I am about to start a job in chicago stick framing a home. The house is roughly 20′ wide and 60′ deep. The front of the house is going to have a pretty minor elliptical (a 1′-8″ projection over 12′), that runs from the foundation all the way to the roof. There will be five casement style windows in this elliptical with only about 5″ in between each window. Each casement window will also have an 18″ x 24″ transom window above them with a 3″ mull in between.
Because both the first and second floors call for only 9′ finished ceilings I will only have enough room for 2×6 headers above the windows and below the double top plate. 2×6 will not be sufficient based on the load above. I will need a minimum of 2×12. I cannot drop the sill height because it is already as low as it can go.
Normally, this would not be a problem for me because I would just put a header above the top plates in the box (rim joist) of the above deck. But, because this is an elliptical and also because the floors will be framed with 14″ floor trusses ( not with 2×10 or 2×12), things will have to be done different. I have never used floor trusses before. I know that floor trusses call for a 1″ box—is that because they require more bearing than standard 2x joists?—and if so will I not be able to put a structural header in the box?
So, here are some of the suggestions I need from you guys.
Where and what should I do for the headers above these windows? Will kerf cutting 2x material to achieve the elliptical take away from the vertical strenth of the header?
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I'm a little unclear (notice I didn't say "fuzzy"!) - why would you use 2x material for a structural header instead of 4x? And I would never kerf-cut a structural header. I would think an ellipse that shallow would allow for a standard header. What's the exterior finish?
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The elipse is actually a 1'-8" slice off a 25' diameter circle. Im not really sure what to call it but its not a true oval. Besides that, your drawing is pretty accurate. (thanks) I will have enough room to make individual headers above each window (but only 2x6).
What I meant about when I normally frame headers into the above box is in a straight wall system. I have never had the opportunity to frame an elliple of this sort.
This home calls for a gable roof and the elipse projects off the gable end, so I agree that running an LVL across the straight wall span and then joist-hangering look-outs out to meet the elipse might be the best idea.
Sorry for such little detail. your suggestions have been great and right on for such little detail. Really shows the kind of talent that you guys possess. Please keep them coming.
Based on this correction, the wall will be a curved wall - arc section, not an elipse. That makes things considerably easier for you, and yse, each window should be able to be headered with 2x6 for that. If it were the other, I would have a truss plant make up a curved or eleiptical LVL to handle it all in one piece,
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exterior finish is brick veneer
You wouldn't be framing this masterpiece in Bucktown, would ya?
Our daughter and her husband live there, on Hermitage, a few blocks in from Armitage. We are very impressed with the new homes they are building there.
Fabulous modernist designs, with really high-end exterior finishes! We can only imagine what the interiors look like.
no, not in bucktown but in a really similar area on the southside called bridgeport. Bridgeport is a really up and coming area for young couples who love the city life. With the city lots being only 25'x125', and the homes on them being maxed out at only 20'x60', the architects have to really use their creativity to set each house apart from the next and to make the most of these homes in such limited amount of space.
I have done some rehab work in bucktown---that area is on fire!!! It is hard to get even a fixer-upper for less than $400,000.
"Normally, this would not be a problem for me because I would just put a header above the top plates in the box (rim joist) of the above deck."
This statement confuses me. How could you run a rim joist on an ellipse? If the ellipse runs unbroken for two stories, from foundation to roof, then there is no straight-edged deck to break it up. If you ran a beam from one end of the ellipse to the other (to hang the joists from), then how would you handle the ellipse portion that protrudes past the plane of the wall that contains the beam?
Without more detail on what you're building, its hard for me to visualize what you're asking. Here's a simple suggestion most guys don't like to hear: whenever I run across a question on something I'm building off an architect's plan, I usually just phone the architect (his number is on the plan, right?) and ask him to fax me a detail. Chances are he's used this detail before, and knows exactly how he wants it built.
I'm a little confused by your description too...
But, you said: >> There will be five casement style windows in this elliptical with only about 5" in between each window. << That would mean you will have a triple stud pocket between the windows... right?, thereby distributing the roof load so that the actual header span would only be the width of whatever size the windows are... Sounds do-able...
A picture of some kind would really help though.
BTW - where I live, this kind of thing would have to be engineered. My WAG would be that Chicago would require it too.
Windows don't specifically require a header unless they're under load. The header would be straight across the 12' span, thereby taking the load off the windows. Then the window ellipse structure is cantilevered out from the straight wall system.
I'm guessing that there won't be a header below the second floor trusses (thereby blocking the top of the first floor windows.) So, you need something that the floor trusses can butt into.
I don't know if hangers would suffice. I guess that's what they make them for. So, I'm thinking a Lambeam, LVL, or whatever they're calling them these days, with a series of hangers for the ends of the floor trusses in that area, then another straight header on the second floor to hold the roof system. Build the window holding structure against the headers.
The other consideration would then be making sure that you have a sufficient foundation below the window holding struture to make sure it doesn't sag separate from the house. Probably extending or cantilevering the floor system at the foundation (assuming the foundation is straight.)
did i get it right? do i get a gold star, move to the head of the class, win a trip to vegas!?