Beam me up Scotty

Once again, I've been too busy to blog regularly, so here's some catching up.

Captain's log, stardate 20110208.
The electrical has been upgraded to 200A service, and a new panel installed.
This was more of a safety upgrade to eliminate the rusty and fire-prone old FPE (Federal Pacific Electric) breakers and panel.  Dave from Beckert Electric did some nice work and was very creative:

Now, about those beams.  Recall that the old beams had rotted on the outside, which allowed water to penetrate the beam, and from there to the uprights.  A total of three beams needed to be replaced, and two of the uprights.

It's a fallacy that the beams in an Eichler run the full length of the house.  They generally don't.  The beams are supported by the upright posts, and the beams meet on some of those uprights.

It's still a massive job, but I found the right man for the job (Frank at Larco Construction, 925-595-3180).

His method (from my observation) is to:

1. Support the ceiling on either side of the beam (so you can safely remove the beam) using a temporary wall made of 2x4s.
2. Cut the beam into small chunks and pull the chunks down.
3. Cut away the many, many nails holding the beam to the tongue and groove wood ceiling.
4. Replace the uprights (if necessary).
5. Carefully measure and cut the new beam to size.
6. Lift new beam into place.
7. Screw the new beam into the ceiling for extra support (and to prevent twisting).

The new beams are the closest you can find to the original, but as Tony points out, today's wood is nothing like the old growth wood used in those Eichler beams.  Hold a piece of the new beam vs the old and you will notice a huge weight difference.

OK, onto the photos.

Here's the bracing on either side of the (now removed) beam:

Old beam in chunks on the floor:

Hhighlight of the extent of the dryrot at the front of the garage beam.  Protect the tops of those beams!

Another little Eichler thing.  The tongue and groove ceiling is not all one straight shot.  Seams are staggered slightly for strength behind the beam, but you'd never notice it when the beam is in place:

Finally, a small very cool Eichler find.  The "E11" here refers to the model of this particular home, written here by hand on one of the upright supports.  At the bottom it also says "Walnut Creek":

That's all for now.  Full speed ahead to the next small project.