Building with Masonry Blocks

November 1, 2011 — Roger Frost

Any building has to have a permit and that requires a drawing or plan. It is important to identify all the dimensions for the wall. The openings for the doors and windows must be placed exactly. The corners of the wall are very important to the placing of the structure and must be laid out exactly.
Taking measurements from the foundation or floor plan, and transferring those measurements to the foundation, footing or floor slab is the first step in laying out the wall.

Every block wall requires a footing that is built below the frost line to prevent heaving in the winter. The footing should be twice as deep as the thickness of the wall and twice as wide. Footings in wet soil are required to be twice the width of normal footings tp provide the necessary support.

If you are building a wall for a home addition, garage or other structure, it is important to be able to read construction drawings to identify all the dimensions for the walls which are given on the floor plan and elevation. The walls are to be laid out the same as on the floor plan, with all measurements followed exactly. The openings for doors and windows must be placed exactly. It is important that the corners be set on the foundation exactly as given on the detail drawing on the foundation plan. Taking measurements from the foundation or floor plan, and transferring those measurements to the foundation, footing or floor slab is the first step in laying out the wall.

Before starting to lay the blocks, drive stakes into the ground and build a form at each corner. These stakes and forms can be made from scrap pieces of wood used on the job. Locate the exact corner by stretching lines from one corner form to the other. The exact corner will be the point at which the two lines cross. Drop a plumb bob down from each line, both at the corner point where the lines cross and at positions about 2′ out in each direction.

Corners and lead blocks are generally built 4-6 rows high, with each course being stepped back one block from the course below, creating a pyramid effect. The wall alignment, plumb and level should be checked on these corners before completing the wall. If everything checks out fine, it is now time to fill in each course between the corners.

Because they can be adjusted in size slightly, mortar joints provide some layout flexibility. While the ideal mortar joint is 3⁄8 inch wide, masons routinely shrink joints to as small as 1⁄4 inch or stretch them to as large as1⁄2 inch. Joints that fall out- side this range are unsightly and, with a few small exceptions, prohibited by most building codes.

Try Barrie’s Premier Home Inspector for your next inspection. To find the best advice on your next Professional Home Inspection in Barrie, Orillia and Alliston.

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Your Home’s Structure

October 16, 2011 — Roger Frost

A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures. In some contexts, “house” may mean the same as dwelling, residence, home, abode, lodging, accommodation, or housing, among other meanings.

Houses may be supported by a crawl space, full or partial basement or a floating slab on grade. Basements can be constructed of wood, poured concrete or masonry blocks. Poured concrete is becoming the norm for most housing and is far superior for cost and strength.

Your house framing is typically either balloon framing or platform framing. Balloon framing is an older method of wood framing that utilizes long, continuous framing members (studs) that run from sill to eaves, with intermediate floor platforms nailed to them. Once popular when long lumber was plentiful, balloon framing has been largely replaced by platform framing. However, balloon framing is growing in popularity again in light-gauge, steel stud construction. For light-gauge steel, long framing members are not as much of an issue. Some electricians prefer working in balloon frame buildings because the lack of fire blocking makes it much easier to add circuits.

Foundation made of concrete typically will have some cracks that are visible. Most cracks are the result of settling or shrinkage of the concrete during its curing stage. Diagonal cracks that grow in width, especially ones that are wider at the bottom than at the top, indicate settlement. Diagonal cracks over windows indicate a weak header. Diagonal cracks in a poured concrete foundation that are fairly uniform in width or are hairline-type are caused by shrinkage and, though they may allow water entry, do not constitute a structural defect. Some home inspectors think that if the crack follows the mortar joint, rather than going through the brick or block, the crack isn’t a problem. This is false. Walls crack at their weakest point. If the mortar is stronger than the brick, the wall will crack through the brick

Stick built rafters are one form of structural support for roofs. Rafters will usually have collar beams or ties. Collar ties are designed to tie together the tops of opposing rafters. This helps brace the roof framing against uplift caused by wind. Collar ties must be placed in the upper third of the roof. Rafter ties are designed to tie together the bottoms of opposing rafters. This helps keep walls from spreading due to the weight of the roof. When the walls spread, the ridge will sag. A sagging ridge is one clue that the home may lack adequate rafter ties. Rafter ties form the bottom chord of a simple triangular roof truss. They should be placed as low as possible in the roof framing.

Having your home inspected prior to purchasing is one of the most important items of the transaction. You want to protect yourself from shoddy workmanship or major problems with your homes systems. A house is comprised of many diffferent products installed by various tradesmen and sometimes do-it-yourself type renovators. To ensure Peace of Mind in your next Real Estate transaction use the Barrie Home Inspector for your protection and Peace of Mind. If you have a wood burning appliance then contact www.wett-inspection.com for your insurance companies required WETT Certification.

Looking to find the best deal on Barrie Home Inspections, then visit www.barrie-home-inspector.com to find the best advice onBarrie Home Inspections for your Peace of Mind.

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Quick Guide to Foundation Problems

October 6, 2011 — Jerry Blackstone

Getting a solid foundation for your home is extremely important, as all other building relies on it. If the foundation begins to crack or transfer, other elements of the house might fall in disrepair. In the event you believe your home’s foundation is broken, it is important to have it corrected prior to the damage gets to be not only a financial hazard, but a safety hazard also. Nonetheless, you don’t want to waistline your time contacting various home repair professionals, only to discover the foundation is good. Simply because of this, you will find a number of methods available to be able to help you to determine in the event your house is experiencing foundation issues.

Start off by searching about the basement of one’s house. Appear for just about any cracks within the wall, regardless using the supplies the wall is produced from. In the event you see any cracks within the drywall, cement or brick, it might be a certain sign your home is coping with severe foundation repair problems. Cracks usually operate from door frames and corners with the area, although it’s possible to find out cracks operating straight up from precisely exactly where the floor meets the wall, or exactly where the ceiling meets the wall. You may also uncover some bricks or locations with the drywall bulging out. This may be considered a sign that the region with the foundation is starting to shift, making the bulge.

Look at your basement subsequent a heavy rain. In the event you are viewing water hurt, it may be a sign your home has foundation harm. In case your house has by no means skilled h2o hurt, but all of the sudden water spots are discovered throughout the floor, it’s possible you’ve foundation issues. Obviously, you should appear much more than the pipes within the basement preliminary. In the event you have leaky pipes, you would like to get in contact with a plumber, not a foundation expert.

Subsequent you have looked more than the inside with the basement, you’ll need to seem in the exterior using the home. Seem about exactly where the siding meets the ground. Examine for just about any cracks or bulging locations once more right here. They’re other distinct indicators you might have foundation repair specifications.

In the preliminary sign of a possible foundation issue, you’ll need to get in contact with a expert. If not, the cracking and harm is simply likely to keep on. It generally requires a lengthy quantity of time for that foundation to keep on to develop worse, as this can be a extremely sluggish relocating procedure. So it is feasible to location off the foundation repair, nevertheless the longer you do, the a lot more costly it is going to turn out to be simply because the a lot more harm happens. When foundation repair issues preliminary seem, the fix is going to take much less time, providing you a sound, secure home. This truly is also a should fix, in the event you figure out to promote the home.

Ram Jack Foundation Choices of Colorado is skilled in all sorts of structural repair. Our specialists are educated in understanding the leads to of those and numerous other indicators and signs and symptoms of structural harm. Structural repair might be pricey, nevertheless it could price you a lot more money if overlooked.

Ram Jack Foundation Solutions of Colorado is experienced in all types of structural repair. Our technicians are educated in understanding the causes of these and many other symptoms of structural damage. Structural repair can be costly, however it can cost you more money if ignored. Ram Jack is a leader in foundation repair.

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Slab Repair Can Prevent Serious Problems

September 6, 2011 — Casey Watkins

When you need to do slab repair, you may find that this job will require several days before it is finished. The main problems that occur with concrete slabs tend to be that they become either chipped or cracked, or both. Chipped slabs require different repair treatments than cracked slabs. In order to do a proper repair of the slab, it is important that the ground shifting conditions which caused the crack are taken care of. Otherwise you will have to do the slab repair again. This will require drilling holes and filling them with gravel. Periodically the gravel should be soaked with a soaker hose to enable the slab to sink evenly.

The next step is to obtain a caulk gun and fill it with epoxy designed for cement. The cracks in the concrete must be filled. A trowel should be used to smooth the filler around the concrete. This should be allowed to dry for at least twenty four hours. A part of cement, along with two and a half parts of sand, should be mixed with enough water to make a consistency resembling mud. The concrete has to be dampened before the mixture can be applied to the cracks. A straightedge should be used so that the cement can be feathered to ensure that the crack will not be seen. Again, it should be allowed to dry for twenty four hours.

An electrical saw with a masonry blade should be used to treat the areas of the slab that have been affected. There should be four cuts around the perimeter of the area. One should always keep in mind the proper protective gear that should be worn while doing a project like this. Next, a hammer and chisel should be used to chip the concrete away from the hole that was cut with the saw. The cement that was chipped away should be brushed off the area. The mixture should be combined with an acrylic fortifier and should be placed into the hole using a wood float. The edges of the hole should be feathered so that it will not be able to be seen. The top of the hole should be completely smooth when finished. Naturally, the concrete must be allowed to dry until firm. Once that is completed, a sponge should be pressed upon the area in order to create a texture that is equivalent to the original concrete texture. The top should be covered with plastic for no more than two days. This prevents the drying process to occur too quickly and create cracks.

Homeowners do not always pay a lot of attention when a concrete slab exhibits damage. However, this lack of attention can cause problems to happen in the long term due to a damaged slab. For example, rodents and insect pests can find a way to enter the home. A shed which is put on the slab can cause it to shift and affect the drainage of water and melting snow. Homeowners need to keep their concrete slabs properly repaired. Fortunately slab repair is not too costly and it will last a long time. There is no good reason to put off slab repair when it is needed.

All in all the above suggestions are moderately easy to do. Do not forget to assess the entire slab in order to monitor the damage and its extent. If you see external problems which could cause further damage – e.g. erosion – the problem must be removed in order to ensure that the process of slab repair will take effect even in the long term.

Looking to find the best deal on slab repair, then visit www.yoursite.com to find the best advice on slab repair for you.

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Face Skin Types

August 5, 2011 — Sophia Brook

If you have the normal type of skin then your face ought to show very little signs of oil. Your skin should feel and look elastic and supple. If you have the normal type of skin, you are lucky as this is the skin type with the least number of potential difficulties. If you have this type of skin you do not have to spend much time or energy taking care of your skin. It ought to look great and age well as it is.

If you have the dry skin type, your skin shouldn’t look oily whatsoever but your skin should feel tight and tough after cleansing it and your skin might be flaky. If your skin only feels this way following using a strong facial cleaner then you may not have the dry type of skin, it may be the cleanser causing the dryness so try some different cleansers out. The dry skin type is susceptible to developing wrinkles and fine pores. It is the type of skin that often ages the fastest. If you have this skin type you must take proper care of it by using good moisturizers or face masks in order to keep the skin appearing younger for longer.

If you have the oily type of skin you will be aware of it. I will start on a positive for people with the oily skin type. The oily skin type ages the best which is definitely excellent for anybody with this skin type. The trouble with oily skin is that a lot of people do not like having the unnecessary oil on their faces and the excess oils can result in blocked pores and acne. You’ll need to take good care of your oily skin by using a great oil based cleanser, an oil free moisturizer and if you use makeup you will need to pick and chose these products correctly. People with oily skin should clean and moisturize their face twice daily, sometimes three times daily.

Combination skin is a mix of both oily and dry skin types. You can have dry skin in some areas of your face and oily areas in others. Usually the dry sections are on the cheeks and the oily patches are on the forehead and nose. This can make the skin more challenging to cope with. If this is the case you should deal with the dry skin as you would if you had the dry type of skin and use masks and good moisturizers where as with the oily skin you should clean 2 times a day and apply an oil free moisturizer.

The sensitive skin type is similar to the dry skin type. It tends to also feel tight but sensitive skin tents to become irritated easily. Sensitive skin can be itchy and tingly and can develop spots and scaly areas. This skin type needs special care. There are skin products out there for this kind of skin however finding the good ones takes some time and effort.

If you would like to learn more about products for oily skin and cleansers for oily skin then visit For Oily Skin!

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