Mila from Ottawa, Ontario writes: "We are buying a new home and have a choice of 2" x 10" solid wood kiln-dried joists or "Trust Joists" (JLE) Pre-engineered floor system. If you were buying a house for yourself -- which would you choose?"I just love it when people try to nail me down like that,...
Shelves can sag directly because there is too much weight for the support provided, or they can sag over time with the fatigue of certain wood products, like particle board, especially in high humidity conditions. So although particle board may hold up as well as plywood or real wood at the begi...
Carol in Havelock, Ontario has floors that are so springy that glasses tend to jump off the shelves when she walks by.Springy floors can be perfectly safe, or they can be an indication of a structural danger. Usually they simply mean that the floor is not rigid enough, or stretches too far bet...
Everything you thought you already knew about shelving before they started to sag.
Whether it is shelving for your own shop or for your clients, do you really know what material will hold how much weight over the long run? We all have sagging storage shelves in our shops, but wouldn't dare put t...
One viewer who caught my camera in a renovation store asked what to do about the 20 x 20 ceiling in his condo that was dipping down in the centre.
A serious visible dip must be caused by someone having removed a support wall from the original construction. Each floor is designed to remain flat a...
Decks need to be built strong enough to not fall down or have deck boards break for lack of support. In addition, although they do not need to be as solid as a floor in the house, they should not bounce like a trampoline. The structures of most decks in Canada are built with pressure treated wood...
