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He guys, this is an update to “leveling a weird old house in New Or leans”.
We’ve done some more invasive inspection work on this house with the three brick walls and the one wooden one(if the house was a rectangle, the wood wall would be one of the long ones). Turns out after removing some dry wall on the inside, that the wooden wall isn’t balloon framed as I’d originally thought it was. There is a 12″x6″ beam running the length of that side that the second-floor joists sit on. It’s mortice in places and held together with wooden pegs. During the initial inspection I noticed that there wasn’t much, if any, deflection in the attic on that side. It seems that the beam is holding the load from the second floor. There is some sagging, but only 1/2″ in 6′. On the first floor it’s more like 6″ in 6′. I’ve read the section on house jacking in ash’s book Renovating Old Houses, and consulted a structural engineer(The guy was so fat and out of shape he could barely get back up when he squatted down, showed up in a white shirt, dress pants,and dress shoes. HIS inspection was very thorough!) I was wondering if anyone has encountered this timber frame meets regular framing hybrid and if any one knows when it was in use. I’m thinking this house was built about 1850. Would anyone be interested in seeing pictures of the work as I do it?
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Absolutely. The more pictures, the better.
Sounds like that beam has saved your house. If it hadn't held up the second floor, the weight of the second floor might've caused the total collapse of the first as well, instead of just the big sag there.
*Rod,I see that in the ones I work on too. They are in the same period. Some studs are 4x6 mortise and tenon, with the big top plate oriented on the flat, mostly longleaf pine but some cypress. I am 100 miles up 61 from you.Love to see pics.KK
*i "I was wondering if anyone has encountered this timber frame meets regular framing hybrid and if any one knows when it was in use."Hmm, not quite the same as Tudor, Jackobean and Elizabethan English from about AD 1500, but maybe close. Plenty of sag in some of those walls. There are some earlier examples too from stone age to Norman hill forts, but they've all mostly fallen down by now to become archeological digs!! It sounds like you have quite a tricky project. ;-) Sliante.
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He guys, this is an update to "leveling a weird old house in New Or leans".
We've done some more invasive inspection work on this house with the three brick walls and the one wooden one(if the house was a rectangle, the wood wall would be one of the long ones). Turns out after removing some dry wall on the inside, that the wooden wall isn't balloon framed as I'd originally thought it was. There is a 12"x6" beam running the length of that side that the second-floor joists sit on. It's mortice in places and held together with wooden pegs. During the initial inspection I noticed that there wasn't much, if any, deflection in the attic on that side. It seems that the beam is holding the load from the second floor. There is some sagging, but only 1/2" in 6'. On the first floor it's more like 6" in 6'. I've read the section on house jacking in ash's book Renovating Old Houses, and consulted a structural engineer(The guy was so fat and out of shape he could barely get back up when he squatted down, showed up in a white shirt, dress pants,and dress shoes. HIS inspection was very thorough!) I was wondering if anyone has encountered this timber frame meets regular framing hybrid and if any one knows when it was in use. I'm thinking this house was built about 1850. Would anyone be interested in seeing pictures of the work as I do it?