Building our retirement home

[tbrooks26]

1. Before i did anything expensive, I would go back to the truss company and talk to the engineer who designed the trusses. He knows about spreading force, and the trusses are probably designed to accommodate that.

2. Every time I have bought trusses, I have received a stamped copy of the design calculations for the trusses. If not, you should ask for one and they should supply it free. Take this to another engineer and pay him a few hundred dollars to review the calculations. He can easily tell you if the trusses are adequate to resist the spreading force. And, he can suggest a design for more reinforcement if you want that.

3. I understand your view concerns, but having a view house in a view location, I can tell you that collar ties about 2/3 of the way up the trusses is not going to cost you a significant view. They are only going to block your view of the sky, not of anything interesting. The collar tie does not have to be a traditional wood board. A cable with an engineered attachment to the truss would work just as well and would be far less obtrusive than anything at the post top level.

I agree. Although aesthetics are important, integrity must come first. I would definitely speak to an engineer about it, worst case scenario, it puts the liability on them. I honestly don't believe in your steel posts and massive footer holding that spread. Now if you drive a steel post down twice as far as it sticks up out of the ground, I can almost guarantee it will hold
.

 

[KiotiKowboy]

..... Now if you drive a steel post down twice as far as it sticks up out of the ground, I can almost guarantee it will hold
.

We were actually discussing half and half today - 10' above and 10' below.

 

[tbrooks26]

My buddy built houses at the beach back in the 80's, and he said thats how they did them. The used a pile driver, and drove them twice the height of whats above ground. It could depend alot on your soil make up though.

 

[AGRIMAN]

No batt, or loose fill. Insulation will be sprayed.

What are putting? Have you gotten any quotes?

 

[Depmandog]

Which takes us to the crux of the problem. We DO NOT WANT ANYTHING to obstruct the view. Yes, I understand it's a good idea. I'm looking for an invisible solution. So far, we are installing some pretty massive steel posts planted in 5 ft of concrete- and, perhaps adding support to both sides of the upper truss assemblies. Ultimately, we will do what is necessary ... but we want to exhaust any reasonable alternatives before adding visual obstructions. So far, running a cable between the steel posts is about the most appealing approach.

You might want to call a firm that manufactures pre / post tensioned concrete products (engineered concrete with factory induced internal tension). I suspect they could make a concrete column that when properly anchored would resist any lateral load you could apply. The downside to this is your schedule. Not sure how quickly they could engineer and deliver.

Love the thread! I am currently designing our retirement home using Chief Architects Home Designer Professional. Hope to break ground late spring.

 

[CurlyDave]

My buddy built houses at the beach back in the 80's, and he said thats how they did them. The used a pile driver, and drove them twice the height of whats above ground. It could depend alot on your soil make up though.

In all of the beach houses I have seen, the posts were actually piles and have a different purpose than preventing spreading. They provide solid support for the structure on top of them, and prevent sinking. The structures on top of the piles did not usually produce spreading forces.

While I have no doubt that a post/pile can be designed to resist the fairly minimal spreading force that will be present, it is going to be costly.

 

[JRobyn]

....only going to block your view of the sky, not of anything interesting.

I thought about your post last night as I went to sleep beside our large bedroom "sky view" window set, looking at the stars. So I respectfully offer a very different opinion of anything that obstructs that view. Stick to your guns Kioti.

- Jay

 

[KiotiKowboy]

I thought about your post last night as I went to sleep beside our large bedroom "sky view" window set, looking at the stars. So I respectfully offer a very different opinion of anything that obstructs that view. Stick to your guns Kioti.

Thanks

I'm sure, to many, this all seems a bit much ... petty. Perhaps it is, but we picked our building spot for the view - all of it.

We're just plugging along and will cross this bridge at some point. The beams and trusses were raised today for both porches. They're on temporary legs for now but the posts will be arriving in a few days. Tomorrow, we dig the 4 holes in which they will be cemented.

 

[tbrooks26]

In all of the beach houses I have seen, the posts were actually piles and have a different purpose than preventing spreading. They provide solid support for the structure on top of them, and prevent sinking. The structures on top of the piles did not usually produce spreading forces.

Yes, thats true. I was thinking of it kind of like cantilever though, but turned vertical. An engineer is the only sure bet. If it were me, I would go with the truss look, but I like having nice work and craftsmanship as part of my view, it would be a must have for me. Alot depends on the ceiling height as well, the porch we are working on the collar tie is 12' off the deck, you never even really notice it unless you look up.

 

[KiotiKowboy]

Relentless rain for several days so work has ground to a halt. I'm not happy the structure is up and taking all this water. The builder assures me the decking will be fine ........ I can't help but be concerned. I know weather hits many during the building process but that isn't doing much to lessen my angst.

It will certainly be a mud-hole but work will likely resume tomorrow ....