Block House Construction
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Q: Foundation Guys: 32 y.o. FL house-slab on grade-2000 sq ft-block construction. House is sinking -Value :125K?
Ins co. engineering report said NOT a sinkhole- rotting detritus
Policy only covers sinkholes. walls, floor ,ceilings are cracked and water damage is apparent
I’m going to have to contract this out.
What’s the best plan?
raze house and rebuild w/ a crawl space-being another 2 ‘ off the ground wouldn’t hurt
lift houser and put on concrete crawl space or piers
Fill in voiids with concrete and repair slab as needed
I am 100′ from water and 1/2 the houses on this block either have a certified sinkhole problem or a detritus void problem
Thanks in advance
A: get a second opinion and soil engineer and be prepared for a drawn out court battle when you sue..
when developments are not fully thought out and or rushed with out the proper soil engineering and compaction , you get what you get, the fact that half the houses in your tract are in sinkhole tells me you inside the same problem. to me the insurance company sounds like it trying to get out of paying a claim. this is common as i’ll bet the engineering company has ties to the insurnace company.
best of luck
Q: I have a block construction house. Plaster interior. Walls are sweating….alot on the north side. Why?
A couple notes:
1. I have recently (spring) took out carpet and installed a new bamboo floor. The subfloor is 3/4 plankingwith moisture barrier… 1/2 plywood with lick em tiles (House built in 1948), and 1/8″ Lauan…15#felt and 5/8″ bamboo. I don’t thik the moisture is coming up from the floor.
2. I have also recently (spring) changed the cold air return system. It used to have the returns cut out in the floor. I have since changed the return air on my furnace to recirculate existing air from the house through a common intake located in the living room, central to the house. My concern was the possible lack of air coming out of the bedroom where this is happening. I have cut the door down to allow a 1-1/2 inch gap when closed in order to allow air to circulate.
3. Also in the area of this “sweating” the crawl space vent is on the north wall. I plan on closing off and insulating also.
Is it all of these things or only a couple? I have had the block blown in with an expandable foam product approximately 5 years ago. I think the block is adequately insulated.. Any ideas???
A: If this has never happened before then it is probably caused by a lack of air circulation. With out seeing your home I can only guess but To increase circulation you could add a return vent to the crawl space area buck to the main house.
Q: What are the advantages of a timber frame house against breeze block apart from shorted construction time?
A: Easier to remodel and cheaper, apart from that not a lot
Q: Which is a better n safe n cheap house construction?
A house built using cement, concrete, paint etc
or
A Eco friendly house built using mud blocks (quarry powder, mud and very little quantity of cement) has sky lights, has water harvesting, no plastering & no painting.
A: Depends on the builder and what you can afford.
Q: Is it better to buy a concrete block const. house than frame const. in fl?
I have found a house I like in palm bay but has frame construction built in 1994. some one told me that I may have a problem with termites and dampness. Would I be better to pass on frame constuction?
A: Get house inspected by a professional. Treat for termites.
Q: I was in Dominican republic and me and my brother were in a under construction house ?
Me and my brother so a ghost looking like a rainbow it was 10 feet long and it was following us we ran to our grandmother’s house which was a half a block away the ghost was gone as soon as we ran and looked back can someone please help me!?
A: seriously?
it could have just been a chemical reaction to something there using in the construction of the house.. u notice any odd or strong smells??
Q: What do I need to look out for when buying a block of land to build our house on?
I have chosen a level block for a slab construction and need to know what else I should know before purchasing it. The only things I know at the moment is for residential it needs to be zoned 2A, and obviously the size needs to be a reasonable size, but what else?
Any advise on choosing a builder (not owner builder)
Thanks
A: You have already bought the land? My opinions
1. Is the land low – lying enough to flood? Don’t listen to the agent/realtor, get a flood map from your local authority and check. I saw a house that was said by the agent to be on flood-free land go completely under water once.
2. Are there highly combustible forests or scrub in the direction of the prevailing winds for example lots of eucalyptus or pine trees? About 500 houses in this town were destroyed by fire one Saturday afternoon three years ago. Cause, westerly winds blowing over pine plantations just to the west of most of the houses. If you are on a hillside, are there combustible trees below your house?
3. Water supply 4. Sewerage 5. Shops 6. Schools 7 Electric Power 8 Telephone 9. Gas 10. Cable for TV and or Internet. How far to work?
Ensure the slab is at least a hand’s breadth above all surrounding ground especially at the doors. At ground level, heavy rain will seep under the walls into the house and dust will blow through or under the doors in dry weather even when closed. I don’t like slab construction. Lived on it for a while.
Choose builders from those listed with their industry association. It’s not much of a guarantee but you cut out the real jerry builders that way. Get at least four quotes and if one seems extra-low, reject it or ask if the quoter really needs the work. Suspiciously high might mean the builder does not really want your job.
Think about sight lines in the house, one place I knew had a long corridor running in line with the front door. At the other end was the toilet. That was the first thing you saw when you opened the front door, if someone had left the toilet door open. Don’t make the bedrooms too small.
Q: how do you get rid of woodpeckers that are eating on your house?
Our house is “ice block” construction. Concrete poured inside of styrofoam forms and the outside is covered in Dryvit. I have a woodpecker making holes all over the outside about 5 feet below the roof line.
A: Hang mirrors, or reflective stainless steel panels over the holes. The woodpecker will see another woodpecker, try to attack it, and give up over time. It has worked for me.
BB guns, and pellet guns are a bit of a final alternative, but if you want to kill them…..
Call an Audoubon soceity office, and see what alternatives there are. Or call the State Fish and Game Dept, to find out what else is available.
Good luck.
Q: experiments for construction studies?
I’m just wondering if anyone knows the experiment to show the time construction difference of a timber frame house and a concrete block house! any other experiments to do with the constructions of houses would be good as-well!! THANKS!
A: the trend is to confirm, verify and replace the empiral formulas or proven formulas by a finite element program in all structural researches dated 20 yrs ago.
Q: What’s the best way (return on investment) to insulate a post-war storey and a half house?
Double-brick construction (no insulation in the walls), sloped walls on second floor (i.e. no attic to insulate, hence the 1/2 storey). Built 1952, does have minimal insulation in-between the sloped walls and the roof. Basement is dry, uninsulated concrete block construction.
Looking for retrofit solutions, like cladding the exterior in styrofoam and stucco, filling the small airspace between the double-brick walls with foam. Replacing the minimal roof insulation with some new super-insulating product (a thinsulate for houses, if such a thing exists).
Have already replaced all the bad windows with double-glazed units, and foamed and caulked everything I can find, which has eliminated noticable drafts.
A: You might contact someone who builds homes and ask them to give advice for such a project. They keep up on all of the latest materials and know how…you don’t have to hire them.
There might be a committee in your area for restoration of older homes. They have connections. Be cautioned for the insulation drawing moisture and creating mold on down the road. Concrete and bricks draw lots of moisture and hold it since they are porus unless sealed.
Q: will my current a/c unit work for my addition?
i’m adding onto our house. right now, we have a 2.5 ton trane WCH030C100A 13.5 seer unit. it is only 1 yr old. after the addition, the area to be cooled in our house will be 1140 sq. ft. (excluding closets and laundry rm). the main part of the house is block construction, and the addition will be 2×6. we are getting energy efficient windows installed throughout the house, and re-insulating the attic (fiberglass R-30). we live in phoenix, arizona (hot and dry). no flat-roofs, so there is an attic over every room. will our current unit be okay with an addition?
A: Go online to your units web site and check it out. Don’t forget to caulk everything, shade the sunny side of your house and your A/C unit, and all the rest of those things. All I know is you can help your unit out but you can’t push it to cool more area than it is expected to. All you do is run it all the time and your a/c will go like crazy. But you live where it is hot so you know that you can add a window unit to extend your unit and you only need to run it when the sun is on that side of the house or you have a crowd in the room. I live where it is hot and humid and everything you do saves $. Little window units are so cheap my sister put one in her kitchen so help out when she cooks rather than crank the a/c in the whole house. You know–2×6 is not a big addition. . .
Q: drywall – House Construction?
At one time they use to make sheetrock with plastic sheeting on the back side for use as basement walls. It was supposed to block humidity. But is it recommended for ceilings?
I have ceiling sheetrock of that type in my house and mildew spots on the ceiling and walls that keep coming back. That part of the house is over a 2-car garage that is indeed damp. Could that vapor barrier be trapping humidity?
Any advice would be appreciated.
regards,
andrew
A: Unfortunately you will have to remove your drywall and find out what is happening. There is a possibility water is finding it’s way in. It could be coming from your roof which may not have a roofing felt (black tar) paper layed down or even flashing before your shingles were installed or even badly installed gutters may be the problem. Do you have insulation with a plastic vapour barrier this should protect against moisture. This problem is easy to resolve but you need to tear out your walls first to determine the cause. I have a bedroom above my garage and never had any problems.
http://oikos.com/esb/30/atticvent.html
http://www.hometips.com/content/flashing_intro.html
Q: Can I block the air bricks up in my house?
It’s winter, we have double glazing, but the air bricks upstairs let the cold through, even when you pull the shutter across them. There is one in every room upstairs, approx 12″ from the ceiling, mounted in the corners of the rooms. What are they doing?
I know the ones downstairs at floor level provide ventilation to prevent rotting timbers, but can’t see what the ones upstairs are doing, other than providing ventilation to the roof, but i thought the roof construction allowed for ventilation anyway.
A: Brown paper,then selo tape down,then a few small holes
put in brown paper.Did this with all of em in our last
old house,better than freezing yer Knackers off mate.
Q: Concrete/stucco house construction in USA?
Considering building mediterranean-style vacation home in USA, concrete/stucco walls. In Europe we use small bricks that cement clings to for stucco walls. In USA I’ve only seen this cheap foam/stucco combination that one can kick a hole through.
Can you get these Euro-style small bricks, at low cost, in USA, for good mediterranean-style construction? These bricks are hollow & have ridged surfaces so cement sticks to well for forming a durable smooth surface. Or in the USA would you build w/big blocks and throw cement on top (I don’t think this is good, blocks shrink/expand so much you end up with cracks in stucco, no?)
Want to research some before speaking with builders over there
A: you will have trouble with finding the european style stucco method here as many american building codes have changed to prevent it. This is mainly due to the large amount of mold issues associated with traditional stucco methods,therefore the use of the foam backing rreduces the likleyhood of any mold issues.
Q: What makes a house livable when seeking financing?
I would like to buy a foreclosed house that has some damage. The house is block construction with no visible structure damage, Most of the damage seems more cosmetic like carpet, paint, old kitchen cabinets and 2 broken windows. Then there is some more serious though not terrible damage. In three different rooms it looks like someone kicked in the ceiling from the attic, there might have been or still is a roof leak (I noticed discoloration and what appear to be a moist spot on the ceiling and wall of one room). It looks like the electric meter and panel has been moved to a pole. The wires coming up from the ground to the old box have been cut. I’m unsure if these were dead or live wires. An edge of the roof and fascia is damaged and looks rotted.
The real estate woman said there might be problems getting financing due to livability. Where do I find livability standards. Is that determined by our state (Arizona), or government? The house sold for $160,000. 3 years ago and is selling for $40,000. so its worth the effort.
A: You have to be able to move in. It must have windows and doors that open and close. It must have a working heater, both hot and cold running water. It must have an operational kitchen. It must have walls and flooring (plywood is acceptable).
The house might be worth it, but you will have to pay cash.
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