Carpentry questions here?

[Dean H.]

Howdy folks,

I've been casually lurking for a week or so after searching for carpentry newsgroups but finding only spam holes.

I'm looking for opinions about mansard roofs; design considerations both aesthetic and practical, experiences framing or repairing them, reasons for or against their use in design (2 1/2 story small footprint in my dreams), choices for roofing materials, etc...

I have a couple nice photos of local (CT) antique mansards that inspire me. Not sure where we might post binaries for this group. Not here, I assume.

Also, one of two projects is near the shore where a basement isn't practical. We hit groundwater at about 42". Crawlspace vs. slab on grade. Do's and don'ts welcome on that subject also.

TIA, Dean

[Charlie M. 1958]

Dean, you can post photos over at alt.binaries.pictures.woodworking

There are a lot of very knowledgeable folks around here, and never a shortage of opinions on most any subject. So even though that is not the main focus of this newsgroup, give it a shot.

[Joe]

Dean,

You may want to try alt.home.repair. Lots of knowledgable folks there (here too....)

jc

[Swingman]

alt.binaries.pictures.woodworking

Do a geotech/soil report and hire an engineer to design a foundation based on same. Don't fail to do so.

There are more types of foundations than most would want to know, many specific to locale, and even the architects and engineers don't use the same terminology. Most areas have a university or engineering department that have published locale specific recommendations on foundations ... the insurance industry that serves the area may also be able to point you toward some recommendations.

[Swingman]

An example of the above, which is applicable to the Texas Gulf Coast, but something similiar may be available for your area.

again, anyone, when talking foundations with architects, engineers and foundation contractors, should make damn sure that they define their terms beforehand.

[Pat Barber]

Fine Home Building will have a forum for these type questions:

Try those guys at:

forums are located at "Breaktime" and there are some excellent builders that hang around that forum. You need to sign up but it's free.

Dean H. wrote:

[James "Cubby" Culbertson]

You might also check out alt.building.construction. It's not as busy a group but mostly, or so it seems, contractor's hang out there. Cheers, cc

[Dean H.]

Thanks to everybody for the replies. Dang, almost had a job at Taunton Press selling ads, maybe a decade or so ago. I lived about ten miles from their offices back then. I ended up selling for motorcycle magazines instead. I do some woodworking too; working on a cherry display case right now but it's nothing too special. The pinnacle of my woodworking experiences was Mike Dunbar's Sack-Back Windsor Chair building class which I did with my dad back in July 1999. It was a great week with no sawdust and lots of curly wood waste. Cool old school edge tools. I came home ready to become a chair maker until my wife did her naysayer act and then didn't even want a chair for her end of the table. I still haven't built my second chair. And she's now my ex-wife. It's a very good chair. I spent the last two days emptying out a closet and storage shop; leftover stuff after the auction. I now have about a kazillion Blum and Hafele drawer slides. I only need about a quarter kazillion so I'll probably give my buddy's shop the first crack at the whole bunch before I go all ebay on the stuff.

Jeez, two posts in and I'm already rambling. You folks probably don't need any extra rambling. This place seems pretty busy.

Thanks again. I hope I don't cause too much trouble here.

-Dean jack of all, master of none.