It's always easier to start from scratch
and build a building or an addition
exactly the way you want it. But economic
and practical considerations often
dictate that we work on the creations of
others.
When you remodel a building, you
have to undo something that someone
spent a lot of time putting together. The
first challenge is to understand how the
construction system was fashioned, and
particularly how the loads move through
that system to find their final resolution
in the ground. This is essential so that,
when you take the building apart or add
to it, you don't upset the happy state of
equilibrium that has existed for years.
Three cases in point will illustrate