Dovetail,
I like it! looks like it exhibits the majority of the "rules" I submitted. Was this an engineered design? Did you mill your own timbers? Can you give us any more details on the joinery selection?
Mo,
Please don't credit me with a lot of experience as I am certainly a novice. The situation I created was a hypothetical of two extremes. I don't neccessarily condone either. Just something to make people think about the laws of averages.
Ken,
I would propose litigation will brought by the owner or a future owner against all involved in the construction from designers and engineers down to local inspector. He will need no expert other than a few pictures of the frame coming apart and estimates for repair or worst case scenario the death certificate of a family member killed in its collapse.
As an engineer, how much of your work is based on computer generated models and tables? What measures do you take to insure that the aforementioned tragedies don't occur in your designs? Please do not take any of this as a personal indictment. As I said a good engineer is worth his weight in gold.
As a professional have you seen builders trending towards a loss of craftsmanship and a turn towards profit margins?
To all:
How is it that codes will permit people to live in mobile homes stacked on concrete blocks and built out of 2X3's with extremely flammable panelling while a guy trying to build with massive timbers in a time proven method has to get in line at the local engineering firm or provide proof it won't fall apart.
