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Beefing up sagging trusses
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Where wind-driven rain is common, wood shingle roofs require extra detailing, both to keep moisture out of the house and to allow the shingles to dry. A coastal builder describes the materials and methods that work for her.
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Q: As a general contractor in the Blue Ridge mountains of southwestern Virginia, we often build vacation homes higher than 4,000 feet altitude, where wind-driven rain is a regular weather feature. On one site, the wind regularly reaches 50 to 80-plus miles per hour and actually blows rain uphill...
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For long spans and heavy loads, parallel strand lumber is a good substitute for steel. The beams are dimensionally stable, come in a variety of standard sizes, and can be worked with ordinary carpentry tools.
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A large roof full of intersections, dormers, and fancy rake and cornice work can be complicated enough to build. Throw in curved roof planes and you’ve got a real head-scratcher. Here’s how one builder used full-scale drawings to work out the details.
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A Delaware contractor tells how to build houses on wood pilings that resist the rigors of coastal weather from storm tides to gale force winds.