jXdYbLm.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/tQchg6E.jpg)
I've built footings like this for the deck on my house, although I did use rebar. The brackets being out of plumb aren't a big deal, as you can bend the steel to get it into vertical. I would shim with pieces of asphalt shingle as needed.
I learned by reading this forum that a built-up beam is stronger than a solid wood beam of the same dimensions. The beam load calculations established by the American Wood Council (http://www.awc.org/codes-standards/publications/library) allow for a 15% increase in the design strength for the built up beam. Be sure to locate joints over a post, that's the only way it is stronger.
The pier and post design is great at being low cost, but you sacrifice a lot of load bearing capacity as well as shear resistance compared to a continuous perimeter foundation. You'll want to brace those posts and the beams too, to the extent that it seems like overkill. But when you load up everything with the weight of a cabin,, especially if it's carrying a big snow load on the roof, it doesn't take a lot of lateral force to rack things over.
I'm not sure if I can bend the part of the steel that is out of plumb, I'm talking about the flat base of the bracket itself, but good to know asphalt shingle will work, and thanks for the info about built up beams! [cool]
When it comes to bracing the posts properly, the plans don't show how they physically connect to the beams, do I use a hanger of sorts or some kind of lag bolt to secure them?
Hmmm, there might be a semantics thing going on here. To clarify, a built up beam is made of 2x lumber up on edge, good. A gluelam is factory laminated of lumber on the flat... don't attempt that, it will fail. Look in the codebook for beam and girder span tables for dimensions, I think you'll be in chapter 5.
If you build the girder in those pockets out of treated lumber and frame a stem wall on top that is sheathed in treated ply it would be better braced than putting the cabin up on poorly braced posts. Asphalt shingles are not shims nor is anything else compressible, I think code says 350 psi or greater but with the loadings this produces you may need better than that.
Well guys, feeling a bit bummed out today, not really sure how to proceed right now. :-[
I spoke with the contractor about the out of plumb anchors and he suggested shimming. Luckily I was able to find some composit shims that are up to 8000 psi. Started putting in posts and some of these anchors are actually 3/8'' out of plumb in either one or a combo of both directions. Got the 3 posts nailed in and leveled but they are basically floating, with only one corner touching the flat face of the anchor. This is obviously not ideal.
Should I try and just jam/hammer the shims in to fill the empty space as tight as possible? Cutting the wood at an opposing angle isn't working, the multiple angles needed to bring the post plumb are just too complex. I'm frustrated because this contractor is well known in our area and has built alot of local businesses around here so I dont see how they messed up this much and I'm not sure if I should try and ask them to fix it (somehow). ???
This house has been a dream for us for quite a while and the idea of starting literally off kilter is very disheartening and any advice on this part would be appreciated greatly.
Also, Don, my plan is to brace the posts thoroughly, I'm just not sure what kind of hardware I use to attach the pt 4x4 to the posts and joists.
Thanks for the help guys
For starters I'd fire the contractor now before he messes anything else up!
You can shim etc and if needed later can go back and do something like I did (put in your own footing and surface bonded cement wall for a foundation after the fact) if you feel it isn't good enough.
If you are using posts and then beams remember that they will need bracing and lots of it. I found that my cabin wasn't really 'stable' until it was very well braced and even then the addition of two foundation walls under it (I'm not done) made all the difference.
So fire the contractor (those footings look like a kid poured them, not a pro) and either hire someone who is professional (and therefore will do nice work -- meaning everything will be plumb, square etc and look nice too) or do it yourself :)
I know that sounds harsh but you want your cabin built right and I'd have NO confidence in that contractor now.
(https://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/y442/emcvay2/Cabin/AFooting2_zps364f07c9.jpg)
To emphasize my point, I did this footing alone and I am not a professional. It's 8" deep and 16" wide and level. My point being that a pro (again, I am not a pro so expect better than me in a pro) makes things that are correct the first time and look good too.
(https://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/y442/emcvay2/Cabin/Foundation_zpsceb01b15.jpg)
This is something you can do yourself even after the cabin is completed (which is what I'm doing) but bear in mind that whether using the simple post and peer method or a foundation like this, that it is the most important part of the build! It's the foundation, the thing everything sits on. So do it right and you won't worry later ;)
I'd have to agree, that work seems excessively sloppy for someone claiming to be a professional.
A contractor without a license, or willing to lose it, by going around the code officials.
I don't think it's too late to dig out between the piers and then pour a continuous footing, or scrap the piers and offset the whole building a few feet and start over again - this would actually be faster and easier I think. Seems expensive now, but really in the scope of building a house it's not that much time or money.
It would be so much easier to do the foundation correct now than to put all the work into a structure and come back and fix it later.
That soil looks awfully familiar---I built for my Mom outside of Lassen. Similar dirt, similar slope. You are going to build a rigid structure, attached to a flexible foundation, set in moving soil. That dirt is creeping downhill---not fast, but it is. It expands and contracts, too. You have zero earth/wood contact separation---it's a great plan if you're into feeding termites.
Your planned structure is small enough that hand building a continuous footing wouldn't be too hard.
It's a beautiful property, by the way, and I see nice native building materials lying around everywhere. Here's what I'd do--
1) Start with a retaining wall where you've cut into the hillside there. Set up a french drain, pour a proper footing, and use the native stone for an attractive feature that redirects water away from your structure.
2) Dig a nice continuous perimeter footing, 24" deep. Use plenty rebar and pour concrete. After that you could use cinder block but I'm fond of slip forming smaller foundations. Get at least 18" out of the dirt and provide for ventilation. If you want, you can build a stemwall above that to provide under house access, good airflow, and somewhere for storage.
A nice solid foundation will really pay off in the long run. Take close note of OLJarhead's foundation, that's something you can do. The retaining wall can be built as a practice run where it really won't matter as much... Finally I hope you know we all love building on this site and seeing structures go up---I learn something from every single build. So when people are encouraging you to upgrade your foundation, we're really hoping you end up with a strong, safe structure
Holy smokes! Thank you guys so much for your responses! This forum is amazing, i appreciate everyone taking time out of their day to help me out! Thanks guys! [cool]
So an update...after reading your suggestions I figured it'd probably be best to not ask the contractor to correct the problem since it may just make it worse and I called a carpenter friend to come and help me properly level and shim the posts, we got most of them done! :D, and hopefully the next few will be done within a few days (my work schedule right now has me working 5-730 6 days a week so work is progressing slowly).
I put a LOT of consideration into just restarting the whole foundation, but as of right now money constraints as well as a strong desire to get the house weathered in by winter are going to make that unfeasable so I'm going to continue on. I'll be heavily bracing the posts, and getting some simpson column caps, as well as going into this with the understanding that I will probably put in a stemwall within a year or two regardless of how the posts hold up. I know it will likely be more work than it would be now, but it's what I can afford.
Oljarhead your pictures were equal parts inspiring (for me) and maddening (that the contractor messed up so bad) so thank you for posting those, I really like visual aids.
A question, what would you recommend the minimum height be for the lowest post? I'm currently about 20 inches but I figure with that, plus an 8 inch girder and 8 inch joists that sucker is gonna be sitting pretty high and was curious how low I would be able to go?
@flyingvan I definitely think we will be doing a retaining wall at some point, it hadn't even occured to me until you mentioned it but I like the idea.
Once again thanks guys, I'll be updating with pictures a bit more regularly now that things are moving but like I said progress may be slow due to work. Stay tuned! c*
I found myself in the same place and did exactly that: build it on the piers, go back in later and start building a better foundation. So, if you have to do it that way you can.
For height some say a min of 18" ground to the bottom of the floor joists but for me I like 24" as that crawl space allows more room to do things like build that foundation ;) or put hardware cloth up to protect the insulation from mice and rats etc etc etc
Its my understanding if you are less than 18" from the ground to your wood it needs to be pressure treated.
All the posts are PT, and yeah I suppose I'll leave em high for now to make my job easier in the future!
Just got done ordering some simpson column caps, holy MOLY those things are expensive! [shocked] Only ordered 6 (figured one every other column should be ok) and it came out to just over $400 after shipping!
They should be here in a week and then I can get those girders up! ;D
The column caps do provide good connection, they provide zero lateral resistance just as the post bases provide good connection to the pier but provide zero lateral bracing. The taller the post is the longer the lever arm is who's overturning moment must be resisted when wind or shaking earth loads that post. This is not minor.
Quote from: Peaceful Ambition on June 06, 2017, 11:19:09 PMAll the posts are PT, and yeah I suppose I'll leave em high for now to make my job easier in the future!
Make sure all of your cuts are treated, when time permits I like to soak all of my cut ends in a cup of wood preservative, obviously doing it this way requires some planning.
Don, thanks for the info, would you recommend any different column caps which would offer good lateral support or will 4x4 cross bracing on each post be sufficient?
Also, poop, I didn't think to treat the cut ends of the post d*. I can still treat the top portions but for the bottom of the posts should I just spray something around the bottoms to seal them off or is it not a huge deal? We are really only getting precip in late fall/ winter.
Without a welded assembly, no I can't. As one engineering professor noted, most knee braces as installed are simply something to fall out and hit you in the head when they fail. A panel spreads out the lateral load as shear over a large area and many fasteners. The light usually comes on as we build higher and heavier over those undersized foundation elements, then begin to contemplate or see what wind and shaking ground can do. This is part of why a full perimeter foundation works well and why I proposed building treated wall panels around the perimeter. It spreads out those lateral loads rather than concentrating them in the process of resisting them.
Ok, I'm trying to understand what exactly you mean when you say building treated wall panels around the perimeter? I'm trying to picture how that would look, do you have a link? My building experience is second to all, so sorry if this is common knowledge d*
Would you recommend I return the column caps to save some money and just get some straps (i think they're called) instead? Bracing the posts and possibly doing a treated wall perimeter of course.. Or will my overall building still benefit from these column caps enough to make it worth it?
What I'm proposing with where you are now... All of this is treated. Notch the girder into the post tops. Align the outside face of the girder flush with the outside face of the post. Plumb that assembly and nail temporary diagonals on the inside from a post bottom to girder to brace that assembly for now. Build sections of wall that fit between posts, a top and bottom plate with vertical short studs @ 16" on center between plates. The studs should be placed so that 96" plywood breaks on a stud. Nail these wall sections to the posts and to the girder bottom.
Mound, rake and tamp a crown to the underfloor soil. You want a pitchers mound under there not a swimming pool. Cover this soil with 6 mil plastic after the floor is framed when you are done walking around on that level.
Frame the floor.
Sheath the perimeter with treated 1/2" plywood running horizontally from the bottom plate over the studs, top plate, girder and ~ midway onto the floor rim joist. Nail this to all framing members well, 4" on center around the edges 8" on center in the field using galvanized ring shank 8's. Do not overdrive the nails.
You now have a braced perimeter wall, the framing keeps the plywood bracing element from buckling under lateral shear loads from wind or seismic, the plywood ties all the elements together giving better connection than a column cap can. These wall panels are much stronger than trying to brace the posts with discrete poorly connected 4x4's. Many small fasteners ties the elements together and distributes load better than few large connections in wood. This has tied the posts, girder and floor into one assembly. When you sheath the walls above, that sheathing ties to the top half of the rim joist and up onto the wall studs above, firmly connecting the walls to the floor.
Master class, if you dig a perimeter trench to frost depth and fill it with gravel underneath these wall sections you have essentially constructed a permanent wood foundation, you'll find a sketch of that in chapter 4. Doing a foundation entirely that way from the beginning avoids the time and money involved in the piers, posts and girders but doing it the way described above picks the bracing back up of that method. Make sense?
Don, thanks for the detailed description!
It is making alot more sense now, and if I understand correctly, the reason that would be a preferable way to go is because shear loads are carried more directly to the ground no? My only question would be, absent the gravel, what is my bottom plate sitting on, just the ground? Or is it partially buried?
Also, at the hardware store today I realized I may have made a horrible mistake...
When I previously bought nails, I was referring to the simpson catalog which said the anchors HAD to be nailed with the 3.5'', .168 dia 16d commons and NOT the 3.25'' 16d sinkers, so I went with the longer and slightly thicker nails figuring they were the correct diameter (it's not like we all carry dial calipers)...back at the hardware store today though, I noticed that there was a THIRD 16d nail they carried (wtf how many of the same size can you have [chainsaw]) which was 3.5'' and thicker still (I'm guessing it was .168).
So my posts have been nailed with the smaller dia 3.5'' 16d nails, I haven't installed the through bolts yet. I'm sure the smaller diameter costs me some load but do you think its enough to where I should try and rip em all out to re-do them?
My Math says with a 60psf snow load and 15psf dead load each anchor should only be carrying about 2100 lbs out of a rated 10,000lbs of download, so I feel that I should be safe especially once the through bolts are in. Obviously it isn't ideal but have i created a real danger by using these nails? ???
Don: That's cool, a PWF with a post backing.
PA: here's a build using a PWF. http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=10671.0
Yes you are understanding my thoughts.
Without gravel to frost depth I wouldn't rest on the ground directly, frost heave potential, you could run metal panel into grade if you want to skirt it.
If you can post a link to your Simpson product I'll check it, manufacturer specs win but you'd be losing strength R&R'ing the connector too. From memory I think a 16 sinker is .148" dia and a common is .190... I do have the NDS tables here or you can check loads on the connections calc at awc.org
Well here's a long overdue update, progress as of last weekend! Finally got all these suckers shimmed and trimmed. Work is slow going as I work in fire and as fire season picks up my schedule gets more and more hectic and unpredictable.
Woot! on our way! [cool]
(https://i.imgur.com/2R4yGwt.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/KElD9XQg.jpg)
Next stop is the built up beams, which I hope to have made if not even mounted by monday.
After thoughtful consideration (and discussing it with the missus) we've decided to just continue with the original plan to go with the wood pier foundation and likely add a continuous footing down the road, as cool as the perm. wood foundation sounds, if I'm gonna dig a trench to frost depth anyway I might as well just fill it with concrete afterwards similar to what OlJarhead is doing.
That being said, I do think that anything I can do to increase lateral stability is going to be a good idea, so I'll be headed to our local home improvement store tomorrow to return the Simpson Column caps Part # CCQ44SDS2.5 (which offer no rated lateral support and were frighteningly expensive) in exchange for some other ties, but I'm curious as to what more experienced builders would recommend I buy.
I'm looking at these two:
Simpson PC4Z http://www.dhcsupplies.com/store/p/5800-PC4Z-4x-Post-Cap.html (http://www.dhcsupplies.com/store/p/5800-PC4Z-4x-Post-Cap.html) which are rated at 1420 uplift, and 1120 lateral.
or
Simpson BC4 http://www.dhcsupplies.com/store/p/3367-BC4-4-x-4-Post-Cap.html (http://www.dhcsupplies.com/store/p/3367-BC4-4-x-4-Post-Cap.html) which are rated at 980 uplift, 1000 lateral
or maybe even some basic T straps, I'm not sure what they would be rated for but I seem to see them on lots of projects with big beams. Either way I think i'm leaning towards the first, the PC4Z.
What do you guys recommend?
I'd still build walls rather than trying to solve the problem with a sheet metal connector, the frost depth gravel was ideal, you can stay above grade. The lateral on those is one direction only IIRC.
Built up beams are easier if built in place rather than trying to build the entire beam and heave it into place.
I suppose it wouldn't hurt to at least price out what the extra lumber and gravel would cost to do a perm. wood foundation, couldn't hurt.
Good call on the beams, just gotta go pick up a nail gun so I can nail them on the posts without beating the anchors out of whack, 18 nails per column cap.
Finally got my quote back for lumber today, around 1800 for the house lumber and 1400 delivered for the 12x12 scissor trusses (almost $300 of which is delivery fees yikes! [shocked]), although it seems the truss design the engineer went with has me building a balloon framed gable end wall instead of just having a flat truss bottom on the ends. I'm not sure why this is, tried calling him but he won't be back in until monday so I guess I'll find out then. :D
I can't see why it would affect things either way as loads on the gable end would be transferred the same direction anyway, no?
More to come!
That's rare, a truss tech that knows what he is doing :D. He is correct, again lateral, a horizontal break in the studs needs to be laterally supported by a floor, roof or ceiling diaphragm. He is running studs up to the ceiling unbroken which is correct, in high winds those cathedral ceiling trusses with gable truss ends open up and are laying somewhere in the yard in pics they show us.
Do not shoot the metal anchors if that is what you were thinking, you'll be picking a ricochet out of yourself.
If you're worried about hammer strikes tweaking the brackets then you might consider a palm nailer. I used one for tie-down straps as it allows you to work between joists. The model I went with was a Hitachi. Works great in untreated lumber, but the PT lumber is randomly much harder and that nailer did not impress with its random effectiveness in PT. Just use a hammer and beat them back into place if they move.
Holy smokes it's been a while! Yikes! Fire season has proven to be way busier than I anticipated, but now that it's winding down I'm starting to remember what a weekend feels like and now it's time to get to work!
So whats new, well the wood was delivered (minus the trusses so far) and I've got the girders built and now the floor joists are nearly done!
Great advice on building those girders in place, that saved us a TON of headache, so thanks.
I'm starting to get an idea as to just how well I'm going to have to brace this sucker until I can go back in a year or two and add in either a continuous footing or a PWF. The floor joists are nearly done (about twice as many as in this picture below) and if I grab and REALLY shake I can get some wobble forwards and backwards, add in walls and a roof and some wind and there will definitely be some big forces pushing on these little posts.
Granted, there is 0 bracing I've done so far so I shouldn't be too suprised.
Based on what I was reading I was thinking doing an 'X' style brace with 2x4s lagged in (one on each side of each post) on the 14' side, and possibly some pt 4x4 lagged in doing a 'Y' style bracing each direction on the long side. My shortest post is 18'' so i don't have a ton of real estate to nail to but I feel that this should add some pretty reasonable rigidity at least for the time being. For the 'X' bracing am I just bracing the posts to each other? Or am I bracing low on a post to the girder or floor?
What do you guys think? Appearance is second to strength and cost at this current time, but next year I'll have some more funds available to add in something a bit more beefy like was suggested a ways back...
Anyway, heres a (nearly) up to date picture, I'm two joists away from having the platform done before I can start putting in some subfloor to dance on!
(https://i.imgur.com/tjhgrlf.jpg)
don't forget to block between joists over the girders ;).
Quote from: Don_P on September 24, 2017, 10:10:35 PM
don't forget to block between joists over the girders ;).
haha I was just thinking that!
Alright, made some progress this last weekend, really feeling the pressure to step it up now before the weather comes, luckily I think we'll stay largely snow/rain free for at least a few more weeks. Got the blocking in, 'X' bracing, insulation, and subfloor.
We all gave a pretty good dance on it in celebration but sadly I forgot to take a pic of that.
I also started laying out the rear wall since there are no openings I figured that'd be a good way to ease into the other walls.
Should I vapor barrier the underside of the floor joists? I'm eventually just going to sheet the bottom to keep out little rodents and wasn't sure if that'd be sufficient.
(https://i.imgur.com/K74yVqR.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/zAds7nJ.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/ZbBTZ86.jpg)
Next step will be raising/bracing this wall and then working on the front wall, that sucker is going to have 3 4x6 windows and a door so I'm sure i'm going to spend quite a bit of time head scratching and cutting to make sure everything is laid out ok.
Alright! Wooo! Finally got all 4 walls up, nailed, plumbed, and straight! :)
(https://i.imgur.com/BqiCEjC.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/XAvf6fQ.jpg)
So, a few things have changed, first off, we decided not to put the 3rd large window in the front.
Also, due to my inexperience and wanting this thing to be as sturdy as possible, I decided against the 10' walls figuring that if I can slightly lower the total surface area on the windy side of the house (left side if your facing the front) it'd make me feel a bit better about everything, so 8' walls it is.
Now the concerns/questions.
The truss tech has said it will be around 1 month before I can get the trusses built due to their backlog, which made it difficult for me to try and figure out exactly how tall the end walls would need to be since I'm not sure if the trusses will have a seat cut, how deep it would be, etc (just intimidating having not done this before).
After talking to a distant friend of mine who frames for a living, he recommended that if need be, I could likely build a gable end to fit the inside of the end truss, and then switch my sheeting orientation from horizontal (on the lower portion of the building) to vertical over the hinge that would be created.
So as you can see, I have 8' butt walls.
Now here are my questions..
1. would this provide adequate strength? I know I am creating a hinge but could I realistically have a strong roof doing it that way? If not, would I simply be better off (in terms of both strength and loft headroom) building a standard rafter roof now that the walls are shorter? The inside chord of the trusses is only 8/12, so I'm thinking 12/12 rafters may give us a bit more room up top... What is going to be the best combination of strength, cost, and headroom at this point?
2. If I DID build normal rafters, do they still need to be tied across the entire building length when they are only 8' or will the loft provide adequate stiffening?
3. Everywhere I look it seems like people have differing opinions, should I sheet the walls horizontally or vertically for the best shear strength?
4.. Before I dropped to 8 foot walls, I didn't clearly think about how that would affect my placement of my loft joists. ??? as you can see below, I can't really notch a ledger as planned because the door header is in the way. What is a better way around this? Could I simply use joist hangers or some type of hardware to attach the loft joists to the studs?
(https://i.imgur.com/K3c2Vd0.jpg)
thanks everyone for your help, with any luck I'll be able to get this sucker sheeted and roofed before too long!
We call that "ready, fire, aim"... I'll be working on another short day of that today d*
with an 8/12 interior pitch and 6.5' of half building interior span width... 6.5x8=52" ceiling height above top plate. 14' floor span is going to take 2x10 joists. if you notch the upper top corner to flush their tops with the top of the top plate then you would have ~7' headroom finish downstairs and around 52" headroom right at the peak sloping down to nothing within 6.5'... is there any reason for a loft? Are these just storage "shelves" at either end of the cabin, say 4' deep or so. That would laterally support the hinges at either end. In that scenario I would lower both pitches. A nice one story.
Alternatively look at post #4 again. With ceiling joists atop the wall, extending beyond the wall, the launching point for the roof is wider. This translates into headroom below and above. Trussing it along those lines would provide a 12/12 interior, I believe you would get to a 7' swath of upstairs ceiling height. Worth sitting down with the truss tech again and asking about a cantilevered attic truss sitting on top of the walls with an eye towards cantilevering until a useable space upstairs appears.
He can do a portion in attic trusses and the rest in matching scissors if you desire a vaulted ceiling in part. The hinge should have more stiffening it than a sheet of ply. That can be the floor if you run the attic trusses the whole way. it can be a post from floor to ceiling at midpoint, or a horizontal "shelf" that acts as a beam stiffening that point, maybe a 14" deep lvl laying flat atop the 3 plates forming the end and well secured. To give an idea the required beam section modulus there is around 46"^3, the double 2x6 is about 15"^3, the ply is going to kick that up another couple, that's about it.
In the 2nd picture I see no foundation bracing on that axis. it would be a good idea to sheath at least the corners before loading higher. All sheathing edges should be blocked solid and the perimeter of all sheets nailed on 4" centers. Although running the sheets laying down produces a stronger wall in out of plane bending across the studs it requires twice as much blocking. So, most people stand the sheets, I believe the shear is identical either way. Your framer friend is not wrong on orientation. I did that not long ago in a remodel, there had been bugs and rot, hopefully evicted. I ran 1 row of treated ply horizontally then stood the sheets up the rest of the way, blocking between studs and nailing on 4" at all seams as we went. A joist hanger is ok on a header if it is sized for it... those headers look a bit slim, could be the pic, did you size them from the codebook table? The cantilevered rim joist is really just hanging by nails rather than bearing and delivering load to on something under it. As such it is not a bearing point for a ledger for deck or stairs. Likely the house girder is not sized for additional load from the cantilevered side, whatever is in front of that door should be thought of as freestanding on its own foundation, simply tied to the building for lateral support not vertical. ... if you laterally support the building ;)
Don thanks for your helpful reply!
Indeed! I suppose I got a bit ahead of myself and now I'm paying for it. the 'Y' bracing will be going on tomorrow, great suggestion with the attic trusses! I didn't even know those were a thing, I spoke with the truss tech and explained the situation, I also requested a 1 foot cantilever on each side. He was a bit concerned about me ASKING for a hinge but I assured him it'd be stiffened up nice and tight.
Here is what I've got now, I think this looks pretty dandy..if it gets a pass here I'll go ahead and approve the quote this week! Exciting! [cool]
Layout
(https://i.imgur.com/mi1h2Ad.jpg)
Trusses and end
(https://i.imgur.com/7PaVuaP.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/9q6wvGg.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/x9wBWPg.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/wbuTyUy.jpg)
I can't see on there where it mentions headroom, although Thats ok beacuse I really just need enough room to be able to sit up in bed, standing isn't too big of a deal.
When you mention sheathing the corners, the current (8 foot) ply I have leaves around a 10-12 inch gap uncovered when stood vertically against the walls & rim joist right now, will I be better off just cutting a 10-12 inch strip to fit that or should I put the strip in the middle somewhere so I can have larger continuous pieces 'sandwiching' the smaller one?
Also I'm trying to imagine how the LVL would actually attach, that sounds like the best idea to me but I cant seem to visualize it very well, could you elaborate a bit?
EDIT: Also, crap, i nearly forgot about it, good eye....I DID make 3 of my window headers too small, they are paired 2x6 and the table says they should have been bigger, this obviously has me feeling quite stupid and bummed out. Should I try and cut the jack studs and add in some 2x4 underneath the headers then lower the sill? Or will the steep pitched roof keep the loadings low enough that I can realisticly not stress too much about it?
I'd try for more headroom, if you are using fiberglass insulation the top chord needs to be furred down 6". Draw it cantilevered from 2' overhangs and I believe you'll get there. Have him drop the top chord of A1 and A4 for 2x4 lookouts.
The strip is fine, you'll need blocking between studs at the seam. I like to nail 2x blocks to the sides of the trusses, in line over the wall. Then notch the upper piece of sheathing to fit around and between the trusses, ending about 2" shy of the roof. This braces the trusses and airseals them up to the vent area for the roof insulation, keeping "wind washing" down.
since you are asking the tech to fire up the computer again for more cantilever... and since we have hinges on his mind. Ask him if he can wind model that gable wall with an lvl laying flatways atop the top plates directly inboard and attached to the gable truss.
Over windows? Uunder a load bearing wall? If a load bearing wall I'd cut down the jack studs, remove the 2x6 and place the correct header. I know it's a tough one but do it right today and not worry tomorrow :D
Yeah probably a good call OlJarhead, so gonna be spending today beefing up those headers, rather than ripping them out entirely I'm just building a smaller 2x4 header and placing underneath, this should give me enough strength equivilant (or nearly so) to a 2x10
(https://i.imgur.com/TkWo3db.jpg)
I had him add a foot of cantilever and change the chord for some lookouts, but unfortunately he said his software isn't able to test the wind in that way.
I went ahead and placed an order for the trusses as everyone seems to be backed up right now. Unfortunately the trusses wont be done until late nov. or early dec. :-\ Obviously I'll throw a tarp over it but I'm almost debating if I should just do some kind of SUPER simple low pitch shed roof or something until spring and just throw the trusses up then. Either way it's gonna be close with this weather! Should be exciting. Stay tuned!
I tarped for the first winter though I did get some roof framing done Thanksgiving which helped. The tarp worked for the most part though I often ran up just to make sure it was ok and get the icea and water off it until I could make sure it was secure.
QuoteI'm just building a smaller 2x4 header and placing underneath, this should give me enough strength equivilant (or nearly so) to a 2x10
Stacking members provides the same strength as putting them side by side, it does not provide the same section as the deeper member of the space it occupies. Or, two 2x4's makes a 4x4 not a 2x8... a section modulus for bending strength of 7 vs about 11, a little over half strength.
Maybe I'm looking at the picture wrong but I don't see any jack studs. Is that header addition supported by nails alone?
Correct, the jack studs weren't in yet when that pic was taken! Good looking out though, thanks.
So in laymans terms, does that mean I screwed the pooch again on these headers? :o
Will the section modulous for this header as constructed realistically support anticipated loads or should I just bite the bullet and put in 2x10s?
Researching online is giving me some conflicting information, ??? some tables are recommending 2x10's and others are saying 1 inch of header per foot of window span is sufficient for single story buildings?
Good question. Step back and figure out the load... look under "reactions", "max gravity" on the truss sheet for that area. How many trusses are bearing on that header? Multiply the number of trusses resting on that header by the max gravity reaction and that is the load the header is designed to support. So there is load.
For resistance, describe what the header is built of now and what is the clear span inside from jack to jack?
Ok, so i'm starting to see the idea here.
Truss A3 doesn't show me a gravity but I'm presuming it's the 1280 number.
The window with the most weight will have one attic truss and two scissor trusses sitting on it for a total gravity of 3936.
I imagine I would divide that in two (as only half of the truss is being supported by that wall) for a total gravity of 1968 lb over the one header
Now here is where I get a bit confused, I can't seem to find very much data on header strength, just spans and such for floors etc..
I know my math is off somehow, but I'm not sure how, because when I try to calculate psi I get..
Total bearing sq. inches per 2x6 = 1.5 * 72 = 108
Total bearing sq. inches over both 2x6 = 216
and when I plug that into 1968 lb (trying to get psi of force on the header) I get 9.1, but there is no way that can be correct otherwise I could build a header out of some rolled up newspaper. ???
Really trying to wrap my head around this, I suppose I just gotta pay my newbie dues for tackling a project like this with no experience.
*********
Ok! take two, I've been thinking about this all day and it's killing me with the limited good weather we have left I'm not out there hammering! [waiting]
Hopefully I've got it right... I am scrapping the idea of lineal inches and PSI and going to lineal feet.
Here is what I have,
Pounds per lineal foot on the header = 1968 / 6 = 328 lb
I found a link which has WAY too much engineer-level vernacular for me to understand but what I DID find was that a single 2x6 #2 doug fir should be able to resist 347 lbs, per lineal foot. Doubled up that should be 694 pounds PLF. ;D
So now I'm thinking the original 2x6 was more than enough, and despite mediocre strength gains from the added 2x4 underneath I should have more than enough support under full and realistic loads no?
[toilet] AHHH brainmelt. [frus]
Alright so after doing some more research I'm pretty sure the 2x4 addition underneath the first header will be sufficient, it may not be as strong as a 2x10 header but after finally finding a link with some real numbers
https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/wood-header-weight-supported-d_1898.html
I realized that under a MAX load (which is possible but not probable due to our roof pitch), our double 2x6 headers were shy by a mere 300 pounds. I'm not certain as to what two 2x4s can resist but I am sure it is over 300 pounds so with that information I feel comfortable moving ahead.
Next stop is the lateral bracing underneath and then sheeting! Woot! [cool]
This does demonstrate the reason for doing the planning and design work ahead of banging the nails.
Let's walk through it, you have one attic truss with a reaction AT THAT END of 1376 lbs plus 2 scissor trusses with an end reaction of 1280 lbs each =3936 lbs bearing on the header. You shouldn't have halved that load.
I used this beam calc;
http://www.timbertoolbox.com/Calcs/beamcalc.htm
Load- 3936
Span 72
width 3" (assumed 2 @ 2x6 header)
Depth 5.5
Fb 1200
E 1.4
Fv 135
Fail, section modulus required is 29.52, 2@2x6=15.125
Hmm, what is the Sm of 2@2x4, enter 3 x 3.5... 6.125
Add 15.125 + 6.125=21.250, you need 29.52, That's a fail.
****
The framer on the job I'm on forgot to include an overhang in an area where 3 different roof pitches intersect... we've had long strings of **** :D.
When Dad would see me try to bull through a mistake he'd slow me down. "It's not that a good carpenter doesn't make mistakes, a good carpenter fixes them." I've found many more times than it should have taken that if I bull through I meet unintended consequences of the problem later.
The section modulus of a single 2x10 is 21.39 "^3. I'd pull the 2x4 and 2x6 from one face. Skim the 2x10 down to the same height as the remaining 2x4/2x6 height and reinstall. The 2x4 is 3.063, the 2x6 is 7.563, so a stacked 2x4+ 2x6 is 10.626"^3. Add that to the skimmed 2x10...
Well we're in this deep, we need to check the skimmed 2x10. I'm assuming your 2x4+2x6 stack height is 9", the 2x10 is 9.25" so you're ripping a quarter inch off the width (non code, you cannot rip a graded stick or the grade changes... use a pretty piece). By changing dimension section modulus changes
Sm= (bd^2)/6
= (1.5x9x9)/6
= ~20
With that and the 2x4+2x6 we're at ~30.7"^3, you need 29.52... Check
The sum of section moduli for two 2x4's+two 2x6's is 21.
Yeah good call don, thanks for jimmying a solution for us! That calculator is extremely helpful but mildly depressing when it doesn't say PASS lol.
Definitely gotta just pace myself and not let the incoming weather rush me.
Most likely I'm just going to pull the double top plate, pull the headers, put in the actual 2x10 headers, and re-trim cripples...
Looking everything over again made me realize those openings only had one jack stud per side anyway rather than two so I guess the upside is it will give me the chance to make that right also, and it's not like I don't have time to kill waiting on these trusses.
That calc also has me thinking now about my actual girders, which are two 2x8's sistered with a 1/2'' plywood piece in the middle and nailed to high heaven.
For the sake of that calculator, would that still be a 3 inch width or does the plywood make it a true 4? The span from post to post is 44 inches so when I plug that in for a 4x8 it looks pretty dandy at about 5200 lbs is what it can support. Obviously not much I can do about the girder size until I eventually put in some concrete but I'd rather be informed.
I have to admit it's a bit frustrating because it seems the closer I stick to the little house plans I bought (which brought me to this website in the first place) the farther I am from building a structurally sound building...
The plans instructed that the floor joists should be 2x6, that paired 2x8's and single trimmers were adequate for 6' headers on a 14' wide building with loft (which the numbers just don't support) and the recommended post foundation I'm using is widely considered to be a 'collapse mechanism'!
Were these accepted sizes before and code has just changed? Are the plans inherently flawed? I'm feeling I just stop looking at the plans altogether since they only seem to be steering me to trouble?! :-\
I digress, just grumpy today, anyway thanks for your help and anyone reading or researching remember I just made some mistakes so YOU don't have to!
Gonna be a busy week ahead. stay tuned folks!
Edit: Just remembered a question I had, when trying to figure out max grav on my side windows for truss A1 I need to add up all those smaller numbers along the bottom correct?
Darn, I hate it when the computer eats it d*
I would enter the plywood padded built up beam as 3" x 7.25". Technically you can add the thickness of the individual veneers in the ply that run with the axis of the beam. Personally, if you have to count on veneer, here's your sign, use something bigger or stronger.
A! is identical to A2 as far as I can tell. it is capable of free spanning across the gable. You could look at it as the gable wall under it is not load bearing. I think the tech muffed the computer check on A1. The uniform support he has drawn under the truss should end on the right at 10, the wall, rather than at 9, the outboard end of the overhang.
Another way is to look at the highest inboard gravity reaction, 815 lbs down at joint 11 and 12, joint 13 is over the corner. "Load goes to stiffness". Although the truss can support the load without the wall, it would deflect about 1/4" overall at that joint. Since the wall under the truss will not drop that amount, the wall is stiff, it takes the load first. As the truss takes load and tries to deflect it lands on the wall. If the wall cannot resist the load it would deflect until the load lands on the corners and the truss is supported at 10 and 13. If things like cripples over a non-headered window rough opening begin to take load they would deliver it to the flat plate over the window, bow it, and you potentially have window trouble. A header is prudent. The load is not great, I'm not sure I trust his numbers but they are pretty close and I'm too lazy to dig real deep. I go pretty basic here. The door header is a double 2x10 under much higher loading. *I assume you are confirming rough opening requirements of the finish door*. If so it has established header height for that floor. So in that basic mindset, I make all the headers double 2x10. Unless the opening is greater than 6' or there is another load I then don't need to revisit each one and my job during framing is simpler. Typically with a stock stud, single bottom plate double top plate, a 2x10 header with a 2x plate on the underside is good for rough opening height... but do confirm with the actual millwork.
Edit, looking back at the truss sheets you posted, A4 is a frame rather than a truss, it is not self supporting, cannot span the opening, and delivers each of its' stud loads down to the wall below. It is working exactly as you were thinking. To check load on those headers add up the load from each stud above that bears on it. The double 2x10 should be fine there at 6' or under span. I can't remember if this was discussed ignore it if we've been there, I would try to have those gable trusses dropped 3.5" for lookouts, vault the bottom chord of A4, balloon frame that wall, and cantilever the roof from 2' deep overhangs instead of 1'.
The door header as is with the 2x6s seems to pass all tests for that calc, it is only going to have one truss on it but even with two it still passes so I'll likely leave the door as is.
Am I reading it right that because the A1 Gable end is not going to be taking the entire force of the truss that the double 2x6 header is adequate there as well? It'd be great if I only had to re-do those two front windows.
And yeah we did mention the lookouts, those changes have been made but I just didn't upload all the new truss pics.
The A4 frame is sitting atop the wall on the downwind side of the house (A1 is where 90% of our big gusts come from). I'm not really sure how I can balloon frame the A4 wall now that it is already up and not balloon framed though I know it is a hinge, so I'm going to try and stiffen it with hardware, sheathing, and maybe that lvl, whatever I can really.
Is the A1 side going to need the same stiffening or does the collective resistance of all the subsequent trusses and blocking stiffen it enough?
The loft floor creates a deep horizontal beam that stiffens the A1 wall. That is a point of lateral support so it's fine to have a break there.
Going to the hinge at A4. I'm coming up with about a ton of lateral from wind uniformly distributed along the hinge at the top plate.(4'x14' below the plate, 2'x14' above@25psf) A single 11-7/8" LVL or a 2 ply 2x12 at 14' span can resist that. (for the calc; design strength numbers for LVL are Fb 2800, E 2.0, Fv 280)
(http://timbertoolbox.com/cp/plantshelf.jpg)
The key there is to attach that "plant shelf" well to the gable wall to collect the load (about 15o lbs per lineal foot along the beam, a nail is good for abot 75 lbs so at least 2 nails per foot from flat beam to top plate... double that) and then connect the ends very well to the braced side walls (1000 lbs). That is good connections at each end to the top plates and several blocks (in red) jammed in and nailed down well to transfer that load to the bracing side walls. The sheathing on those walls is well connected to the frame which transfers the load in the plane of those sheathed walls to the floor, which collects the entire structure lateral load and transfers to the girder, the braced foundation... and into adequate bearing with the ground.
Don--would a 2x6 run at a 45 degree angle from the center of where that plant shelf is, up to the bottom of the ridge pole do the same thing assuming it was attached properly?
If the roof where it landed were stout enough to take the kick, not a truss, and if the plates are then sufficient as a horizontal beam at that halved span, dubious. But yes there are other ways to laterally support that hinge. Don't create it in the first place would kinda top the list :D. I've run a beam out to midspan from the loft before, it supported a stair landing bump but also helped stiffen the tall wall, so several ways, vertical posts would be another.
:o
Holy smokes Don thank you so much for a visual model with that description! I am enormously grateful you took the time to do that for us and I understand it clearly now! Very exciting :D time to order an lvl!
As for an update, work has been a bit slow as we prepare things for an incoming winter storm this weekend. I recently found a website that sells used billboard vinyl, these are thick and strong and waterproof so I'll be stringing one up over the buildsite to try and keep out as much moisture as I can.
I've got the lateral bracing underneath completed and I finally got those headers replaced. What a pain that was, glad it's done although tomorrow I'm going to have to re plumb and square that wall as all the prying and banging knocked it around a bit!
Here's a pic from today
(https://i.imgur.com/WQmWXFzg.jpg)
Brace well if you attach that sail or pond to the wall framing ;)
Thinking about it, let me make a case for using 2 ply 2x12 with a filler of 1/2" ply. That would stack up beside the gable truss to the same height as its bottom chord. You can then lay a 2x6 plate on top of the plant shelf against the gable truss and scribe where their flat studs are. Notch your plate to fit round those and nail down the plate to both the beam and the truss (another tie, when I say in the post storm photos that this truss is laying on the ground at the base of that wall... it gets sucked out not blown in more often than not, the beam/connection has to work both push and pull, you could wrap metal lumber band straps around beam and truss easily at these thicknesses for that matter).
Those headers look good. On our job the guys are on day 4 of fixing the framer's attempt to reuse the old barn rafters, stringing, shimming, power planning, there is at least that much work to go d*. My partner sent an email this morning :D
QuoteA man who has committed a mistake and doesn't correct it is committing another mistake..... Confucius
Yeah that sounds great! I hadn't actually thought about the truss being 'pulled' out of position from the low pressure I had only been thinking in terms of push! And I still have some lumbers straps around so that sounds great!
This weather has come much earlier than typical, we even had an inch of snow the other day [shocked](which melted now).
I started with just trying to put some house wrap over the top as that was all I had and storms were coming. But I found a website which lets you buy old billboard ads which are thick vinyl and ordered up a 20x30 for about 50 bucks. That sucker was HARD to get up and unfold on the roof, especially with only 1 ladder. But its been done!
Sheeting is going steadily, as of right now the house just looks like some kind of mysterious wooden cube cause I haven't cut out any of the windows yet :)
(https://i.imgur.com/Ct09nUr.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/qM6MOVG.jpg)
Yup ;) Been there! I was going out OFTEN to get the weight off as it always sagged in the middle.
(http://www.dartplayer.net/index.php?xengallery/cabin-11-10-09-072.27/full)
I tried to find one that showed the ice and water that gathered on the tarp but this was November 1st 2009....
If you can get trusses up, even enough to 'tent' a tarp over the cabin I'd advise it. If not then some kind of shed style arrangement to allow water and snow to sluff off the tarp would be good.
That picture is almost a spitting image of what we got going on. Even down to the non covered strip at the top of the walls! Thx for posting that.
Just been spending the last few weeks battling the weather that's been coming down on us, sometimes even going out every couple hours to try and knock some water off the top. Felt a bit like Lieutenant Dan screaming at the storm lol.
Trusses are FINALLY done and delivered today and we got some nice clear skies in the forecast for a bit, time to make the final push and get this sucker weathered in!
(https://i.imgur.com/Egl2AfM.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/9VBJ09T.jpg)
Glad to see. Keep at it!
Good deal, could he not get up to set them on the wall tops?
Be careful around those overhanging nail plates as you move them around, they can tear you up.
Sadly no, we didn't have a big enough turnaround for the truck since they sent a full size semi so he had to drop them about 300 yards away and we just carried them up. On the upside, I got a discount on delivery because their standard is for 'plate level' delivery which they couldn't do. Found out about those little stabby suckers the hard way, hopefully once was enough to learn my lesson! ;D
Well, how did the weekend go? Did you get the trusses up? I have a big scar near my right wrist from one of those plates!
Since they are "attic" trusses, how big is the room that they make?
Between those things and metal roofs and just construction my hands and arms are pretty decorated. I was having blood drawn and the nurse asked me if I cut myself. I said "all the time". "We can have someone come and talk to you about it" It was only then the light came on :D "Not on purpose!"
Lol that's great Don!
Anyway we just started on them today, spent the weekend bracing everything a bit more and cleaning up so it doesn't move out of square as we drag these suckers around, had some help come up today but they didn't get here until around 12 so it was kinda slow going, after tomorrow though I should hopefully have some much better progress and I'll post lots of pics!
These attic dimensions are off the top of my head but there is around 6' to 6'5 of headroom at the tallest point and the attic floor is gonna be 8' by maybe 10' or so. I'll get better numbers tomorrow. Like I said, it's more of a loft just for sleeping; bed, nightstand, and my lady, if we wind up feeling cramped we'll just use it as a storage space. Stay tuned! ;D
That is a good sized room and very similar to our attic trusses. Our span 24' and have a 8/12 pitch. This gave us a six foot ceiling and a 8' wide room (ceiling is about 7' wide before sloping down) that is the length of the whole house. We use it as a attic but it is fully floored and has full size steep stairs going to it. I've got the HVAC, pex distribution block and hot water heater up there. Plenty of room left for storage. My oldest wanted her bedroom up there and it wouldn't have been a problem for someone that is 5' 4". HA!
I think a bedroom up there will be fine as long as you have the matress on the floor. No bed frame! Maybe a box spring. NOTE! Our last mattress that we got, we ordered online and it is fully foam and cost less than $300. We love it. Was delivered in a big bag that I could get my arms around. You carefully pull it out of the bag and cut off the plastic. Then it spends the next 24 hours expanding to its full size. They don't need a box spring at all and would be great on the floor. We have some friends that have had their's for 5 years and it has held up great. Let me know if you want more info.
Well I'm dead tired, worked sunup to sundown and nurising a hernia so I'm pooped! Got all but about 3 trusses up, we had rented a manual (crank operated) forklift to lift these suckers and it worked great. My help had to leave due to a family emergency so couldn't get them completely done but here's just a basic pic for now of the progress and I'll try and upload lots more detailed ones in a day or so.
I forgot to grab the actual measurements for the loft but I'm curious now so I'll post those tomorrow. And yes I'm very interested about the mattress you got! Ours is in need of replacement and even when we lived in a house we had it on the floor, just feels better to me; I don't like squeaking and rocking and stuff anyway so that'd be great especially for the price (as long as it's comfy)
Glorious progress-
(https://i.imgur.com/UsfcKkx.jpg)
Ok lots of pics incoming! This includes the days we raised the trusses as well as whats been done on the roof so far as of yesterday. We are getting a pretty windy storm now so I spent most of today bracing them against wind and trying to get on as much housewrap as I could.
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Getting the first truss rolled, plumbed and nailed.
(https://i.imgur.com/ud3UUXe.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/yixmEnQ.jpg)
The next few went alot quicker than the first
(https://i.imgur.com/4EE4mwm.jpg)
Patient doggo wondering what all the fuss is about
(https://i.imgur.com/rxRTkCR.jpg)
One of those trusses was ugly as hell
(https://i.imgur.com/58FKWWU.jpg)
End of the first day
(https://i.imgur.com/N0BlTwS.jpg)
View from the loft
(https://i.imgur.com/RFxbxdN.jpg)
A nice profile of the house on the 2nd day
(https://i.imgur.com/yZMK2TM.jpg)
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Now we time travel a bit, all the trusses are up and we started sheathing the first row, one of my friends had an idea for a DIY scaffold which has been working out great!
(https://i.imgur.com/IAHGAj2.jpg)
Roof slowly closing in!
(https://i.imgur.com/7ojjyVj.jpg)
It's actually starting to look like a house! Woot! Thanks everyone for your help so far! [cool]
I do have one small concern, and I'm hoping it will iron itself out as we keep sheathing, but if I stand in the loft and rock side to side facing the long end of the building, I can get some pretty decent wobble in the walls, almost making the whole building rock. This doesn't happen when I turn 90 degrees and rock.. I'm hoping this may have something to do with the final corner I haven't sheathed yet or perhaps just because there are other unsheathed spots still, but nonetheless its concerning.
Granted, this is with me TRYING to wobble it and normal movement doesn't do that. And being that high up I do have alot of mechanical advantage..
Also, it's just the walls which seem to be doing it, the floor and posts stay solid. Should I be concerned? Add more nails/screws/hardware to the bottom plate? Or should I save my panic until I'm completely done with the sheathing on the whole building?
I'm not looking at much bracing in the end wall of that pic.
It's not uncommon for us to pass a bar clamp up while we are sheathing to pull ornery trusses into line. On the barn we just sheathed I sawed out the white oak fascias. That was some very strong, very lively wood
Do keep an eye on your back, you'll be compensating, and take care you're predisposed to tearing the other side.
It's looking good :)
I wouldn't worry about the rocking yet. What I'm getting from reading your description is that you are facing the long wall and then rocking left to right. Finish sheathing the roof and then see if it does it. I bet it will stop and if it doesn't then you need to put something rigid on your loft side walls.
I found my post and pier foundation needed a lot more bracing than I though it did. Once I started putting in some concrete all movement stopped.
Alright! Update time! Progress has slowed a bit as I've run out of saved funds for the house so far and I'm having to budget for more plywood, man that stuff is expensive. 35 bucks a sheet for the 5/8 size! [shocked] We've got the house mostly wrapped and all installed windows are flashed and plumb!
For anyone curious, I haven't been keeping detailed logs so far but I believe at this point I'm into this thing roughly 8k. Luckily it is raining right now and although the gable ends are still open the rain is coming straight down and the inside is nice and dry! Wooot!
I'm also happy to report that I added another sheet of plywood on that corner (still haven't completely closed it cause thats the easiest way to get inside right now) and after throwing up the second set of roof sheathing that wobble I was concerned about has all but disappeared! So my stress level about that is way better! There are still a few minor build hiccups I'll detail but nothing major.
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First off, here is a view of the roof from the inside as of now, it's nice and stable and we have the billboard vinyl thrown over the top and it's shedding precip like a champ. I'll likely leave it like this for now while I finish up other stuff and come back to do the last sheathing after the weather dries out a bit.
(https://i.imgur.com/9ZZ9BEc.jpg)
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Here is a pic from the attic side gable end, just curious about the best way to sheathe this sucker. I'm going to be standing the plywood up, I don't know if it will make much of a strength difference but I figure if stood up I have 3/5 plies running perpendicular to the direction of force the wind would apply, so why not.. Should I just cut some 2x and almost make little wall studs here just so I have something to nail to?
I also think we are gonna need/want a small window up here, so I'm planning to make a basic header just using flat 2x4s. It shouldn't have to be too beefy because all the downforce is going to the wall plates anyway right?
(https://i.imgur.com/o3fpDNQ.jpg)
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Speaking of windows, we got a good deal on used ones for our house (good as in nearly free), but one of them has smudges inside the double pane, do people clean those and just re-seal or is it way more trouble than it's worth? I hate the idea of permanently smudged windows. There is also some kind of gnarly tar on an outside corner I took a pic of that I'll probably have to scrape off with something.
Window tar
(https://i.imgur.com/2wL1FRR.jpg)
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A view of the inside with the windows and woodstove in!
(https://i.imgur.com/VqwOGe4.jpg)
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We got some snow before the roof was covered and it just looked kinda cool and surreal so I took a pic
(https://i.imgur.com/2hfuwKD.jpg)
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I realize now I did make a mistake with the eves that & I should have extended the sheathing PAST the eves, I'll either have to attach a really thin piece of plywood later before the final roofing goes on or maybe they make a drip cap that will fix the problem for me
(https://i.imgur.com/Q09HZvR.jpg)
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and finally a picture of the whole shebang
(https://i.imgur.com/yIDx4yB.jpg)
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Next on the list is going to be the fascia/soffit, closing those gaps near the eves and blocking inside, wood stove chimney stuff, and a door!
Stay tuned!
Lots going on, it's looking good.
First, cost of plywood, I switched to osb a number of years ago. The plywood quality went down as the cost went up. I was having to pull and replace too many sheets. At the same time osb quality went up and the cost was more stable. It is also flatter and stiffer. Some folks prefer ply and that is fine but it does come at a cost.
Fogged double pane glass. The tar is usually a polybutyl type of sealant holding and sealing the spacer between panes and there is a break in the seal somewhere. If the glass is hazed it is usually time to replace it. I've known of folks who have drilled a hole through the edge of the spacer and poured in dessicant beads and then reseal the entire edge with a polybutyl caulk. That will dry it up but if there is a haze it will not remove it. The windows are probably near end of service.
On framing the gable. Lay a 2x plate on the floor flatways and around the opening in the same orientation nailing it into the truss making a sort of angle iron type frame around the opening. Then stand studs over the studs below and cut them to fit the opening created and nail them to the upper and lower plates. Finally nail framing on top of the wall and ceiling plates to provide nailers for the wall and ceiling finish goods. All edges of exterior sheathing should land on framing or blocking to transfer shear. The goal is to effectively create one big sheet bracing the wall.
The tail area, I normally install a subfascia of 2x material, you can bevel the top edge to creat the upper surface in plane with the upper roof surface plane at this point. Then I nail on the finish fascia usually hanging it beneath the bottom edge of the sub enough to provide around 1/2" of hangy down below the soffit material. Then, the first row of weatherproofing on a roof should be the self adhering ice and water shield. Lap it over the edge a little and stick it to the face of the finish fascia but not so far down that the drip edge will not hide it. That'll cover the little oops, and you are not the first, no worries just think like a raindrop and shed any water that gets under the roofing out and off the roof.
Stay warm, it's brutal out there right now!
I came here to answer your questions about the fascia board and how to frame up your gable wall but Don beat me to it. Do it just like he said and it will be great.
In a gable roof like what you and I have, that gable wall is the weakest point and that is how roofs get torn off in a storm. My point is, do that gable wall right and do it strong.
Austin
Great! Thanks guys! Dablack, did you have any more info about that matress you mentioned before?
And Don, if I'm understanding right I'm basically just building a mini framed wall to fit precisely inside the attic gable end, but the 2x plates will be offset so that the edge of the plates and the truss are in the same plane, correct? Can I lay a 2x4 flat for the header for the attic window since it won't really be bearing any load?
Also thanks for the info about OSB, I'm not sure what it's priced at but hopefully it'll be cheaper when I go and check!
I'm considering Tuft & Needle (https://www.tuftandneedle.com/) for my next mattress purchase.
I've got tarp envy! I've wanted to buy one of those billboard tarps for a while, but shipping to Alaska offsets the great price.
Exactly, think about the finish planes and then providing backup nailing for the finish materials. You can run a flatways 2x for header as long as there is less than 2' of unsupported wall above it. The truss horizontal is the last support. I'll usually make an upright 2x4 header even then to provide more trim nailing around the window but that is not a structural requirement.
Quote from: Peaceful Ambition on January 08, 2018, 10:35:54 PM
Dablack, did you have any more info about that matress you mentioned before?
Yes! I just pulled it up on Amazon and it is cheaper now than when we bought it! Zinus Memory Foam 12 Inch Green Tea Mattress, Queen. Looks like it is $189 now for the queen! We love ours. It gets delivered in a big duffle bag. Carefully open it up and cut off the plastic and then stand back! It gets to full size in less than 24 hours. I will never buy the old style mattress again!
I've been looking for a mattress... I have 6 herniated discs and the $1000 mattresses I normally buy just don't cut it. I sleep terribly, and within a month I can already feel a dip in the mattress where I normally sleep.
How does the mattress hold up to compression? Do you see a large pothole where you sleep? :)
I might just order one, the price is great.
My wife and I kept getting firmer and firmer mattresses to try and fight the mattress getting a hole in it. It got to the point that we were sleeping on a very stiff mattress that still ended up getting a hole in it. I ended up working most of the time in another town so we needed something "cheap" to sleep on. We saw the great reviews and ordered one. WOW! So comfortable and it doesn't get a hole built up. It just goes right back to its original form. My only issue with it is you can't sit on the edge to put on your shoes. If you sit on the edge, it just compresses down! Same with getting in bed. If you sit on the edge to pull off your socks or whatever, then lay down, the spot where you were sitting is compressed for about 2 minutes. It is very different than a normal mattress but I really like it. In fact, we like it so much, we bought another one for our main house. We are only back in the main house about half the time but we couldn't stand the old stiff mattress with the hole after sleeping on the new foam one. Then the hurricane hit Houston and we had family that got water in their house. They lost all their beds. Now they have foam too. Zero complaints.
I can't recall the planned usage for this building, and if it involves being heated full time then disregard my comment. One downside to a memory foam mattress is that when it's really cold it takes a long time to warm up and be comfortable. Here in Alaska where folks have cabins for winter weekend use, memory foam mattresses can take too long to warm up and soften.
We had a memory foam mattress topper and used an electric blanket to thaw the bed out when we arrived in the winter. The topper is now history.
Wow awesome, thanks guys, I saw that tuft and needle and was thinking i'd just bite the bullet and get a king but after seeing the same 4.5 star reviews and the price difference I think we'll spring -heh- for the green tea one, worst case scenario I can always upgrade! The building will mostly only need to be heated in winter and fall, and since the bedroom is going to be the loft I'm sure there will be plenty of warm air up there to make it tolerable. Electric blanket is a good idea too but I'll have to check some out and see what the power draw is and whether out solar system would handle it. Anything electric that heats up draw a TON of power usually.
Hey Don,
That electric blanket was one hell of a great suggestion. :)My wife got me one for the cabin for Xmas.
I tried it out when we went up right after Xmas. It was -20 below at night with highs of -5.
Warmed up the bed and was awesome to crawl into. Nice and toasty while the cabin warmed up.
Toyotaboy
Happy it works for you too. We've had ours since the first winter. Our solar and battery system is large enough we can easily run it for the few hours it takes to thaw out the bed the first night. We don't actually use it while sleeping.
We just run the genie till we go to bed. By then it's warm enough.
Toyotaboy
We have a memory foam mattress and never have an issue with it. Sure when we arrive the cabin is VERY cold but after getting it warmed up to 70F or close to it the bed is ready :D Seems that's the key really.
We don't sleep in the cabin without first making it warm.
I ordered mine last night, should be in tomorrow. Can't wait to see if it helps with the back... it would be nice to sleep more than 4-5 hours without having to get up to stretch... I'll keep you posted.
Please let us know. I really hope it helps.
Not too much to report as funds are still a bit tight although I'm hoping once taxes come in I'll be able to make the final push and get this sucker weathertight!
However, while doing odds-and-ends with the material I DO have, I noticed that a few of the scissor truss members have a gap between them, I'm not certain but I feel like this gap is either new or has widened to a point where I noticed it and naturally I'm a bit concerned.
Is this some kind of temperature or moisture related damage? Will it likely close under load? Or am I just nit-picking? The gangnails look fine and there are no splits or anything in the wood, just this gap.
(https://i.imgur.com/uXtkmnl.jpg)
Moisture related, the framing is drying and shrinking. It won't change the geometry of the truss.
Wood tech warning. Wood doesn't move appreciably in relation to temperature. What causes wood to move is changes in its moisture content. However temperature does relate to relative humidity and wood is always trying to bring its moisture content into equilibrium with the relative humidity of the air it is surrounded by. In winter the air cannot hold much moisture. We have many sunny days when that cold air with little moisture warms up and the relative humidity crashes. That framing was kiln dried to 19% but the equilibrium moisture content in there is probably closer to 10% right now, so the wood has shrunk. Up in the attic it will shrink more as time goes by.
That web member, the upper stick in the pic is a tension member, a rope, that is holding the raised heel at the top of the wall upright preventing it from wanting to roll outward. It is not particularly highly stressed. If it annoys you it also wouldn't hurt anything to plate over it with ply.
Phew that was a relief to read, thanks! ;D
So I finally got a bit more wood and I also got all the misc stove-stuff I need to run the pipe through our roof! Woot! That stuff is pricey but still cheaper than a wildfire.
Hopefully that will be done soon, I plan on laying some bricks tomorrow for a hearth pad so stay tuned for pics!
But these bricks get kinda heavy. I use 80 for a 4x4 hearth pad, and I was thinking about just doing the 4x4 walls out of brick too but I'm concerned if that's gonna put an exessive eccentric load on that corner of the builing.
Just the hearth pad at 80 x 4.3lbs = 344 lbs + 260lbs(woodstove) = 604 lbs just on that corner so far! [shocked],
If I added another 4x4 brick wall on each side of that corner that'd put the loading just for that spot at 1300 lbs!
Actually just typing that out right now I think I will likely use something much lighter for the walls just to be safe :)
Edit: Had a guy at the lumberyard today offer me a deal on some slightly warped 2x6x16 T&G pine for the ceiling. 44 pieces for $600. How does that sound? Would you guys take that deal or is the 2x6 too big or expensive?
2x6 t&g sounds like overkill for a ceiling. I used it for my loft flooring .
For my ceiling I used t&g 1/4 x 4 pine. It's been a while and I can't remember prices on it. You might want to check prices on some thinner options.
2X6 makes great flooring. Ceiling, not so much.
Gary
Tanks for the advice on the ceiling guys! I decided against it. And besides, I really can't justify going the ceiling before so many other important tasks are done; like the roof :)
I got a window 3x3 window for the loft and it's going to be a perfect size methinks! Excited to get it in.
Additionally, I finally got the windy side gable-end framed in and only about 1 more sheet away from having it done! Woot! ;D Unfortunately the OSB at the lumberyard was only 15/32 instead of 1/2 so I've been stuck buying plywood just a couple sheets at a time and YIKES it just keeps going up in price (it's at $27 for a 1/2'' sheet right now! [shocked]).
Figured I'd get the loft side sheeted before I pick up the 2x12s for the beam and frame in the other end.
(https://i.imgur.com/6xBRnDM.jpg)
I also finally got the super expensive chimney stuff in! It's like $50 bucks a foot for it but it sure does insulate well! Got the fire first lit! It's much too drafty for any heat to stay inside but it's nice to look at and it keeps my spirits up and lets me warm my hands during these 25 degree days. The bricks were taken out though and I'm going to be the hearth out of something called litestone I think. It looks nice and is super lightweight/heat resistant.
(https://i.imgur.com/es1gtIX.jpg)
Now finally, I was checking out my bracing and noticed that a couple of my 2x4 braces are becoming bowed. This makes me think that they aren't working well enough for their intended purpose and maybe I should replace them with some hardware or something thicker? What do you think? I expected the footings to have settled a bit but if the long braces were working there should be no movement right? Another idea could be adding some small piece of wood in between each pair, I suppose. The pic kinda shows the situation but it definitely looks warpier in person.
(https://i.imgur.com/zi02d6d.jpg)