Solving Problems
I am writing this blog as much to help others build their homes as I am to document the building of mine. Therefore, if I figure out an unusual or innovative way to solve a problem, something that I think may help others I want to post it in the blog.
Just such a thing occurred yesterday as I was building the girder beams that hold up the floor joists. My girders are three 2x10 nailed (and soon to be bolted) together. As I mentioned in a recent post it seems that for me wood warps in storage, even if that storage is nice and dry and the wood is packed tightly together.
Long story short, one of my 2x10 was a little warped and needed to be pulled down about 3/8” to line up with the others. To set the stage here, this girder is up about 5 feet in the air; roughly shoulder height for me.
I tried the standing on a step ladder and mash it down with my body weight method; that didn’t work. Then an idea popped into mind. Could I somehow use one of my many C-clamps to bring these two boards in line and in the process free up both hands for nailing them together.
The pic is what I came up with. It’s two pieces of a discarded bed rail, each about 8” long. I have a metal cutting chop saw, so cutting them wasn’t hard. And as a bonus, the holes were already drilled in about the right spots. So, I grabbed a couple of #12 screws, mounted the angles, put the clamp on and voila, lining up the boards was easy.
This little jig idea might not be that impressive to a professional home builder, but I’m not a pro; so anything like this I think of, I’m proud of, especially when I saw how easy it was to use.
Just such a thing occurred yesterday as I was building the girder beams that hold up the floor joists. My girders are three 2x10 nailed (and soon to be bolted) together. As I mentioned in a recent post it seems that for me wood warps in storage, even if that storage is nice and dry and the wood is packed tightly together.
Long story short, one of my 2x10 was a little warped and needed to be pulled down about 3/8” to line up with the others. To set the stage here, this girder is up about 5 feet in the air; roughly shoulder height for me.
I tried the standing on a step ladder and mash it down with my body weight method; that didn’t work. Then an idea popped into mind. Could I somehow use one of my many C-clamps to bring these two boards in line and in the process free up both hands for nailing them together.
The pic is what I came up with. It’s two pieces of a discarded bed rail, each about 8” long. I have a metal cutting chop saw, so cutting them wasn’t hard. And as a bonus, the holes were already drilled in about the right spots. So, I grabbed a couple of #12 screws, mounted the angles, put the clamp on and voila, lining up the boards was easy.
This little jig idea might not be that impressive to a professional home builder, but I’m not a pro; so anything like this I think of, I’m proud of, especially when I saw how easy it was to use.
posted by Tony @ 10:44 AM
3 Comments:
To me it was also impressive. I probably would have used a large clamp and a straight edge and clamped the who 10 inch width but that method only would work when nothing is on either side. Your method would work even with a sill plate in the way.
I do not think your columns are anywhere near the strength that you assume, especially if they are not on a dedicated footing. I wonder if the hardware is really designed for a masonry column sitting on a slab or footing.
Since you have no mortar joints you have a seriously reduced pire/cloumn strength. Surface bonding adds little to compressive strength.
Were you acyually able to get a permit?
Richard:
Columns sit on dedicated footers, 24x24x8, with horizontal rebar grid in footer. Rebar also extends vertically out of footers and thru blocks of the column in two of the four cells. Those cells are grouted to the top.
Maybe I didn't describe the robustness of the column adequately in the blog to answer your questions.
I'm building out in "the county"; no building permit required.
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