Still think TITNC3: Return of the Iceberg was peak

I need to enroll him in the kairo school of vague but tangentially correct whataboutism arguing

 

Yep. The strongest shape for 1 atmosphere loads. After about 100' under water the sphere actually becomes stronger. It's why subs are elongated spheres and not triangular.

 

Yep. I might still have a copy of Efficient Carpenter stashed in storage.

In the past 5 years I've worked with a lot of "journeyman" carpenters that can't figure out how to make a seat cut. That's after I do the math and give them the numbers. That used to be higher end apprentice knowledge. lol

 

"You mean they're not pre-cut?"

We are slowly moving toward housing IKEA style - just assemble the pieces.

That's not entirely a bad thing from cost/efficiency standpoints, but there are tradeoffs, and some things people like about traditional construction go away with that format.

 

Tell us the 22' beam (or whatever the length was) story again, grandpa!

 

Sears had that shit figured out in the 50's

 

https://youtu.be/PUvztu4UW9A

 

As was the style at the time. Of course of course.

 

For sure. It started 20 years ago with trusses becoming the go to. In 20 more years I see SIP kit homes being the go to. There will always be a need for skilled carpenters for very high end stuff though. Some of the homes I've worked on are pretty amazing. One thing those all have in common? Not a single pre-fabbed truss anywhere in the build.

 

Rich people can afford better homes. Hmmm. I'm going to make note of this economic revelation

 

Better in many ways. The house that had the 28' beam problem was so sick. Looked over the ocean. The second and third floors had a 3/4 rap around deck. That was all glass on both floors. Cool right? Till you pressed a button and that glass all folded in like an acordian to provide an open air home. So fucking rad. We had 1/16" tolerances for that entire opening. We nailed it and the glass install company nailed there work because of it. They functioned flawlessly. You could have a set-up just like that for about $350K. lol

 

Mines a stick built custom done in 2003. Crawlspace. Floor beams are stacked on the sill plates and piers, tripled 2x12s. Floor joists are 2x6, stacked and toenailed on the beams. Several rooms have cathedral ceilings, well blocked and braced.

I told the wife we're never, ever selling the place because we'd never be able to find another.

 

Can’t be

 

Fucking...the first time you see a finish carpenter go to 1/64th you gain a whole new respect for that shit.

 

Also, question: How do you deal with dimensional stability on a tolerance that tight in framing? Like isn't the timber movement with temp and humidity changes going to exceed 1/16"?

 

I'm pretty sure my entire house was built by day laborers in a single Friday. I'm lucky if anything has 16" of tolerance

 

Frame it with dry aged oak and hickory. Much strong, very tolerance

 

Good question. The entire home was built with LVL and LSL's. Because it's man made it is perfectly straight and uniform in size. Because of the glues and bonding method used to make them they don't swell or shrink. It was the most mathematically perfect house I've ever built.

 

Nope. Oak, hickory and walnut are super hard to work with because they shrink and twist. The harder a wood the tighter it's grain. The tighter it's grain the more it distorts. It's why Doug Fir is the go to framing lumber of choice. If I had to frame with Oak my homes would look a lot like all the NE barns from the 1800's. The craftsmanship was amazing but after a few years they start to fall apart becuase? OAK. lol

 

Can confirm. Grandparents had an oak mantle that finally split after about 50 years