Giving Back… Historic Jackson Rooming House – Part 2

There has been a new addition to the Jackson House family. Last month, Mr. Robinson was investigating a strange sound coming from under the house when he came across a puppy he described as “thinner than skin and bones.” He pulled the malnourished animal from under the house and sought out a veterinarian. To Mr. Robinson’s surprise, the vet gave the puppy a clean bill of health. The puppy just needed food, water, and love. The vet also gave Mr. Robinson the following words of wisdom: “You didn’t find this puppy. This puppy found you!” With that, Mr. Robinson took the puppy home and cared for it. Mr. Robinson has named her Bright Eyes for obvious reasons. Bright Eyes has been dubbed the “House Mascot” and you can find her sitting next to Mr. Robinson on the porch or close behind him as he walks from room to room.

I would also like to extend a big “Thank You” to everyone already involved in this project and to those who have offered their assistance. The rescue and restoration of the Jackson House promises to offer several challenges and opportunities to give everyone a chance to contribute.

For more information on restoring your historic structure, or to learn more about historic restorations, please feel free to contact Matthew Depin, EI at: mdepin@brackenengineering.com

It's not rocket science... Weight of Ships v. Weight of Water?

Question: Did the Magdeburg Water Bridge have to be designed to withstand the additional weight of ship?

"Non-Engineer" Answer: No

Explanation: The Magdeburg Water Bridge only needed to be designed to support the weight of the water because a ship will displace an amount of water equal to the weight of the ship, regardless of how heavily a ship may be loaded.

Commentary: The Magdeburg Water Bridge is a navigable aqueduct in Germany that connects the Elbe-Havel Canal to the Mittelland Canal, and allows ships to cross over the Elbe River. At 918 meters, it is the longest navigable aqueduct in the world. Construction of the water link was started as early as in the 1930s but due to the World War 2 and subsequent division of Germany the work remained suspended till 1997. The aqueduct was finally completed and opened to the public in 2003.

Giving Back… Historic Jackson Rooming House – Part 1

Bracken Engineering is proud to announce its involvement in the rescue and restoration of the Historic Jackson Rooming House. The Jackson Rooming House (aka Jackson House) is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is located in downtown Tampa.

History
Built in 1901, the Jackson House is now one of the only standing residential structures in downtown Tampa. During the time of racial segregation, the Jackson House offered boarding to African-American travelers visiting the black businesses along Central Avenue. Entertainment acts such as Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles, and James Brown stayed at the Jackson House, along with their supporting band members. The first room on the right of the entryway would typically accommodate the headliner and allowed around the clock access to a piano in the adjacent sitting room. Current owner, Mr. Willie Robinson Jr., recalls growing up in the 24-room boarding house filled with music, laughter, and good times.

Bracken Engineering is currently developing a set of Comprehensive Repair Plans to address the remaining repairs necessary to restore this building to its former glory and maintain its status on the National Register. The road ahead promises to be long and winding, but the experiences and memories gained will truly be worth it. Bracken Engineering is proud to be a part of another historic building restoration.

For more information on restoring your historic structure, or to learn more about historic restorations, please feel free to contact Matthew Depin, EI at: mdepin@brackenengineering.com.

It's not rocket science... What can I do to help maintain my older home?

Question: What can I do to help maintain my older home?

"Non-Engineer" Answer: Educate yourself

Explanation: Within the Tampa/St. Pete/Clearwater area, there are hundreds of restoration companies that specialize in older home restoration. These companies will often do free on-site estimates and give you a quote the same day. However, hiring a specialist in any area will be pricey and may require the work to be done over a long time period. If you are looking to save some money and don’t mind getting your hands dirty, you can do the work yourself.

Depending on what you are working on, let’s say re-glazing a 50 year old window, you can contact one of the window restoration companies and ask if they are putting on any workshops in the near future. Many companies and home improvement stores offer free workshops on the weekend that teach proper maintenance of your home as well as restoration of specifies systems. By searching the internet or making a few calls, you can find a workshop that is right for you. There are also non-profit organizations that host workshop events. Becoming a member of one or several of these organizations is a cheap way of staying informed of local workshops and getting connected with the people that can help you the most with maintaining your older home. The more you know, the more confident you will be when tackling weekend projects.

Commentary: If your home is registered as a historic structure on either the National Registry of Historic Places or through your local municipality, you will be required to submit any modifications of your home to be review by the state’s Historic Architect before work can be started. Historically registered structures require a great deal of attention to detail in order to remain identifiable as a true Historic Building. It is strongly recommended that you check with your local Historic Representative before commencing any work.

It's not rocket science... Desensitized to Danger

Commentary: During a deployment in response to the recent tornado damage in Alabama, I witnessed a residential area with destruction to 90 percent of the standing structures. During my evaluating the remaining 10 percent of homes, I came across the following condition:

These pictures show a utility pole that had been pulled out of the ground and snapped in half by the tornado. The two halves of the pole are being suspended by one of the original guy-wires and the tangled mess of telephone and cable lines spanning between buildings. This was a conditional hazard to say the least. What shocked me most was that several people were walking under and through this area with little to no regard for the danger. I immediately asked that this area be barricaded to prevent access. To my surprise, I was told, “Its fine. It has been that way for two weeks now. Besides, that’s for the phone company to clean up.”

I then realized that the people walking through this area had become desensitized to their surroundings. With respect to the total devastation and collapsed buildings they had experienced with the tornado, a leaning utility pole was the least of their worries. With this in mind, I brought the on-site manager to the rear of the leaning pole, pointed out the only guy-wire supporting the pole, and made him understand the danger.

It is very important that when you find yourself in one of these situations you stay constantly mindful of your surroundings. Stay alert and stay focused. The most important thing is the safety of yourself and those around you.

It's not rocket science... What can I do to help minimize storm damage to my home before Hurricane season gets here?

Question: What can I do to help minimize storm damage to my home before Hurricane season gets here?

"Non-Engineer" Answer: Install bracing.

Explanation:
The two main sources of structural damage to homes during a hurricane is failure of the overhead garage doors and failure of the roof’s gable ends. Both of these systems can be modified with bracing to help resist the strong lateral forces applied by high winds.

Garage doors are held in place by only the thin metal tracks running along the sides of the opening. Over a typical 16-foot span, it will not take much deflection of your overhead garage door to pull the door off its tracks. However, these doors can be braced relatively easily. Most manufacturers and/or home improvement stores sell ‘upgrade’ kits with all the necessary accessories for bracing your overhead door. These kits typically contain hollow-steel or aluminum braces that are attached to each section of the overhead door and help increase the overall rigidity of the system. Alternatively, a single mid-point vertical brace can be installed at the center of the door opening. This brace type anchors to the slab and the exterior wall above the door opening and will provide additional rigidity along the middle of the door opening.

Gable end roof systems are more difficult to brace. Depending on the existing gable end framing, bracing can be accomplished with additional vertical and/or diagonal bracing. Any modifications done to your roof system should be properly permitted and then performed by a licensed contractor. If you have large gable ends at your home or you are concerned about your roof system, contact a structural engineer or your local building inspector and request a structural evaluation of our roof system.

Commentary:
All structures are susceptible to damage during a storm event. Just because a structure has been modified, braced, or built to meet current code requirements does not ensure that it will survive a storm event. Please, IF AN EVACUATION ORDER IS ISSUED FOR YOUR AREA… EVACUATE, staying in your home will not increase your homes chance of survival but could decrease yours.

It's not rocket science... “Sinkhole Repair Incentives”

How large of a “rebate” or an incentive can I get from my “Sinkhole Repair” contractor?

“Non-Engineer” Answer: NONE – IT IS ILLEGAL!

Explanation: On May 17, 2011 the Governor of Florida signed into law revisions to Florida’s “Sinkhole Statute” F.S. 627.706. One of the items found within this new law is language that makes it illegal for a contractor to provide or a homeowner to accept rebates when having insurance paid sinkhole repair work performed.

The policyholder may not accept a rebate from any person performing the repairs specified in this section. If a policyholder does receive a rebate, coverage is void and the policyholder must refund the amount of the rebate to the insurer. Any person making the repairs specified in this section who offers a rebate, or any policyholder who accepts a rebate for such repairs, commits insurance fraud, a felony of the third degree punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 1980 775.084.

Commentary: This provision most likely resulted from the fact that the practice of providing incentives went unchecked and spiraled out of control. Perhaps the most blatant examples were cases where the insured received golf carts or in some even more blatant cases, a percentage of the cost of the repair. A fact that was underscored by the Florida Insurance Council which previously wrote: “The ineffectiveness and inherent fraud surrounding the current sinkhole claims process is underscored by a recent review that indicates only 27 percent of policyholders with moneys paid as a result of sinkhole claims actually had repairs done to their property.” For more information on the revisions to the law please visit: http://www.myfloridahouse.gov

It's not rocket science... Dead & Live Loads

Does a floor live load translate into a dead load?

"Non Engineer" Answer: NO

Explanation: A live load is defined as a load produced by the use and occupancy of a building and does not include construction or environmental loads such as wind, snow, rain, earthquake, flood or dead loads. A dead load is defined as the weight of materials of construction incorporated into the building. Therefore, a load is either a dead load or a live load or an environmental load.

Why does it mater? Because, when designing a building various loads are combined in different ways and with different factors applied to them. In other words, it doesn't make sense to apply all of the loads at the same time.

Thank you to the reader that submitted this question.

It's not rocket science... Tree Roots

Will pinning stop a wall from cracking due to a tree root?

"Non Engineer" Answer: NO

Explanation: Underpinning was designed to lift portions of structures that drop. Tree roots typically cause damage to structures by heaving the ground upward (along with anything resting on the ground). So, because the tree root and the underpin do the same thing, using an underpin to lift that which is already lifted doesn’t make sense.

Underpins can however be employed as part of a structural modification to fix or prevent damage caused by tree roots. Specifically, if the footing is a continuous strip type footing (monolithic or stem wall) then a portion of the strip footing could be removed and a grade beam installed to carry the structure and bridge the root. In this scenario underpins could be used at either end of the grade beam so as to provide support. Keep in mind that this type of work can only be designed and directed by a properly licensed and qualified structural engineer.

Thank you to the reader that submitted this question.

Understanding the (nerd) gene ... Pre-flight briefings

With more than forty years of air travel under my belt there are only a few memorable preflight briefings.

Certainly one of the most memorable was the US Airways flight attendant who lip synced the entire prerecorded safety briefing while performing the demonstration. Perhaps the most entertaining preflight briefing, this flight attendant added somewhat exaggerated facial expressions and physical gestures that served to emphasize the briefing. At the end of his briefing the attendant received a well deserved round of applause.

Perhaps the most memorable was the Southwest commercial flight attendant who during her briefing on oxygen masks said; "... in the event of a loss of cabin pressure oxygen masks will drop down from the bulkhead. In the event you are traveling with a small child be sure to put your mask on first before assisting your child. In the event you are traveling with more than one child ... pick the one you like best."

And, without a doubt the most memorable pre flights are the rescue helicopter flights. Those are the preflight briefings provided by the crew chief just outside the helicopter and under the running blades. Those are the ones that include phrases like "... when this helicopter hits the water it WILL flip upside down and fill with water, you will wait till it fills and then it is up to you to get out that door ..."