RenovateDSM.com - Book page - Comments

Twin building?

Anonymous — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 11:25:14 -0700

There's a building very similar to this on the 100 block of SE 6th (across from Rowat Stone.) Could they be related somehow? How would it affect their preservation potential if they are?

how does one go about buying

Anonymous — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 19:47:34 -0700

how does one go about buying the crane co. building? if anyone knows the answer please email me at brandonambrosy@yahoo.com

Deck Design

RenovateDSM — Thu, 13 May 2010 08:20:41 -0700

As always when dealing with challenging circumstances that are beyond one's knowledge or skill level, my recommendation is to involve a professional - someone who has prior experience with similar projects. It is difficult to give specific advice on a detail without being able to see all the conditions firsthand.

Be particularly careful if this is a structural detail rather than an aesthetic one. There are many issues to consider when determining structural details, and you don't want to experience the consequences of a mistake!

I assume you are confronting this detail question because you are building the deck yourself. It's not rocket science, but thinking through the details and implementing them well does require a certain amount of experience. My suggestion would be to get the name of a contractor who has deck-building experience from a friend. Let this person know that you are doing the work, but would like some advice on detailing - negotiate a price that seems fair to both parties for an hour of the contractor's time for specific advice and even a sketch of how to construct the detail.

You may need to draw out this detail as part of your building permit application.

Good luck!

attaching deck frame to wood piers?

Anonymous — Wed, 12 May 2010 21:30:08 -0700

We are building a deck with attached pergola and we're trying to figure out how the deck frame will best attach to the wood piers. The deck is not a simple rectangle which makes it even more challenging. We have wood posts extending 8' in the air beyond what will be the deck floor. We need to somehow build a wood box around each post to make piers that white decorative columns will sit on top of. We cannot figure out how to best make the deck frame meet up with those wood boxes around the posts. Any ideas???

Rule is more restrictive in Iowa

Anonymous — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 07:03:13 -0800

The EPA renovation rule is not as restrictive as Iowa's rule. Contractors need to be aware that disturbing more the 1 square foot of paint (either interior or exterior) cumulatively must be certified by the State of Iowa in lead safe work practices!

heat tape

Anonymous — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 11:31:07 -0800

Would this help to prevent the ice dams? I see this on a few houses near the edge of the roof, so I assume it keeps the snow and ice to build up. Anyone have any experience with this?
Thanks Susan

Spray Foam Insulation

Anonymous — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 08:50:48 -0800

Spray foam is not necessarily a good idea if moisture gets trapped between wood that is surrounded by spray foam. If wood gets wet and can not dry out it rots and then eventually fails. Installing foam in walls of historic houses is also not recommended because moisture can be trapped and rot with sill or any horizontal surface. To avoid moisture being trapped in an insulated wall it is absolutely imperative to establish a vapor barrier on the inside (warm) wall. That means painting a vapor barrier on the wall or if the plaster is gone, installing a vapor barrier before installing plaster board.

Metal Roof

Anonymous — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 15:00:16 -0800

We had a metal roof put on our house from bakeris roofing.. looks nice and will last longer than I will. They put in a power fan with a humidistat. It pulls air through the roof vents to keep the humidity down, so it sounds a bit strange walking by and hearing the roof fan on in this wonderful weather. They also put in some additional vents along the hip of the roof as well. Now that attic has insulation on the floor but basically it is just there, no real access or desire to go up there anyway.

When they put the roof up there, they did put the vapor barrier and the usual stuff, but this is metal and they also fixed that so hopefully with the ice dams it won’t wick under. I have some interesting icsicles out there. It seems that the warm days we did have , the ice went that way.

It looks like it is going to be cold through next Sunday. I have a Davis weather station and I put in the attic a probe that tells me the temperature and humidity… it is 39F and 73% humidity. The fan will kick in when the humidity gets to 80%.

Ice Dams

RenovateDSM — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 13:01:51 -0800

That is an excellent question... for those of you who are reading this and aren't familiar with "ice dams", they occur when water works its way back up under shingles via the freeze/thaw cycle. When the ice and snow on your roof melt, it resulting water can defeat the shingle system and find its way into the interior of a building.

The most common cause of ice dams is an inadequate roof insulation and air sealing. Believe it or not, you actually want a cold roof surface in winter! When warm air from your house warms the bottom of your roof surface, the bottom layer of snow melts and runs down the roof surface (as it is supposed to). However, when it reaches the uninsulated eaves where there is not warm air from your house heating the roof, the water refreezes.

The refrozen water causes two main problems. First, when water freezes (the "ice" part of the ice dam), it expands. This expansion can lift your shingles and push your gutters and soffits away from your house. Second, the "dam" part of an ice dam creates a barrier that prevents water from draining. The melting water from the warm roof above is held in a pond against the shingles, which are not intended to serve as a pool liner. The resulting water can then leak into the roof cavity and into the structure below.

Short term solution would be to chip-chip-chip. I don't know of any other way to deal with existing ice dams, other than to perhaps close off all heat to your attic area and see if that can keep the roof surface cool enough to prevent new ice dams from forming.

The long term solution, of course, is to rework the insulation system to allow for adequate ventilation above the insulation in your rafter system. The cold air needs a path from the soffit all the way through to the ridge of your roof (typically at least 2") in order to provide enough circulation to keep the roof surface cold enough to prevent ice dams. There are several products one can install that create a standoff distance between the fiberglass insulation and the roof sheathing.

The problem: in many older homes, the rafters are 2x4. This is not enough space install fiberglass insulation with an adequate air space for ventilation. In this case, there are two options: fully insulating the cavity with spray foam insulation and furring out the rafters to create more space within the rafter system. Both options are probably quite spendy. I don't have enough specific experience with spray foam insulation to say definitively whether it will solve an ice dam problem.

Typically, and I believe required by code nowadays, an ice and water shield is installed below the bottom three feet of shingles on a new shingle installation. This barrier is essentially the same as a pool liner that provides an extra barrier to prevent water from infiltrating the roof system. It is not a solution for the primary causes of ice dams, just an extra layer of protection for once they form.

I'm working on a page for RenovateDSM that details how to air-seal and insulate behind the wing walls of a finished attic space.

Ice Dam

wtangman — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 08:06:20 -0800

So now I've joined the ranks of DSM homeowner to have ice dams. I have lost my brother-in-law labor force who chipped off the ice dams over Christmas and now the ice dams are back. I'm dreading the warm-up and the resulting flood inside my house. Any ideas on what to do to either prevent the impending flood and to prevent ice dams from forming?

Footings

RenovateDSM — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:47:59 -0800

There is no such thing as a standard distance between footings - there are simply too many variables to account for. My recommendation would be that you work with a design professional who can account for your local code requirements, design parameters, and individual site conditions.

Some of the variables that need to be considered include:

Load requirements (how much weight will be supported)
Size of the posts that will support the deck/sunroom (typically 4x4 or 6x6)
Size of the beam between the posts that will support the floor
Span between the house and the beam
Height of the deck/sunroom from grade
Fasteners (how will the beam support the joists and how is it attached to the posts)
Attachment to the house
Soil conditions
Design features (stairs, roof, pergola, benches, etc.)
Size and depth of footings

This probably isn't the reply you were looking for, but designing a structural element such as a deck is not something that a novice should do without strong guidance. Every year we hear about people being injured or killed when decks collapse.

footings

Anonymous — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 06:09:50 -0800

Can anyone tell me the standard distance between footings to support a deck that may later be converted to a sunroom?

Nomination List

RenovateDSM — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 07:33:24 -0700

Absolutely. I'm already working on it! Look for the nomination list here within a couple weeks.

Nominated buildings

Anonymous — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 21:10:08 -0700

Would you please post a list of buildings nominated. I cannot attend the Nov. 1 meeting. This would help in coming up with other buildings in the future. It could have been people thought that 'everyone knows' a building they saw as endangered would 'of course' be put on the list but wasn't. Pat M.

File those nominations...

RenovateDSM — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 09:00:11 -0700

Excellent ideas - I appreciate your enthusiasm.

Of those suggestions, only the Depot was nominated this year. There was a building from the River Bend neighborhood (actually nominated by me) that did not end up making it onto this year's list. That definitely doesn't mean they aren't worth preserving! It was interesting for me to read the nominations describing the fascinating stories behind some of the less-well-known historic buildings in Des Moines.

Next year's nomination process will start in early September. Planning for the 2009 list will start in July. Please consider joining the Des Moines Rehabbers Club and volunteering some of your time to make the 2009 project a success.