Tag Archive for ‘Residential’
Installation Complete for Solar Panels on Arvada Annex Building
EVstudio recently had the opportunity to observe the installation of the forty photo-voltaic panels atop the City of Arvada Annex Building. To maximize the potential for solar collection the use of an existing steel framed sight wall originally designed to screen the Annex’s roof top heating and cooling mechanical units from being viewed from street [...]
Designing Your House – Part 6
With this post we move outside of the house and discuss your outdoor spaces. Clearly some of these choices are going to be climate driven so we would need to take into account the earlier discussion about sun and wind when designing them. A first question is, do you prefer to spend outdoor time in [...]
New Custom Home in Washington Park, Denver
EVstudio has been working with West Standard on a new custom home in Washington Park. The house is coming along great. The design included a drilled pier foundation supporting an elevated two-way concrete floor. Then a wood frame structure build on the elevated foundation and floor. Due to a high water table and poor soil [...]
Groundbreaking New Design for Red Fox Run in Evergreen Colorado
Through a collaborative effort with local contractor, Tomskin LLC, EVstudio has risen to the new challenge of redefining the mountain vernacular in the front range foothills just West of Denver, Colorado. Already a progressive community of well over 20,000 in population, Evergreen is well known for its natural mountain environment, combined with the mild weather of [...]
Steel Stud Track Attachment to Masonry with Simpson Wedge-All
Recently I have been working on a lecture hall project in Killeen, Texas. The structure of this lecture hall is primarily going to be composed of steel roof framing members and concrete masonry unit (CMU) walls. Covering the entrance to this lecture hall is a covered colonnade. The visual architectural requirements of the colonnade’s covering [...]
Getting Nailed: A Brief History of Nails
Unless they get one in their car tire I am willing to bet that the average person does not spend a lot of time thinking about nails. I actually do think about nails quite a bit, but then again I am a structural engineer who, for years, has specialized in timber construction. But how long [...]
2009 Code Update: Decks and Balconies
The 2006 International Residential Code (IRC) Section 202 defined the term deck as, “An exterior floor system supported on at least two opposing sides by an adjoining structure and/or posts, piers, or other independent supports”. The term balcony was defined as, “An exterior floor projecting from and supported by a structure without additional independent supports”. [...]
Separation of Top of Foundation Wall and Adjacent Exterior Grade
One of the most commonly asked questions to the structural department involved the required distance between the top of a foundation wall and the adjacent exterior grade. The 2009 International Residential Code requires a minimum of 6 inches of separation where brick veneer is not present. The idea here is to provide a buffer zone [...]
Quickly Construct Concrete Pad Footings with FASTBAG
At a recent seminar I attended I was introduced to the Fab-Form product called FASTBAG. This product is brilliantly simple….a textile bag you can fill with concrete and reinforcing bars to take the place of the wood formwork traditionally utilized to construct pad footings. The bags come in multiple sizes designed to replace standard pad [...]
Foundation Engineering for Home Plans Purchased Online
Many people are searching the internet and purchasing home plans online. While these plans won’t be custom tailored to fit your exact needs, many people find they are close enough. However, there is one very important thing to keep in mind when purchasing these plans, the foundation and possibly framing must be designed by a [...]
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