Oh, wow! Second floor framing

Although there is still only a ladder to climb from the ground to the first floor, there are now steps inside that go up to the second floor. I have seen those steps many times in my mind's eye, but it was wonderful to walk up with the sea in full view and finally see our ideas coming to life. The second floor will be where we spend most of our time, with the kitchen, open living area and bedroom suite up there. In comparison to many things, our house isn't really high, but it feels like an aerie with the whole world in view. The thing that I found most wonderful was that my husband, whose incredible mind and talented eye for detail and space, had really taken all the things that we thought about for our home and made them real. I knew what I wanted to see and feel within the house, but Vince has the ability to translate an idea into inches and feet and places to sit and windows that go on forever. When he was able to go up to stand in that space, I walked with him over to where the kitchen will be and said, "What do you think?" He said, "This is what I wanted all along...to be able to prepare a wonderful meal and to be able to see." That makes it worth whatever it takes.

So much of what we have to say about this house relates to the specifiations and structural pieces that make the house strong. The heart of the house comes from our ideas about how we want our time together to be, and that's what makes it beautiful.

Catching up on the strengthened structure

“Winston’s idea of foreplay was, ‘Effie, brace yourself!’”
(Robin Williams as Mrs. Doubtfire)

Those of us who grew up in the 1950’s south all knew this Sunday School song:

The wise man built his house upon the rock
The wise man built his house upon the rock
The wise man built his house upon the rock
And the rains came tumbling down.

The rains came down and the flood came up
The rains came down and the flood came up
The rains came down and the flood came up
But the house on the rock stood still.

This verse was followed by the part about the foolish man who built his house upon the sand, but instead of the house standing still, the foolish man’s house went “splat!” On the word “splat,” we would all clap our hands together as hard as we could and scream out the worst “splat” that we could manage. The lesson in the song was supposed to be about something religious, but the part about the rock and the sand is what I remember most. I can say without a doubt that I do not want to live on a rock, and thankfully mankind has come quite a long way in his ability to produce materials that can support even a foolish couple's idea of where they want to live.

It is certainly true that a house built on the beach has to withstand much more from Mother Nature than one tucked into a less vulnerable spot. Within a coastal environment, buildings are subject to both static and dynamic forces that impact the structural loads. A static force is one that does not change, like the weight of an elephant statue in the living room. The most obvious static force is gravity, so anything that has weight (water tanks, hot water heaters, pianos) will contribute to the static loads. A dynamic force is one that is changeable, like a living elephant on an irregular bingeing, diet and exercise regimen. The most powerful dynamic force on the coast is wind, which brings with it the potential for another dynamic force: Overwash (waves plus storm surge). It is the job of a structural engineer to analyze both the forces and the design and then to make adjustments in strength that foresee the structure’s survival response to different types of loads. Structural engineers come in many shapes and varieties, but Vince knew that we needed a studied and practiced professional engineer (P.E.) to help plan for the long term well being of our house.

Karl recommended Rick House of House Engineering. Rick is a professional engineer and a Hokie, with a background working with the Navy in the Norfolk ship yard. He also has the perfect personal name for the work that he does, which I envy. Rick worked interactively with Johnny Ghee, the engineer who designed our trusses, and both Karl and Vince continue to ask Rick for guidance on other structural strength issues as they occur. Part of Rick’s job was to design the piling layout and to check the foundation. It was at his suggestion that the steel flitch plates were sandwiched in between the girders in the sections of the first floor foundation over our parking areas under the house. Those pilings needed to be 12’ apart, rather than the usual 8’ spacing, and Rick wanted to be sure there was enough support despite that added span. Since the flitch plates are exposed to the elements, they were double-dip galvanized, which is marine grade. Steel was also added to the east wall that holds the stack of windows to be sure that those heavy windows would be secure. The haunch braces have been added to connect the pilings to the girders, adding lateral support.

On one recent journey up to check the progress of the house, I rode with Karl and his Chocolate Lab, Cookie. Karl checked on the progress of the house, and Cookie kept continual check on Karl, even wanting to climb the ladder to stay with him. We could all learn a lesson from her vigilant watching to make sure everything was OK. “Good girl, Cookie!”

I never thought that I would walk up to my house and see steel sandwiches, and it is very reassuring to know that extra strength is in the framework of the house. We hear the word, “steel,” used as the epitome of strength, like “nerves of steel,” and “abs of steel,” as well as “steel yourself” to an upcoming challenge, like trying to obtain abs of steel! The wind and the sea can be unpredictable forces beyond what we know, but based on a lot of analytical reading, FEMA reports on hurricanes, and understanding the history of our little section of the east coast, Vince (with nods from Rick) has made some judgments on how best to design a structure that can withstand the most of what we should endure. Luckily, he has a mind like a steel trap! (sooo sorry!)