Project: Client was provided site plan with existing topos, house location, driveway and retaining wall layouts, and proposed contours. Concerned about how much excess soils would need to be hauled off-site and allowances for the retaining walls and driveway. The site slopes from back to front AND has a walkout basement.

Drawings Provided: Property with Existing Site Contours – Proposed Site Plan

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Project: Client was provided site plan with existing topos, house location, and proposed contours. Concerned about the foundation type – to be a piling and grade beam foundation vs. normal slab type foundation. Foundation crews were starting soon and needed site analysis prior.

Drawings Provided:Proposed Site Plan containing existing and proposed contours

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Project: Client was provided with a detailed, colored 2D drawing from the TJI vendor, detailing all of the beams and TJIs for the main floor. It included a detailed schedule specifying every labeled member’s description and size. The foundation model was created using the structural engineer’s drawings. The TJI drawing was then used to model the TJIs and beams throughout. This house had 3 masonry fireplaces, as well as a Safe Room each requiring a concrete foundation/slab.

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Project: Client requested a Constructability Review for this project – a 3D structural model of the foundation, floor systems, walls and roof. The proposed floor system for the project included floor trusses. We are able to work with client vendors to obtain the 3D model files from the truss manufacturer’s system. We then import these truss models into our 3D models and snap them into the intended position. We routinely find mistakes, some minor, some major, but ALL of which may incur unnecessary expense and time.

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Project: This project’s floor system utilized mid-chord bearing floor trusses. Mid-chord bearing is an option where the bottom chord of the truss (which normally bears on a wall) is cut short of a foundation wall (allowing for concrete thickness) and actually bears mid-chord. Commonly, a 2×10 band ties these together above the sill plate. Advantages for this method are higher backfilling and reduced step into the house (often one step up from porch or garage vs multiple).

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Project: The architectural plans, as well as the structural engineer’s drawings, specified stick-framing this roof with 2×6 rafters. The heel height on the rafters was 4-1⁄4”. A large part of the structure was 2-stories and specified 14” TJIs for the floor joist for the second floor. There were numerous tall beams specified as well, sitting atop the main floor walls – also
where the 2×6 rafters were to bear.

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Project: As shown in an earlier case study, a common occurrence or finding across the country is that exterior dimensions are either taken as “Framing to Framing” OR “Sheathing to Sheathing”. SO, often times, we find trusses are either 1⁄2” too short on each end OR 1⁄2” too long on each end. If trusses are field-measured prior, this may not be an issue, but when it becomes an issue, framers must deal with these situations as they arise – this is costing someone money!

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Issue: It happens, sometimes people make mistakes in dimensioning or go off of old plans or things change, but in this example, the trusses over the Study in this house do NOT sit on the wall. Granted, field-measurement, if done, may have prevented this, but so does modeling it in advance and pointing this out to the truss company to correct in advance.

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Issue: Some bearing issues became evident when this roof was modeled.

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Issue: A common issue that most every builder will acknowledge they have dealt with before, is when a toilet or tub/shower or other such drain winds up directly over top of a floor joist or truss. Neither of these elements may be cut or notched, without engineering and labor expense, to allow for the drain to fit.

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Issue: All builders have dealt with stair issues at some point in time and often routinely. 2D drawings, stair geometry code changes and other factors often obscure stair issues until it is too late. In the example below, the stair stringers

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Issue: In this example, the structural engineer had specified a beam to run from stair wall to front wall. Further, the front wall was to be framed up to the underside of the subfloor of the level above – these two walls would then be bolted together. The TJI vendor generated a plan and layout (and ORDER) which did not include the beam previously specified AND they used a rim joist/band on top of standard height wall. Now, who is correct? Who will win when the county arrives for the building inspection?

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Issue:This is an example of a house that I built several years ago. The client, a car buff with several prized sports cars, had his plans already and was getting ready to sign a contract with a builder but decided to interview me to discuss his build job.

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