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Building Homes or Extensions/Questions
| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
| Addition | 1/20/2007 | Bruce E. Johnson |
| Q: Our 6 year old home is in Coatesville, PA. I would like your recommendation on average size and ... A: remodeling your garage should cost in the 30-50 dollar per square foot range depending on how fancy ... | ||
| cutting hole in brick wall to fit window airconditioner | 1/18/2007 | Bruce E. Johnson |
| Q: I have a single storey, double brick cavity wall house. What are the considerations, besides ... A: it really depends on the width of the opening you are cutting and its location. In order for masonry ... | ||
| basement | 1/17/2007 | Bruce E. Johnson |
| Q: To follow up with another comment/question. I would consider the basement not usable, except for ... A: I'm sorry I thought you meant that the basement was a full basement with five foot high concrete ... | ||
| header | 1/17/2007 | Bruce E. Johnson |
| Q: I want to add on too my family room. I would like to keep a flush ceiling. The exiting truss 4/12 ... A: are you sure that the living room is a load bearing wall? If your roof is a "truss" system chances ... | ||
| Adding onto a manufactured home | 1/17/2007 | Bruce E. Johnson |
| Q: I think I was not clear about part of my question. I also have a question about keeping the weather ... A: that is the easy part. Try to maintain an inch to half inch separation between the two walls. Use ... | ||
| basement | 1/16/2007 | Bruce E. Johnson |
| Q: Bruce, we are interested in purchasing a home 200 yds. from a lake. The basement is approximately 5 ... A: before I would convert the basement to a pier foundation I would spend that money to fix the problem ... | ||
| Adding onto a manufactured home | 1/16/2007 | Bruce E. Johnson |
| Q: I have a 1983 manufactured home 26 X 62, (dble wide) It is set up on concrete ribbons about 6 feet ... A: You will not be supporting the whole dormer only the tie in part. The main weight of the addition ... | ||
| Rain entering floor from under wall baseboard | 1/15/2007 | Bruce E. Johnson |
| Q: We recently added on to our small house. We had a big rain last night and had water coming in from ... A: yes it sounds like water is piling up on the brick ledge and running under your wall. A good ... | ||
| Extending onto trusses | 1/15/2007 | Bruce E. Johnson |
| Q: We are looking at extending our home but i'm not sure how to join trusses to create extension. I ... A: there are a couple of things you can do here. One is to put a roof over the new addition similar to ... | ||
| Replacing load bearing wall | 1/12/2007 | Bruce E. Johnson |
| Q: It was a load-bearing wall of a total length of 15'8" I was wanting to relpace it with a beam of ... A: okay that makes a little more sense. The three 2x8s are pushing it for a span over twelve feet. If ... | ||
| Replacing load bearing wall | 1/12/2007 | Bruce E. Johnson |
| Q: I would like to replace a load-bearing wall that is approximately 15'8" wide with floor joist ... A: I am not quite sure what you are asking here. Do you want to replace the bad wall with an open ... | ||
| Attic convertions | 1/11/2007 | Bruce E. Johnson |
| Q: My roof area frame out lumber is 2x4 or 2x6. The 2x12 floor support beams are over the garage area, ... A: ok that makes sense now. I think you can get by with an r-19 insulation which is six inch. If the ... | ||
| PSI of concrete | 1/11/2007 | Bruce E. Johnson |
| Q: Bruce, I had a foundation poured that took over 30hrs to cure enough to allow someone to walk on it ... A: Actually the longer it takes concrete to cure the better. It will have less stress cracks over time ... | ||
| water in ducts ,slab | 1/10/2007 | Dave Johnson |
| Q: After heavy rains I have water entering my heat ducts. This is a slab home built in 1986 in ... A: This isn't my usual area, but I thin k you've been given fair advice. Your local equipment rental ... | ||
| Lifting ceiling joists | 1/10/2007 | Bruce E. Johnson |
| Q: I am considering purchasing a home that is 8 years old. Currently the master bedroom and adjoining ... A: gravity kinda precludes the ceiling lifting up from the walls. My first guess would be that the ... | ||
| Attic convertions | 1/9/2007 | Bruce E. Johnson |
| Q: Is 3/4 plywood the correct size for the floor in this attic bonus room? Also since the floor beams ... A: you seem to be unclear as to what space you are talking about to be filled with insulation. The ... | ||
| house jacking | 1/9/2007 | Bruce E. Johnson |
| Q: We have a bungalo style house built in the 1920's. We are jacking the main beam that runs lengthwise ... A: Simson makes a post bracket that has a built-in metal shoe that keeps the post an inch off the pad ... | ||
| steel stock for main support | 1/8/2007 | Bruce E. Johnson |
| Q: Good Morning, Question, is there a calculation lets say for � x 8� thick piece of steel stock ... A: I have used 6"x4"x1/2" angle in some instances of beam repair but if in doubt consult an engineer. ... | ||
| room in attic | 1/8/2007 | Dave Johnson |
| Q: Im looking to build an extra room in the attic. There are 2x4 supports that run in a 'V' shape from ... A: Wow, Tim thats a tough one. It depends a lot on the spacing, size and span of the floor joists. The ... | ||
| rain gutters | 1/8/2007 | Bill-C |
| Q: I have what I believe are aluminum gutters on my house now that are getting old and some spots have ... A: First and foremost your aluminium gutter should not rust but will oxidise and diminish through time. ... | ||
| wood frame vs concrete block | 1/8/2007 | Dave Johnson |
| Q: I'm looking at making a home purchase in Florida. Several hurricane's have ripped through here in ... A: I think you are correct! I strongly recommend the usa of ICF's. ( Insulated concrete forms) They ... | ||
| Building a sunroom extension | 1/7/2007 | Bruce E. Johnson |
| Q: Firstly, I would like to congratulate your expertise. I have read through hundreds of answers, and ... A: normally in an area where there is a defined frost line you would put the bottom of the foundation ... | ||
| Steel Beams - Spacing ? | 1/5/2007 | Dave Johnson |
| Q: First of all thank you ! I'm interested in building a 16 by 24 foot cabin. This cabin will need to ... A: First it would depend on how you were going to pick it up. But the least expense would be to use ... | ||
| attic space | 1/5/2007 | Bruce E. Johnson |
| Q: Im looking to build an extra room in the attic. There are 2x4 supports that run in a 'V' shape from ... A: it sounds like you have a truss type of roof system which means that the v shape is necessary to ... | ||
| DIP IN KITCHEN FLOOR | 1/5/2007 | Bruce E. Johnson |
| Q: WE BOUGHT OUR HOUSE 1 YEAR AGO. IT IS APPROXIMATELY 19 YEARS OLD. WE HAVE ENCOUNTERED A PROBLEM ... A: DJ, If you can get under the house and physically look at the joist from underneath you can probably ... | ||
| Block Saferoom Leaks Water | 1/5/2007 | Bruce E. Johnson |
| Q: I live in Alabama. Currently building a block wall safe room and the contractor has bricked the ... A: the block will dry from the inside out ok. If the masonry accumulated a lot of water at the base of ... | ||
| vapor barriers | 1/5/2007 | Bruce E. Johnson |
| Q: Bruce: I have a concrete block house with condensation occurring with heat and cold meeting at wall. ... A: your problem may not be a vapor barrier problem but a venting problem. Check to make sure that your ... | ||
| Two Basement questions | 1/4/2007 | Dave Johnson |
| Q: I live in PA and am working on my basement(to finished dry wall surfaces). I have used Drylok 2-3 ... A: First, try to avoid using any plastic, especially if it is to be totally sealed. This could cause ... | ||
| re.concrete | 1/4/2007 | Bruce E. Johnson |
| Q: Yes Bruce, I drilled holes and put rebar before pouring holes.Each pole has 3- 80# bags of ... A: When you pour your slab you might want to tie the slab into your posts again and dig a little deeper ... | ||
| Adding a garage and remodeling a tuck under garage | 1/4/2007 | Dave Johnson |
| Q: Wondering if you see any real big problems with my addition idea. I have a split level home with a ... A: As rar as costs are concerned, I c ouldn't be sure. Your local materials and l;abor costs are sure ... | ||
| Rain during pour | 1/4/2007 | Bruce E. Johnson |
| Q: I had a residential foundation pour that started at 9:00am and finished pumping at 10:40am. The ... A: it is a little unusual that the concrete is taking so long to set up but on the other hand it is ... | ||
| mobile homes | 1/4/2007 | Brian McElroy |
| Q: I am moving into a 1999 Four Seasons mobile home soon (have never lived in one) and am going to ask ... A: You have a valid concern. Most mobile homes have a steel subframe and OSB subfloor, usually 3/4" ... | ||
| re.concrete | 1/3/2007 | Bruce E. Johnson |
| Q: I forgot to tell you. All of my roof and walls will be supported by pipe poles. Allready in the ... A: if your poles are already set in the ground with no footings poured around them then it would be a ... | ||
| garage addition | 1/3/2007 | Bruce E. Johnson |
| Q: I would like to add a 22 long by 26 wide garage in front of the existing garage. Can I pour over ... A: I don't see any reason why you can't pour over the top of your existing driveway. You may need to ... | ||
| concrete slab vs. monolific slab | 1/2/2007 | Brian McElroy |
| Q: We are building a farm house in Florida, City of Zolfo Springs. We initially had concrete slab on ... A: Mono slabs are faster and meet building codes. They are a continuous pour of concrete and footers. I ... | ||
| Attic convertions | 1/2/2007 | Bruce E. Johnson |
| Q: I live in a new home that was built in 2006. I want to convert part of the attic area to a small ... A: it sounds to me like this is an excellant idea. You have a nice area for a bonus room. You can ... | ||
| concrete | 1/2/2007 | Bruce E. Johnson |
| Q: I will be pouring a slab very soon and i'm trying to get forms up and dirt moved. It measures 20' ... A: your footing size depends a lot on how heavy of a building you are going to construct. I would ... | ||
| concrete | 1/2/2007 | Bruce E. Johnson |
| Q: Bruce : having talked to a couple of local contractors I was told that as long as i poured what they ... A: there are many different ways to protect the concrete from freezing. Whatever methods are used in ... | ||
| Vapor barrier & unsulatin - block house | 12/31/2006 | Bruce E. Johnson |
| Q: I own a stucco exterior block house in upstate NY and would like to insulate it from the inside. I ... A: the generally accepted method when using the foam core insulation is to install it to the masonry ... | ||
| Residential Structure Continues to Shift Post Structure Support Repair | 12/31/2006 | Bruce E. Johnson |
| Q: I was given a gift. A beautiful 2700sq ft home 5bd 2 1/2 ba home. Corner lot approx 1 acer. ... A: Happy New Year to you also. I love Oklahoma! From the sounds of things if your home is on a pier ... | ||
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Building Homes or Extensions
Answers by Expert:
Bruce E. Johnson
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
I can answer any construction related question in regards to carpentry, concrete, drywall, masonry, structural elements of any type of building, residential or commercial. Interior or exterior.
Experience
Custom Commercial and residential buildings. Churches, theaters, schools and auditoriums. Most recently I am working with the Catholic Church on several design build committees. I have a website related to scheduling and project supervision. Although my expertise is more related to multimillion dollar commercial, educational and theatrical projects my generous credentials in residential and remodelling construction make me a viable source of information regarding all forms of building questions.
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