Brick laying machine GIF

[Frank S]

Juniper is one wood that has a high resistance to rot but in case it in concrete and it will rot since the water can not be wicked away placing posts on top of gravel creates a pathway for water to travel downward plus limits the ability of water in the ground to be wicked up through the end of the post.
Utility poles are never set in concrete many will have a copper plate attached to the bottom whit a bare conductor leading up the pole. In well drained soils like deep sand the poles are just tamped in place with the sand but is poorly drained or water retentive soils like clay they are often tamped in with pea gravel or foamed in with foam being injected into the hole

[ranald]

Kind of guessed it was a form of wicking as used in horticulture. The comparison of both proves the point of/for BCC engineers.

[Frank S]

The same problem with building wood frame houses and not placing a moisture barrier between the seal plate and the slab the wood will rot.
My house was built this way in the early 70's not even a strip of roofing felt paper under the seal plates and the foundation. I have replaced the plates and the bottom 1 foot of several studs in 2 of the walls now and it looks like eventually I may have to replace 2 more in another section of the house.

[McDesign]

I truly have a dozen working fireplaces - but it's old, and was once a boarding house for the college down the street.

[ranald]

Yep Frank we call it a "damp course" and were originally like asphalted metal then asp/aluminium then plastic something like viscreen but much tougher. Used under Bottom plates of wooden frames and for brickwork.

[ranald]

Juniper is one wood that has a high resistance to rot but in case it in concrete and it will rot since the water can not be wicked away placing posts on top of gravel creates a pathway for water to travel downward plus limits the ability of water in the ground to be wicked up through the end of the post.
Utility poles are never set in concrete many will have a copper plate attached to the bottom whit a bare conductor leading up the pole. In well drained soils like deep sand the poles are just tamped in place with the sand but is poorly drained or water retentive soils like clay they are often tamped in with pea gravel or foamed in with foam being injected into the hole

Juniperus species usually have a high resistance to white ants as well : unlike most other conifers & pines.

[Beserkleyboy]

Wow, you get NZ radiata there? Well good on the Kiwis for cracking into your market! They do a better job of plantation management than in AUS. Here in AUS, most plantations will be thinned in maybe 5-8 years, but relatively no high pruning is done. The Kiwis recognised the value of high pruning around 8 years to allow development of clear (of knots) butt logs, suitable for plywood peelers and sawlogs producing clear boards, both having significantly higher yields, outweighing the original pruning costs. The Kiwis are able to export high quality logs, debarked, to Japan, Korea and China and receive high prices. We in AUS, actually buy in NZ product for higher grades required in various commodity products...go figure...enjoy the NZ wood, it is sweet to work...cheers
Jim in sunny South Coast NSW, AUS

[Beserkleyboy]

Frank, you know steel far better than I do...my 16 ga was a guess...but 22 ga? Really, no wonder the frames feel so spindly. When you examine a steel frame house without any linings, you'd swear it was not even as strong as your chilhood ErectorSet toys(I loved mine...). We do a smallish amount of double, cavity brick construction here and use 'speed brick' (size of 2 bricks) in multi story apartment projects. The HEBEL AAC blocks have never seriously penetrated either the large residential builders or the commercial builders of apartments. A great product, but hard to sway the conservative and traditional thinking in the building game...here in AUS, when I've questioned an old fashioned technique or building spec or practice, more often than not, I've heard, 'That's the way we were taught' or That's how we've always done it...go figure...and thank you for your thoughtful contributions, Frank...cheers
Jim

[ranald]

Frank, you know steel far better than I do...my 16 ga was a guess...but 22 ga? Really, no wonder the frames feel so spindly. When you examine a steel frame house without any linings, you'd swear it was not even as strong as your chilhood ErectorSet toys(I loved mine...). We do a smallish amount of double, cavity brick construction here and use 'speed brick' (size of 2 bricks) in multi story apartment projects. The HEBEL AAC blocks have never seriously penetrated either the large residential builders or the commercial builders of apartments. A great product, but hard to sway the conservative and traditional thinking in the building game...here in AUS, when I've questioned an old fashioned technique or building spec or practice, more often than not, I've heard, 'That's the way we were taught' or That's how we've always done it...go figure...and thank you for your thoughtful contributions, Frank...cheers
Jim

the steel frames are engineered down to a price. Only one guy or lady can get on the roof until it is fully tied down )screwed off). I have seen spec wooden house frames and engineered certified with trusses that had checks the full length of the bottom chord. One wouldn't touch them with a 40' pole if one knew. Now we are using a chip board for trusses...unbelievable. A mate is about to build and considered using yellow tongue (you know- can withstand 15 weeks under water BS. I told him about my friend who had a leak in her laundry (vinyl over yellow tongue) and her washing machine fell through but was saved by the cypress joists. I repaired it with plywood the same thickness (as I had some =as you do).

a couple of years back, I read an article about a wooden bridge in Europe (Finland I think) where the bridge is mostly under water. The pic I saw looked like the water was in a lake and lapping the top of the bridge so crossing is a bit like Moses parting the waters. Its late but I think it was called versawood or something similar=now that is sustanable technology, ingenuity, R & development in my eyes.

cheers

[McDesign]

Wow, you get NZ radiata there?

This was a project I put together for my wife's middle-school class year-end project - "mini blanket chests" - Radiata for the frames; birch tile underlayment ply for the panels, and cedar for the legs.















Forrest in Atlanta