| Subject | Date Asked |
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| standards for smooth walls | 9/8/2007 |
Q: Would you please explain how to acheive smooth walls using using gypsum drywall? My new walls were ...
A: Brandis, I am not aware of any readily available standards that describe what you are looking for. ...
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| square footage | 9/6/2007 |
Q: I have a question about calculating the square footage of an apartment/home. Is the square footage ...
A: Danielle, Although there is a published standard for determining the area of a house (ANSI ...
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| standards for smooth walls | 9/6/2007 |
Q: Would you please explain how to acheive smooth walls using using gypsum drywall? My new walls were ...
A: Brandis, It is common to have a conflict between the expectations of a customer and the results of ...
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| Basement Support System | 8/23/2007 |
Q: I have a 27 year old house. In the basement, the support system of the house consists of 2 by 6 ...
A: Michael, It is probably possible to remove some sections of the bearing wall. I would need to see ...
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| Wood vs. steel I beam | 8/21/2007 |
Q: I have an 8' span (interior catwalk) 7' wide. I'm planning 16" centers so I expect 6 joists. ...
A: Jim, 5" steel I beams are way too much for this small span. If you are maintaining the 16 inch ...
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| Cantilevering an additon | 8/19/2007 |
Q: After spending almost a year and a lot of money our architect has informed us that we can not ...
A: Lorie, In general cantilevers can be quite large. However, within the constraints of residential ...
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| Roof Overhand and Window Placement | 8/11/2007 |
Q: I'm designing a house with 9' ceiling heights throughout. I want to have 16" transoms over some of ...
A: Laurie, As part of your design process you must draw the wall/soffit in section detail and work ...
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| roof over deck | 8/1/2007 |
Q: My Husband is very handy and I know he could build the roof over the deck like we want, but there is ...
A: Angels, I would be glad to offer a suggestion, but I really need to see photos of the area and if ...
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| Basement steel support beam | 8/1/2007 |
Q: I'm looking for a general idea about a basement support beams before I talk to contractors so that ...
A: If I was doing this, I would certainly choose the lighter/deeper beam, unless headroom under the ...
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| Basement steel support beam | 7/31/2007 |
Q: I'm looking for a general idea about a basement support beams before I talk to contractors so that ...
A: Larry, Unfortunately it is somewhat unrealistic to support two such long beams at their ends only. ...
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| Mission hospital | 7/31/2007 |
Q: I am interested in developing a Hospital in the rain forest in South America.Can you guide me where ...
A: Paul, This is a little far afield from my expertise, but you might try exploring the following two ...
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| Boring Ranch House | 7/17/2007 |
Q: Do you know where I can get some ideas on changing the looks of a ranch house. We are planning on ...
A: Rhonda, I have been out of town for over a week, so I wasn't able to take the time to look at your ...
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| French Country Kitchen | 7/12/2007 |
Q: Can you recommend a nice tile floor design for a 100-year-old house designated "French Country ...
A: L., The tile I was envisioning is similar to these: ...
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| French Country Kitchen | 7/7/2007 |
Q: Can you recommend a nice tile floor design for a 100-year-old house designated "French Country ...
A: L. Michel, If you are looking for something fairly authentic to the period, you are on the right ...
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| red roof origin | 7/4/2007 |
Q: why does house roofs are colored in red? I saw in Italy old house roof in the red color, and in ...
A: Eli, Roofs in Italy and in many other locations are red because the material used to make ...
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| adding ceiling height | 6/24/2007 |
Q: I live in Canada, near Detroit. My hubby and I purchased a farm with a tiny home on it. The main ...
A: Michelle, I am not aware of a code that would prevent the addition of a knee wall, as long as it is ...
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| Kitchen Remodel | 6/24/2007 |
Q: My husband & I are in the planning stages of remodeling our kitchen. The house was built in 1958 and ...
A: Sue, In some cases this can be done with pretty good results. Can you possibly send a photo of the ...
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| Exterior of home needs a change | 6/22/2007 |
Q: Love your site. We have a 1960's small lake home/cottage that we are purchasing as an investment. It ...
A: Mary, To answer your other question, lowering the brick is a fairly straightforward procedure. ...
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| Exterior paint and material color | 6/20/2007 |
Q: I have a 1928 Craftsman home (big front porch and columns) with the original red brick and white ...
A: Erin, Thanks for sending the elevation plans. I need to assume a brick color to help you, so I am ...
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| replacement windows | 6/11/2007 |
Q: We own a colonial style home that was built in 1990. It has med. brown (walnut) colored wood trim ...
A: Diane, Several vinyl window manufacturers make windows with white exteriors and woodgrain ...
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| wood paneling/molding/castings? | 6/9/2007 |
Q: I was wondering if you happened to know the period from which certain wood panelings came from. The ...
A: Lizette r, It's tough to say without seeing the panels. There are many design variations on both ...
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| wieght | 6/8/2007 |
Q: i dont know if im posting in the right place but here i go. i have a huge aquarium that i want to ...
A: Mark, If the bearing is continuous to the basement, AND the floor joists for the second floor are ...
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| Load bearing steel beam | 6/7/2007 |
Q: I need to know how long a span I can have in the basement with an 8" steel beam with just a floor ...
A: Alan, Please give me two pieces of information: (1) the width of the house (perpendicular to the ...
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| House for cats | 6/7/2007 |
Q: I'm a student who attend architecture lectures in Korea. I'm making a house plan (drawings, ...
A: Jun Yup, This sounds like a fun project. Not too many people specialize in this discipline, but I ...
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| wieght | 6/5/2007 |
Q: i dont know if im posting in the right place but here i go. i have a huge aquarium that i want to ...
A: Mark, I didn't mention this before, but old houses were built before modern building codes and ...
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| Stair calculations | 6/4/2007 |
Q: Is there some formula that can be used to calculate the number of steps and their dimension. We ...
A: Michelle, I received your dimensions. Thanks. For some reason I also got this last message from ...
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| Stair calculations | 6/3/2007 |
Q: Is there some formula that can be used to calculate the number of steps and their dimension. We ...
A: Michelle, There isn't a "formula" per se, but there is a straighforward procedure. If you can ...
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| Attaching Addition to Existing Structure | 6/3/2007 |
Q: Mr. Major: I am planning an addition to an existing house. The existing house is 70 years old and ...
A: John, What you are proposing is pretty sound. Yes, you can bolt a ledger to the existing wall. ...
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| Rusty Nails in my new deck | 5/31/2007 |
Q: I just had a deck built 2 months ago and noticed that all the nails are starting to rust. What do I ...
A: Celeste, Thanks for sending the photos. The nails are cheap electroplated gun nails. They are ...
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| Rusty Nails in my new deck | 5/31/2007 |
Q: I just had a deck built 2 months ago and noticed that all the nails are starting to rust. What do I ...
A: Celeste, This is unfortunate. The best nails for exterior decks are either stainless steel or ...
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| sliding doors | 5/25/2007 |
Q: iwould like to know ifyou can open a large areaof the wall with ceiling to floor sliding doors that ...
A: Darcie, Let me know what town you are in and I might be able to provide more information. ...
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| Geometrical drawing in perspective | 5/16/2007 |
Q: I'm studying interior architecture and I'm wondering if maybe you know any websites with ...
A: Sofie, I learned perspective from a textbook and classroom practice. There are plenty of such ...
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| roof pitch | 5/13/2007 |
Q: I've been trying to find a simple chart which converts all the various roof pitches to inclination ...
A: Jeanne, Use this link. It has a graphic chart and a table (pg. 7-8). I found it with a simple ...
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| living area | 5/10/2007 |
Q: we planning on building a new home and are looking for plans online. When the plan says total ...
A: Mike, Plan companies differ, and unfortunately there is not a universal standard. Most square ...
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| Removal of chimney breast | 5/6/2007 |
Q: I am thinking of buying a house and the only thing that is putting me off is there is a huge chimney ...
A: Danny, In most cases it is possible. However, the chimney is integral to the structure of the ...
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| drafting | 4/17/2007 |
Q: My son is in a intro to drafting class in high school and is having a hard time understanding the ...
A: Jody, I almost declined to answer this question because it is really a teaching/learning problem, ...
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| about greek temple architecture | 4/7/2007 |
Q: I would like to ask regarding greek temple. One of my assigment in my collge is to take pictures of ...
A: Moon, Try visiting the El Campo Santo Cemetary in The City of Industry. There is a Greek Temple on ...
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| underwater architecture | 4/6/2007 |
Q: i'm gearing up for a thesis project beginning next fall in 2007, and i had broad questions about ...
A: First: concrete (pre-cast and, in some cases, poured in place). Then: steel, with appropriate ...
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| low beam | 3/30/2007 |
Q: I recently purchased an old house, around 165 years old. one problem im having is i am having the ...
A: Christian, This question is tough to answer without additional information. It would help if you ...
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| adding a "false" dormer / changing roof lines | 2/23/2007 |
Q: Ok bear with me, I am sure my verbage will be way off when trying to discribe what I want..but here ...
A: Paula, In most cases this type of alteration is easy. Typically, the existing shingles are ...
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