Engineering Related Blog
Looking to Build your own home yourself? Here are the Pros and Cons – in a Tough Economy Should you build your own home without a contractor? There can be a strong incentive for the owner to take on the building project and hire the subcontractors and buy the materials directly. Managing one’s own building…
As in most beautiful things, beach homes are easy to appreciate and love, but there is a significant background of technical and legal issues that must be met to bring them into being. The undertaking, like so many in our country, is now mostly owned by governmental regulators who act, almost daily, to protect just…
As the illusion of ever-increasing complexities and danger is amplified by 24 hour news and the apocalyptic shows on Discovery and the History Channel some may wonder if they need to better protect themselves in their own homes. Can one’s own home be a safe haven during the worst of storms? In 2004 and 2005…
Energy is heat. Saving energy is mostly about heat management. Let’s cover 10 basic actions to reduce energy usage in your home. These apply to new construction and existing residences. First, some basic science: A. Heat energy flows from hot to cold. Its speed of flow increases as the difference between temperatures increases B. Heat…
– Stock plans can save time in selecting a home. Since the designs are done and there for your review, you can select quickly and save time. Usually the plans are displayed as floor plans and exterior views. Depending on the catalog you may get just one front view, and sometimes you’ll be able to…
I think most folks have a pretty good idea of and an appreciation for what Structural Engineers do. Basically, we keep things standing. We make sure that the buildings and the homes that folks use will remain in the form intended. The field extends beyond buildings. Watch the wings flex upward as your airliner leaves…
Beware when purchasing a set of plans from a website. These plans can look very nice, actually have elements that you would like to have in your own custom home. But these plans are designed generically for as broad an application as they can. Many states do not require these plans to be sealed by…