xuehong

Thanks. I may need to install some mid-span support since it bothers me. This morning, as I was trying to water my vegetables and flowers in my backyard, a really long black snake was moving just two to three feet away from me. I was so scared. I will never enter my crawlspace again. Now, I am even scared about stepping into my backyard.

Thanks all. I cann't believe that I entered into the crawlspace by myself. I am really scared about any kind of bugs, snakes and so on. I worn really thick clothes, hat and shoes to protect myself. I can feel my hand is shaking. Yeh, anyway, I did it. Please see the PDF for details. Download Attachment: Breakfast room and kitchen.pdf 600.72?KB

Yes, I am from China. You are right. Everything in China is either concrete or brick construction. My house in China is all brick. However, I have already come here about five years. In the past five years, I lived in a townhouse which is wood structured and should be at least more than 30 years old. Now, I feel really bouncy in this house. Sometimes i can even see food in the dishes is dancing when we walk to the dining table. And dishes on the top of kitchen cabinet will make noises too. I never see this before. So I guess my floor may need more support? I have no idea.

I can only take some pictures from half the crawl basement. the other half part is too black for me and I am so scared to reach there. My husband is working. Click to Enlarge 50.49 KB Click to Enlarge 32.19 KB Click to Enlarge 52.09 KB Click to Enlarge 64.75 KB Are these enough? Thanks.

I will do that tomorrow afternoon when my kids take their naps. Thanks a lot.

So, I do need to do something with these gaps, right? Flashing is the best way? And how much it will cost? My house is about 3100 square feet.

Without seeing your house, I can't say for sure. But I think that unstable is probably the wrong word. It sounds like bouncy or springy would better describe the condition. If that's so, it's probably the result of light framing with I-joists. You are right. Bouncy should be a better word. I googled some solution for my bouncy house and found this:http://blog.luxorcorp.com/2008/12/08/the-simplest-way-to-fix-bouncy-floors/ Is this true? what is the best way to make my floor more solid?

Have you lived in a wood-framed house before? I ask because I've had clients from Asia who are accustomed to concrete or stone construction and have never experienced wood framing before. It's bouncy and creaky and generally feels less solid that concrete or stone. And, as Kurt pointed out, if they used floor trusses or I-Joists, then it's *particularly* bouncy. There are things you can do to address this, but the bounciness itself is not a symptom of a larger problem. Yes. I did live in a wood framed apartment for about five years. I also went to some open houses to feel the bounce. It feels like that my house is a little bit more unstable, especially in the kitchen. It's no big deal. Fill it with anything. Good to know it. Thanks. In your last picture, I see caulk in the joint. It looks like the installer put caulk on the end of one plank and slid the other one up to it, making a caulk sandwich. That's *exactly* what the siding manufacturer specified in 2006 when your house was built. When the caulk fails, as yours has, you were expected to re-caulk it. The new standard, which requires flashing, is a much better solution. It's easy to install the flashing after the fact. Any reasonably intelligent contractor should be able to do this for you. yes, I can see some caulk left there. I never used a contractor before, so what kind of contractor should I use? A general one or any special one? Thanks. I don't know. But in the pictures you've posted, I don't see anything that's even slightly alarming.

Thanks all for replying. It helps a lot. Since this is my first home, I am really nervouse about it.

I just bought my house about one month ago and I am really upset about it now. First, I always feel like it is vibratating, especially in the kitchen. Everytime I walk through the kitchen, the stuffs on the countertop will vibrate and If I try to push the countertop, It sounds like the whole countertop will vibrate too. Secondly, there is a really big gap along the whole wall of the garage. Please see the picture below. Thirdly, there are lot of unsealed gaps between the butt joints of the siding, almost every butt joint. According the report of the inspector, there is no counter flashing visable at joints. However,A weather proof barrier is visible at accessible locations. I am a first home buyer and have no idea how bad it is. So I had an licienced contactor to take a look and he said it is ok and the gap is for expansion and I believed him at that time. However, after I moved in and take a close look at it and found that some gaps are really big and some are even big than 1/8". Please see the picture below. Is there anything wrong with my house? What should I do? I have no idea. My house is about 6 years old. Thanks for your patient. Click to Enlarge 46.99 KB Click to Enlarge 55.15 KB Click to Enlarge 33.77 KB