I was up on a ladder looking at the hole I made for my AC drainhose, for the portable AC, and I noticed that in the townhouse next to mine, a bumblebee was going inside, in an empty space in whatever the builder had used at the bottom of the 2nd floor-overhang, between it and t he brick wall that is the facing of the first floor.
And his daughter was right there so I pointed it out, but later I began to have doubts about how much that would be a problem, since it's just an empty area between the bottom of the overhang and the floor of the second floor, and between the joists, which is only 8"H by 14 or 16" wide, by about 15" deep.
But then it started to seem serious again when I thought that that empty space is deeper than that and extends 1/3"" the lenth of the house, and maybe sideways too if there are holes drilled for heating ducts or wires or pipes.
So what is his remedy? To patch the hole and let the bees stuck inside at the time fend for themselves? A euphemism, but I cant think of any other remedy, and even though my flowers could use more bees, he can't afford to have an open door policy for his sub-floor, right?
When is the best time of day so that the fewest number of bees will be trapped inside? 10 to 4? When the sun is out, no rain? Not even overcast?
**IIRC the house is about 40 feet long, and the joists above most oif the laundry room are about 14 feet long, and in the basement, the joists rest on an I-beam. Right next to the end of one is the start of another, which goes to the next I-beam, and I'm sure there starts another of about the same length (The other room has a finished ceiling)In a townhouse built in Baltimore in 1979, would they have used steel I-beams above the first floor to support the second floor? I've always assumed since the weight supported is just a little more than half (because the attic and bathtub are supported too, but the refrigerator isn't.) that there is no need for steel above the first floor. Right?
But the length of the joists would be the same, right? Resting on studs that rest on the steel I-beams
hey rest on a so how long would the