In this video, we are leveling up and stiffening a sagging floor. The floor sagged over time because the builder didn’t provide properly designed trusses. We stiffened the trusses and jacked up the floor to fix the problem, and this is how we did it. The contractor is David Moore with Structures, Inc. I found…

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pressurized sewer system

Most of the time the waste lines in a container building work by gravity – basically on the principle that water and…well other stuff go downhill. It presents a lot of challenges in shipping containers to keep all the waste pipes at a decent slope. In this earlier video I talk about the challenges. On…

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In college professors never explained how building codes work. Supervisors never explained Codes to me anyplace I worked. I’m going to save you trouble and layout how Building Codes work here in the US. This is of crucial importance to us as designers. This should help if you are working from another country, or just…

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failing subwall

I have this nightmare that repeats itself over and over again. It is slightly different, but the theme is the same for each one, and I wake up shaking. It’s not about my time in the Middle East, or any of the horrific things I’ve seen, it’s more mundane that makes it so terrifying. The dream is about an awful house that I can’t get out of, and the worst thing is it can really happen.

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Surprisingly, it’s not necessary or advisable to repair every defect in a house. Normally what I will do in that case is give a number of alternatives in my report and layout the pluses and minuses of each alternative. Many times it is flamingly obvious that repairing the house defect will cause more problems than…

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Abandoned Terminal

This past week Governor Gavin Newsom stated that California would ban gas powered cars in 15 years. Also, an article appeared in Forbes magazine on September 26. It is predicting that Tesla’s proposed $25,000 electric car would mean “Game Over” for gas and oil. That made me think. What happens when cars go electric to the…

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