Recent content by thelucash

Thank you! And I used 4x8 pressure treated SYP (outdoor-use high-strength framing lumber) for the beams. Nothing too special required for them, especially since they're supported by so many piers on each side.

Why not just make the stud walls taller?

I like your enthusiasm - but not gonna lie, you really should start over and do it properly. Pour a real foundation, cut birdmouths into the rafters, at least use purlins between roofing and rafters, and please read up before going to home depot and picking up random stuff that looks like it...

Here's a few pictures from the beginning of the build :) You'll note that some of the footings are in the middle of existing concrete - I had to cut holes in the concrete with a diamond bladed circular saw.

I asked my local assessor about it, and the only tax difference is that I now have a 260 sqft porch added so the value is slightly higher - so it won't make much difference in my taxes :)

I'm in michigan - and the only real things to watch for here are footing depth (has to be 4 feet in my area!), and rafter spans for snow load (you'll notice that I did 2x6 rafters at 12oc, thanks to the low slope of 2.5/12)

Hi, just wanted to share a project I'm proud of. I joined my house and (recently saved!) garage with a 20'x13' porch. It's a simple single-sloped roof that's shingled. Not 100% done, still have to add the door onto the garage and finish painting it. The whole thing is also built to code -...

To clarify, I did indeed use sillseal roll foam(and a PT 2x8 sill), along with bolting the new sill to the stemwall.

Tornadoes are exceedingly rare in this area(southwest Michigan) and the house has stood for about 100 years with nothing holding it to it's foundation except its own weight - so I think wind uplift probably won't be much of a concern. And thank you! I'm mostly just happy not to have to worry...

Oh, I understand now. Correct. I did not bolt the sill plate itself to the slab through the masonry. Is there a way to do this after the fact? I'd like the structure to be as strong as possible. I have a rotary hammer so I could conceivably just drill down into the slab with a long enough bit...

The rebar dowels do go from 6-8in deep in foundation all the way up to the sill plate, would've thought that to be sufficient. Though perhaps I misunderstood what you said. And it is unlikely to be exposed to hurricane-force winds anytime soon, as I live in an urban area of SW Michigan 🙂

Hi all, I have a 25x27 2.5 car garage from the mid-70's that was built on a flat slab with no curb of any kind, and built entirely of untreated wood. Due to rising soil levels and rotting sill plates (along with constant termite/carpenter ant infestations), I decided to cut the bottom 16in of...