The Garrison is an early New England
house style that continues to be popular
with builders all over the country.
Its principal feature is an overhanging
second floor under the front eaves of the
house, which allows for more generous
bedrooms upstairs (see Figure 1).
The style presents an interesting structural
problem, because the second-floor
joists overhang the outside wall. Like
any joists, these joists carry floor loads
— for the upstairs bedrooms and bathrooms
in this case. The wrinkle here is
that the overhanging ends of the joists
also support the second-story exterior
wall. The exterior wall in turn supports
the roof above, so depending on snow
loads, roof coverings, and the span of
the building, the