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I remember reading a book in University about catastrophic engineering failures that really drove the point home on how many safety regulations were developed as well as safety codes due to tragedy. It definitely changed my perspective when considering issues.
ETA: This was the book: To Engineer Is Human: The Role of Failure in Successful Design by Henry Petroski.
The Master Handbook of Acoustics is a solid choice.
You can apparently get the Fifth Edition for $10 used.
To add to the other great suggestions, a book I found helpful when building my tiny house was Working Alone which had lots of great tips for solo building.
Francis Ching has a whole series of very easy to understand books on architecture. Some of his books are pre-requisites for aspiring architects
Check out: https://www.amazon.com/Building-Construction-Illustrated-Francis-Ching/dp/1118458346
Look at your local library if you'd rather not purchase it.
"Why buildings fall down" might be a good option https://www.amazon.com/Why-Buildings-Fall-Down-Structures/dp/039331152X
The stories that make up Why Buildings Fall Down are in the end very human ones, tales of the interaction of people and nature, of architects, engineers, builders, materials, and natural forces all coming together in sometimes dramatic (and always instructive) ways. Publisher: WW Norton & Co ISBN: 9780393311525 Number of pages: 352
> Σαν ανθρωπότητα, κατασκευάζουμε διαφόρων μεγεθών πράγματα εδώ και κυριολεκτικά χιλιετίες. Όλη αυτή η γνώση μας έχει δώσει την ικανότητα να μπορούμε να κάνουμε εκτιμήσεις για το πόσος χρόνος θα χρειαστεί μέχρι την ολοκλήρωση ενός έργου, ακόμα κι αν δεν έχει γίνει κάτι παρόμοιο στο παρελθόν.
Πολύ σωστά. Αλλά όχι σε όλους τους τομείς της μηχανικής. Στις πιο, ας τις πούμε "παραδοσιακές" περιοχές της μηχανικής, ναι έχει συσσωρευτεί μία γνώση ανα τους αιώνες η οποία βέβαια έχει τυποποιηθεί και βελτιώνει κατά πολύ την κατάσταση της εκτίμησης αλλά αυτό που συμβαίνει είναι να μαθαίνεις από τα σφάλματα, όπως αναφέρει και ο Petroski στο υπέροχο βιβλίο του.
Όμως, στη μηχανική λογισμικού π.χ. (σχεδίαση και υλοποίηση) ακόμη και σήμερα οι εκτιμήσεις πέφτουν πολύ έξω στις περισσότερες περιπτώσεις, σε σημείο να υπάρχει ακόμη και σήμερα αυτό που στα τέλη του 1960 ονομάστηκε software crisis.
Since the house was built in 1871, it likely has a foundation made with limestone mortar. Which means you might get seasonal water leaking (our 1891 Farmhouse in Maine did during the spring thaw). This wasn't too much of an issue- as long as the floor is sloped towards the sump pump/drains and you don't keep anything directly on the floor itself (we did metal shelving whose bottom didn't need to be right on the ground (we used edsal's industrial welded steel framed shelves) and a couple metal/plastic Dunnage Racks (same kind restaurants use to keep stuff off the floor) for things like the bags of salt our water softener needed).
Check if your basement has any additional steel/wood beams to support the floor- you want to make sure they aren't slanted and still in good shape (not rusting/decaying).
"Renovating Old Houses" by George Nash is a good resource.
Edit: added link.
Pictures in this book do a good job of explaining what you can drill or notch amd where:
Black & Decker Codes for Homeowners https://www.amazon.com/Black-Decker-Codes-Homeowners-4th/dp/0760362513
I'm not a structural engineer.
This book should be mandatory reading for all engineers. Okay fine we can leave the software guys out this is just recommended reading for them.
This is my bible on the topic: Renovating Old Houses: Bringing New Life to Vintage Homes (For Pros By Pros) by George Nash - can go wrong with this as your reference.
https://www.amazon.com/Renovating-Old-Houses-Bringing-Vintage/dp/1561585351
Having not been to Israel, yet, growing up in LA, I had never encountered a domed synagogue before, and really only came across them a couple of years ago: San Francisco has two.
I gather there was a golden age of domed synagogues in the 19th and early 20th centuries, at least in the US but just found this article
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wooden_synagogues_in_the_Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Commonwealth
about synagogues with interior domes help up, I think like a suspension bridge, but the "typical roof" above it, in the mid 16th-17th centuries in Poland
Read a book, I think it was this one, https://www.amazon.com/Why-Buildings-Fall-Down-Structures/dp/039331152X, quite a while ago, about why buildings fall down, that discussed the various ages of dome building in terms of the evolution of what kept them up. (It also discussed many other things as well)
Not fire specific, but Im a big fan of Building Construction Illustrated
NB: This is from a US perspective.
Start with your city/township/county website. Or put “building permit” and your location in Google. This will get you the steps to get a permit, not anything about code.
If you’re contemplating electrical you should check with the permit office first as some jurisdictions allow homeowners to do plumbing and electrical work, but others require a licensed professional.
For code, your local library likely has a number of books with a DIY slant to doing home repairs and construction. I’d start there as a reference. You’re unlikely to get much useful out of a technical manual like the NEC. Black&Decker has a decent book that walks through something like the UBC and NEC that might also interest you
I'm engineering, I greatly enjoyed To Engineer Is Human. I also found A Brief History of Though to be very eye opening for general thinking and philosophy.
Renovating an old house with a contractor not specialized in old houses. My engineer suggested to draw-in some out-leaning walls. They didn't look bad or even noticeable but upon opening up interior walls it was easy to see how out of plumb the studs are. And perhaps even more surprising, to see how some of the second floor ceiling joists/rafter ties were now resting on the top plates with only a couple inches of contact, due to the walls having drawn outward from underneath the rafter ties. 120 year old house.Looking for any advice or resources on best practice for using come alongs to pull the walls inward. The only thing I've come across is it being briefly discussed in the book Renovating Old Houses by George Nash.
Before getting the engineer's recommendation, my contractor was planning on reframing the walls to make plumb (interior) and make stronger. We're also sistering new joists/rafter ties to srengthen the attic floor while hoping to strengthen the house itself. If the come alongs don't pan out, my hope is that this new framing will be more than enough.
I think you’ll find your personal accomplishment more rewarding! Put your money into more land then build as you go. No joke, lots of peeps I know have built their garages or basements first to live in while they built their family heirloom homes over half a generation.
One of my fav books is Working Alone. Building construction tips to simplify even if you have tons of friends helping. Priceless tips!
All the best Sourdough!
https://www.amazon.com/Working-Alone-Tips-Techniques-Building/dp/1561585459
^building construction illustrated. It shows several aspects of a building, and how they are often represented on 2D drawings. It then describes in a paragraph or two what each component the detail is trying to achieve. This has everything from wall sections, to masonry structures, to window details. It’s pretty comprehensive, and is a great summary reference, although more detail may be needed in some areas.
Try taking a look at the books of Francis D.K. Ching.
Your school or local library might have them. They can be a bit pricy I find, but he's done books on a ton of architecture topics, from sketching and drawing styles to details and construction.
I particularly thought of his
Building Construction IllustratedBuilding Construction Illustrated
As one to consider. I found it hard to leap straight into understanding details, but taking a step back and really looking at construction process helped put details into perspective. Made me able to consider why a detail might or might not work, why it's done that way, what the goal of the detail really is
Fortunatly, home inspection doesn't require a construction background.
Dig deeper, and you will find almost no states require contractors to take some sort of "certification" program to prove they know what they're doing, and nearly 1/2 of states in the US don't follow the federal outlines for testing, so you just go online and watch some videos, google the answers during the test and voila - you're "certified".
Read this book, then go get a copy of this book.
Using the black and decker book as a rule book, and using the home depot book as a how-to, do a mock inspection on your house. Check your doors, check your windows, check your plumbing. If you can find a few things (every house has dozens, if not potentially hundreds of markups if you really look deep enough) then you might be onto something.
A home inspector's job is to observe what they see, then inform their customer whether it meets the requirements as set forth by the inspectors SOP.
Still interested? Look up your states requirements for training and education, then call around to some local inspection houses and ask if you can just ask someone. Good inspectors have spent a ton of time reading and love to talk (i think this post points out an example).
Hopefully, you know have a better understanding about your decision and have information to make a choice.
If you can read the books they give you, memorize what you gotta memorize, and have a good teacher its a decent paycheck.
Tx Inspector Here:
I passed everything the first time.
>compu cram -
This is a joke. Save your money. NONE of the questions you on compucram will prepare you for the NHIE, much less the state portion.
>Principles of Home Inspection Systems and Standards
Read the whole thing, cover to cover, twice. Don't do the questions until you read it through the second time. When I took the course, they just told us certain paragraphs to read - BS - read the whole book.
Next, buy this book. Its the "cliffnotes" to the IRC.
You know those flashcards they gave you? Start on them today - at least 15. Memorize them all.
Then, go through all the Champions books, Every Single One on Every Single Page. Those books are handing you the state portion of the exam. By doing each book twice, you'll have it down.
IRC - that big binder they gave you - read it. I know, "but we're not code inspectors". Ok, the test is 100% from the IRC, so if we're not code inspectors, they why read the International Residential Code, and the have to take a test on it.....
This is not hard, but time consuming. Its not comprehension, its memorization. You need to just know the tolerances, spacing, temps, don't worry about understanding or you'll never catch up.
Here's some real numbers for Tx:
- 75% of your class will never pass the test, not because of difficulty but they just won't study.
- $30k is your average first year salary
- 90% of inspectors in your class who do pass the test, will quit within the first year due to financial issues.
- The most successful inspectors have a second income when they start to offset the initial loss of no steady business.
I teach an evening adult acoustics class at a local college and use this text as an introduction:
Master Handbook of Acoustics, Sixth Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/0071841040/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apan_glt_fabc_AX3Z21E6WZENQ4JWMABY
>just criticize the work that others do
Uh yeah, thats what inspectors are for. I'm guessing you've never spent a day in an actual room where real decisions were made...
anyway, watch youtube all day. this book prob takes 4 hours to read and I've never seen a single youtube video cover 1/4 of the material. And I sit on my ass and watch a lot of bad youtubers do DIY, its how i do research to keep an eye out what to look for.
Codes for Homeowners and Home Depot Basics will get you 90% of the way. Once you read those (how to do things correctly) then look on youtube for how the contractors do it as well as tips and tricks.
I think it would help, though if you don't intend on inspecting you really just need to read a few books.
I'm gonna take a shot in the dark and guess you don't want to inspect full time - I recommend Black and Decker: codes for homeowners. Its a great resource, and highlights the important stuff. If you really want to know, then there's always the IRC.
Did a nearly million dollar home a while back, less than 10 years old and it looked good. Then I found where a previous homeowner had done a few expansions, mostly taken in some attic space for conditioned space. Everything looked good - I mean the craftsman ship was on par with the builders grade - probably was a builder himself. However, all the additions were just massive code violation traps.
Long story short, these additions were ultimately responsible for other issues in the home which did not match with standard use life of a home that age - things were wearing out faster than they should, on top of this added space made the new buyer very concerned he was getting duped by these "extra rooms".
Home inspecting will teach you what the rules are, and how to look for them. It won't, by any shape form or fashion teach you how to do the work properly. Gotta learn proper technique and craftsmanship from the trades.
My first thought was something like this:
Black & Decker Codes for Homeowners 4th Edition: Current with 2018-2021 Codes - Electrical • Plumbing • Construction • Mechanical by Bruce A. Barker
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0760362513
but I never tried being a resi contractor.
Speaking from a similar background as /u/Hoaxtopia, This was my textbook in my Acoustics course; it's a good breakdown of what acoustics mean for music, how we interpret sound around us, how our environment shapes the sound around us, and what exactly all that soundproofing in recording studios does.
Dry as sand to read, but a handy resource that won't be out of date in 10 years nonetheless.
It’s a mixture of some who act out of insecurity, as a lot of people don’t understand how sound works, but don’t want to admit it, and others who think they’re the shit and everyone needs to know it, and lots of pedantic nerds that know enough to be dangerous and want to show off. They are usually nice, but not always. There is a lot that can happen when 100 random people get thrown together like a traveling carnival. Lots of different personalities, backgrounds, priorities, past experiences with other random characters...
The art and science of it can be a deep rabbit hole and there is a lot of subjective phrasing presented as objective facts. If you want to dive in, I recommend the Master Handbook of Acoustics by F. Alton Brown
There isn’t a one size fits all to construction. It’s like asking “books on cooking?” Not only are there “a dozen ways to skin a cat”, but building science/practice is constantly evolving with the development of new tools/materials/practices.
To answer your question, There are numerous books on paint alone, and mechanical systems alone. Not to mention general construction books that do (to a degree of success) attempt to be an overall guide. Here is one that seems to be respected:
Building Construction Illustrated https://www.amazon.com/dp/111958308X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_3vauFb76FG43J
Yes, really fascinating. First time i red about this accident was in H. Petroski's excellent book "To Engineer Is Human: The Role of Failure in Successful Design".