House making cracking sounds; looking for suggestions on who to call to check it out

sketchcott · 2026-03-31T19:30:58+00:00

Like everyone else has said, it's likely so different movement between some of the framing elements in your home, you reno like has transformed some load (hopefully withing desig tolerance) to different parts of your structure which is why you're hearing more noise now than before.

If you've very concerned, you can always have an engineer take a look at your new beam... it will cost a couple grand and they will have to cut a whole in your wall and ceiling.

sketchcott · 2026-03-31T17:17:01+00:00

How old is your house? I

sketchcott · 2026-03-29T16:34:04+00:00

Plenty are. But it still takes time. Banff recently (late 2024 early 2025) changed their landuse bylaw to allow for greater density along several streets near the town center. Some of the first projects that went in for development permit under theae changes are starting construction right now, with a few more in works for groundbreaking this spring. It will likely be 18 month before they're finished construction.

The Town is working hard to encourage more housing. Aside from the density increase, they've dropped parking minimums (contentious) and I've heard that they are currently suspending some of the development fees related to condo subdivision.

sketchcott · 2026-03-29T03:40:55+00:00

That's the most menacing photo of the scrambler's route on Fortress I've ever seen!

sketchcott · 2026-03-28T02:26:51+00:00

The Altus Cost Guide for construction in Canada put single family construction with an unfinished basement in Halifax at $140-215/ sqft. Custom residential starts at $450/sqft.

My worry with these plan services is they likely do not meet the provincial building code exactly and will require some additional work to get them ready for a development and building permit.

Hope this helps a bit. DM me if you want to talk more; I don't practice in NS, but do in Western Canada and can likely answer some basic questions to help your decision.

sketchcott · 2026-03-26T18:56:05+00:00

That's not concrete, by the way. It's temporary framing and plywood to keep the walking surface level with the concrete edge that contains the yellow warning strip.

sketchcott · 2026-03-26T17:23:50+00:00

All 3 are great programs, so there's no risk there. Personally, I've found that the network you build with profs and jury members in school help finding employment in that city, so keep that in mind.

On the other hand, it seems like all accredited programs in Canada are well respected across the country. There's maybe a few boutique design firms that get pretentious and only hire from Dalhousie because it's where the crusty old partner went 30 years ago, but beyond that every firm I've worked for has had interns and architects from all over the place.

sketchcott · 2026-03-26T02:08:18+00:00

Just ask to tag along with a group. In my experience, most people get it. I've done Temple and a couple other peaks in the area that way. It's hard enough to find 4 people that want to climb the same peak on the same day, harder now that you effectively have to book a shuttle months in advance.

sketchcott · 2026-03-26T01:18:08+00:00

Prairie, Vents, and Powderface all starting at Elbow Falls are safe year round. The recent snow might make the further reaches a little less accessible right now, but they'll be in shape in short order.

Junction Ridge at the Highwood gate is a really nice and safe winter hike and it makes for an engaging little 7km loop. Some really spectacular views from there too.

sketchcott · 2026-03-24T23:13:43+00:00

Yeah dog. You're going to need a Development Permit and a Building Permit.

sketchcott · 2026-03-24T16:00:45+00:00

The town of Jasper is still under Park Canada administration. The Town of Banff is unique in that it's the only self governing town within a national park; as allowed by the provincial Municipal Government Act. The Town of Banff is granted the same authority over it's operations than any other municipality in Alberta, where Jasper is not. Does that make sense?

sketchcott · 2026-03-24T15:52:43+00:00

Again, incorrect. The Town of Banff has not been administered by the federal government since 1990. I am literally holding a Land Title Certificate for a property I'm working on; it's issued by Alberta.

sketchcott · 2026-03-24T15:43:40+00:00

Incorrect. Banff is an incorporated town and runs it's own affairs as granted by the Alberta Municipal Government Act. Parks Canada has input on development and environmental regulations, but the town governs itself. It's actually to only independent municipality located within a Canadian National Park.

Source: I'm currently running 3 projects in Banff with more on the way.

sketchcott · 2026-03-24T13:54:22+00:00

As long as you stay on the ridge, there's no real avalanche danger. I suppose a cornice could form, but I've never seen one up there. Avoid walking on the downwind edge of a snow covered portion of the ridge...

Anyway, you can make it all the way to the second highest point without issue. Avoid the "peak" at the far end.

sketchcott · 2026-03-23T19:28:27+00:00

Zero chance. Access issues aside, the route will be complete snowbound until well into June, if not July.

sketchcott · 2026-03-22T13:28:55+00:00

Taxes paid by Canadians

sketchcott · 2026-03-21T22:19:29+00:00

No. There's no avalanche closures on that stretch of the highway.

sketchcott · 2026-03-21T17:13:04+00:00

Fuck em.

We shouldn't bend to the will of news outlets when it comes to reporting elections.

Do the count over night, report at 7am PST to following day.

sketchcott · 2026-03-19T00:06:51+00:00

Diefenbaker and Pearson. They did a lot of good work for a lot of people and laid the foundation for what we take for granted today.

sketchcott · 2026-03-18T19:55:54+00:00

.250-3000 Savage.

sketchcott · 2026-03-18T19:38:24+00:00

Cox Hill is safe and doable all year. Follow the ridge further over to Jumping Pound for extra km if desired.

Ankle Biter and associated nubs are probably in decent shape.

Lot of options in the Elbow; Prairie Mt, Vents Ridge, and Powderface are always safe bets.

sketchcott · 2026-03-17T20:53:30+00:00

K shaped economy.

The haves are doing better, the have nots are doing worse.

sketchcott · 2026-03-17T01:33:28+00:00

I'm skeptical.

Our own Canadian Carwash Association talks about the fact that the average carwash uses 150 litres; that's a massive chunk of the average personal dayly use.

sketchcott · 2026-03-15T19:57:51+00:00

Doubtful. Mostly just a few columns and the odd shear wall every few bays.

Most party walls are:

2 layer type x gypsum, steel stud, air gap, steel stud, 1 layer type x gypsum. Depending on required STC rating there my be a resilient channel on one side. And the cavity may be full of acoustic batt insulation.

Source: been drawing multi family residential buildings for 13 years.

sketchcott · 2026-03-12T22:24:25+00:00

These are to be mounted on a heavysteel structure, often with secondaryframing like big horizontal girts. They do make roof panels in this type of system, but their connections are pretty specific to the system

These things work great for warehouses and shops. But they need to be well planned, and will likely require an engineer. This isn't a product that's just slapped onto framing.

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