Monday, January 24, 2011

Coiled to spring

Well folks,
By now I am more than ready for spring. The yearning for the freedom of outdoors and the enjoyment of fresh veggies is almost too much to bear. While many people do not have the space, time, or energy needed for a larger garden, there are a few thing to consider in preparing for the Spring.

(A) Indoor prep. I am no fan of spring cleaning, but if you take the time to do some de-junking during the winter months the spring cleaning becomes a little easier.






(B) Outdoor prep. Now is a great time to spend a few minutes cleaning up the yard tools. Clean and oil your shovels and rakes. Give your lawnmower a decent cleaning, and for the mechanically skilled, its a good time to change oil, and filters. Maybe even flush the fuel system. As the ground starts to soften up it makes a good time to aerate your lawn or maybe even go so far as to do some top cover of some straw or other mulch junk. Personally, I might de-thatch if I care.

(C) Garden Prep. I start my plants usually around 12 weeks before the spring frost date. Rosemary takes a while to grow so I start it pretty early, usually I throw in some small pot basil and thyme. If you do the compost thing, I think that you can kick start that beautiful decomposition by throwing in some manure and straw. You can also get things warming up in the garden by tossing on a row cover or mulch on your gardening area.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Joists Solutions Desired.

OK, here is the problem.
What I have is the second floor joists span front to aft a distance of 24ft, being supported about the middle, the joists are 2x10 roughly 16" OC. Some of these joists are spliced with an overlap of about 4-5 ft being centered about 2-5 ft from the exterior wall. As shown.




Additionally I have a spot where there is a case of odd framing best shown. What you are looking at is the second floor joists and the strange 'header'.






And the last location is very much like the second.








Now that you have an idea of the problem areas, what I am needing is a solution here. The best world would be some old official manual that shows framing repair options. If you know of any technical data that shows what is permissible in terms of old framing system repairs I'd appreciate it.