Playhouse construction!

[jhelgesen]

I had started design a few months back....



and have finally gotten framing started.....

Last night



Tonight..

[Seahawk]

Drive through?

Nice.

[jhelgesen]

Opening for further expansion. More storage, engine bay, or man room.

[syncroid]

Looks like you have plenty of head room for a lift. Very cool!

[sketchers356]

Awesome! Keep us posted.

[Jesset100]

I don't mean to be negitive but...
I don't think those red bricks should be used for load bearing. Just my opinion

[SCWDP911]

Originally Posted by Jesset100

I don't mean to be negitive but...
I don't think those red bricks should be used for load bearing. Just my opinion

And what is securing your sill plates down? In the past I have normally used embedded j-bolts. Did you find a suitable alternative to use with the brick? I too would be leary of the brick, but I am not an architect or a home builder. I have never seen it used for that purpose though. I know that brick made for patio paving is much stronger though... is that what you used? Hate to see that thing fall on your contents! Just tossing out observations, which were obviously of a photo only.

[dad911]

Make sure you specify high-lift tracks & torsion springs for the garage doors, so they will not be in the way of a future lift.

Good idea with the 'back door' I know of someone with a similar layout, makes a great hangout during fair-weather parties.

I too am curious about the anchor bolts......

[Rot 911]

What the other guys said. You can't use brick to attach a sill plate to. Even worse they are on their sides!!!!

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Ummmm. Shouldn't there be a horizontal beam at the apex of those roof joists to tie them together?

If you're counting on the diaphragm action of the plywood and the shear strength of the nails alone, you're going to be very sorry first time a strong wind comes up.

[dad911]

Also, a warning, be very careful if you are setting the trusses yourself. I have seen experienced carpenters get hurt, they will fall dominoes. I would set the one against the house first, screwed and lag bolted to the house,and sheath the roof as the trusses go up so the plywood ties it all together.

[jhelgesen]

I can assure you everything is to code, we're working closely with the inspectors on this.

We have a boom truck hoisting the trusses in place right now, should be all hung and braced this evening when I get home.

[Jims5543]

Maybe I am missing something here, since when is brick not a good load bearing construction?

Unless I do not understand how a brick building is constructed (which is a good possibility) why are brick footers not good for construction?

Manholes that you see in the road, that trucks and cars drive over and pound on are built up and put in place with brick. That I know for a fact, I cannot imagine any worse of a beating that the beating they take from traffic.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Modular bricks are pretty small relative to the size of anchor bolts that will be required to hold down the sill. The problem with brick is not their load-carrying capacity in compression (they're plenty strong for that), it's that they've got to pick up other loads in this particular application:

When the walls are laterally loaded (wind) the sideways load placed on the anchor bolts is more likely to "blow out" a brick with an anchor bolt and hole in it than a concrete foundation wall with deeper embedment of the same anchor bolt. You're depending on the strength of the mortar, ultimately.

I'd seriously rethink your edge-of-slab condition. Thicken it up with concrete and use the brick as a veneer if you really want the look of it. Either that or make the edge-of-slab REALLY thick (below grade) and use long-ass anchor bolts anchored into the thickened-up edge-of-slab (concrete) and then extending up through the brick (grouted in place) with the sill bearing on that. That'd probably work okay too, but you'd need some serious embedment of the anchor bolts.

I also agree the bricks would be stronger oriented in standard (stretcher course) configuration, not the rowlock configuration like you have it. I'd be a bit concerned about the mortar blowing out over time and having the bricks push outward. It also leaves an even smaller amount of brick material left on either side of an anchor bolt hole, since you're drilling through the brick the long way).

I see that you're trying to match the look of the existing house with the brick "foundation wall", but I'll bet that brick is veneer only. If the house is really sitting on brick-only foundation, I'm shocked that it hasn't failed yet.

[jhelgesen]

The rest of the house has been sitting on a brick foundation built up from a 2 foot wide concrete footer for the last 20 years. There are two rows of brick going down at least 24" to the footer. It's not going anywhere.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

How deep are the footings for the addition? Big difference between sitting on edge-of-slab only and having a footing.

[dad911]

Originally Posted by Jim Cesiro

Maybe I am missing something here, since when is brick not a good load bearing construction?

Unless I do not understand how a brick building is constructed (which is a good possibility) why are brick footers not good for construction?

Manholes that you see in the road, that trucks and cars drive over and pound on are built up and put in place with brick. That I know for a fact, I cannot imagine any worse of a beating that the beating they take from traffic.

Veneer bricks (w/holes) are not structural, but there is not alot of load on them, and it is spread out. More importantly I don't see any straps or anchors in the picture of the 'foundation' before the sill plate went on.

[jhelgesen]

My Popsicle stick and bubble gum construction continued today....think I could use it as a racquet or basket ball court.....never thought 12' would look so tall. Should have the roof on tomorrow if the weather holds out. I may dump the shingles for silly putty and saran wrap.

[Dueller]

Dayummmmm....you don't play around. Despite what the naysayers say you are making some kinda progress for 3 days. Looks good.

[71T Targa]

I'm just wondering, because I am looking at a project like this myself, why you didn't remove the rest of the siding from the existing house? Not the entire house mind you, just the part that is under the trusses.

Looks great by the way!