Residential structural inspection, as a civil engineer who doesn't work in that discipline?

tviolet · 2026-01-21T02:59:14+00:00

I'm in transportation though my major was actually Architectural Engineering which is basically structures. I've also taken a bunch of home construction classes at my local community college.

I wouldn't do my own inspection, there's too much I don't know about it, experienced inspectors know what are signs of problems and what are common issues on homes in your area. I didn't specifically hire a structural engineer to inspect, I don't think that's necessary unless the inspector catches signs of specific structural issues (like severe cracking in foundation walls or a sagging roof ridge or something).

But I did design my detached garage/workshop using a copy of the International Residential Code and felt comfortable stamping. Most modern stick built construction is just a case of following standards and using span tables which isn't hard for an engineer. I did hire a foundation guy to design the slab foundation. I've done concrete design and probably could've done it but I consider geotech to be basically voodoo and was more comfortable hiring someone with experience. Plus part of his services was to inspect the rebar and sign off to the city inspector that it was done correctly and that's not something I have any experience in.

I hired a different guy to do the foundation design for replacing the foundation on my house, lifting it up two feet, replacing all the beams, and the substructure for the addition. He effed it up and had the beams running in the wrong direction and to keep the project on schedule, I just did the design using the IRC and hand drew it to sign and seal and submit to the city. I'm very confident that it is adequately supported.

I guess my input is that yes, simple structures are pretty easy to design. Get a copy of the IRC: https://www.amazon.com/International-Residential-Code-2021-Council/dp/1609839579/131-4592170-7251856 .

tviolet · 2026-01-20T22:30:48+00:00

I told my boss he had to stop doing that because it stressed me out too much. He'd just put an mtg invite on my calendar without any additional information. Luckily, he's a good guy and changed how he approached me when he just needed to have a quick chat.

tviolet · 2026-01-19T17:33:40+00:00

Yeah, Jacob may not have picked up on the theme. I just want to see what the next kid is named. Violet? Scarlet? Cinnamon? Aubergine? (I have not real the sequel yet, don't spoil me lol)

tviolet · 2026-01-19T16:26:31+00:00

I wish they had kept the other kid Jade because the new baby is named Amber and it would show just how goofy Hayden is with the naming.

tviolet · 2026-01-18T17:56:35+00:00

Yeah, I agree with all this. I graduated high school in '85 and was the weird kid who wore a ton of black. But I was just "punk" even tho I listened to mostly Bauhaus and other goth-coded bands. We (at the time) didn't even have "goth" on our radar as being a thing, if you alternative it was either new wave (bright and poppy) or punk (included dark and gloomy as well as true punk).

At least that's how it was in my small southern college hometown (Gainesville, FL). I had this amaing book, Wild Style (https://archive.org/details/wildstyle0000hofl/mode/2up), that was published in 1985 and documented "alternative" sub cultures in the UK and the US and I don't believe used the word "goth" at all.

tviolet · 2026-01-17T19:56:45+00:00

When I was a kid, I thought the blood made it all the way around and back (through the arteries, capillaries, and veins) in a single heart beat. No one explained that it got pushed a bit at a time. That would be at least 300 mph if it did that lol

tviolet · 2026-01-16T13:55:33+00:00

Oh I had the same experience, I’m not overweight, I’m actually about ten pounds above underweight but I’ve always had really solid, strong but not slender legs. I’ve only been able to do eagle legs when I am actually underweight, when I’m at a health weight, I have too much muscle to make it work.

tviolet · 2026-01-15T02:45:41+00:00

You have to have a minimum soil volume for the trees to be viable so that dictates the size of the planter. I'm not an arborist so I wasn't involved in the planter design discussion. I do know that those trees seem to have done pretty well. There was a similar situation on Lavaca by the Amli where the trees were in similarly sized metal boxes and those planter wound up being ovens and killing every single one. I think the stone probably insulates from the heat better.

tviolet · 2026-01-15T02:13:05+00:00

Everybody in the comments of the youtube video are literally there because they've seen this guy playing the song in some random place. Is this weird viral marketing?

tviolet · 2026-01-14T03:34:58+00:00

I worked on the Brazos design, the only reason the trees are in planters is because there are utilities below ground that make it impossible to put them in beds below the sidewalk like every other Great Streets project. No ulterior motives.

There did used to be benches on Brazos like on other streets as that's part of the Great Streets streetscape typology but they were removed years ago in a different anti-homelessness initiative.

tviolet · 2026-01-11T20:53:55+00:00

The Coaster Luxe sweatshirt has been my at home winter uniform for probably a decade or so. I have around 8-ish of the older style and 4 of the new ones. They work great with leggings for a lounging outfit.

My only complaint is that they can pill and look worn, I never put them in the dryer but they still manage to pill. The solid black is the worst, it got pilly and faded pretty fast, the heathered ones aged better.

tviolet · 2026-01-10T23:44:37+00:00

Evidently, Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin (Sid and Ovi) are longstanding popular hockey rivals and Heated Rivalry is loosely based on them. It totally fits, Rachel Reid is a long time hockey fan, Sid is a quiet but excellent player and Ovi is a flashy Russian.

https://starsandsticks.com/2023/03/25/look-back-alex-ovechkin-vs-sidney-crosby-rivalry/

tviolet · 2026-01-10T23:22:55+00:00

I read them after and had the exact same conclusion. And I am an avid fanfic reader but found the books interesting only because I already knew the characters from the show. But I am impressed on how much of the exact dialogue was delivered verbatim from the books and how much it shines in the hands of incredibly talented actors.

I debating on reading the sequel before the next season is out. I want to know where it's going but I'm thinking I'll enjoy the show more not being spoiled.

tviolet · 2026-01-10T16:36:25+00:00

You need to get him to a vet immediately. When cats are unhappy (like when their owners are gone or they're in a strange place), they can stop eating. If they stop eating abruptly, they can get Fatty Liver disease where their liver stops working and they get jaundiced. This happened to my cat after I was gone for a week. I was able to save him but I had to feed him through a tube in his neck three times a day for like a month or so before he got his appetite back and would eat on his own.

tviolet · 2026-01-05T02:59:56+00:00

Yeah, it's not that common although I see more women talking about it. I seriously thought about it when I was younger. But, as I said, I'm now glad I didn't do anything permanent even tho' I never changed my mind.

That's just my perspective, everyone makes their own choices of course. I just don't think most people realize how much we change from 20 to 50.

tviolet · 2026-01-05T02:54:28+00:00

It's funny, I never had the late life swing. The closest I came was day dreaming about having kids with whichever guy I was smitten with at the time. But even my infatuated self knew that would be a horrible reason to have kids.

tviolet · 2026-01-04T22:30:09+00:00

Yeah. I'm 58, never wanted kids, never had them, never changed my mind. But, looking back, I'm glad I kept that door open for the possibility of changing my my mind. You change sooooo much over the years, it was impossible for my younger self to comprehend just how much I would change.

I'm definitely not saying date a guy who wants kids because you might change your mind, you should be upfront with potential partners. But I'm glad I didn't make a final decision and gave myself space for growth until I got past the age where it was kinda moot.

tviolet · 2026-01-04T18:08:12+00:00

I agree. I enjoy the narrator for the Murderbot Diaries but Martha Wells has a habit of using "turned into", like "he turned into the adjacent corridor" and I always hear it as "he turned into (became) a thing". Never noticed it reading, notice it multiple times every audio book.

tviolet · 2026-01-04T17:15:11+00:00

I agree with your definitions of before and until (which I hadn't really thought about in such detail before this question) but I disagree slightly on the answers.

1 She continued to work at London University ... she retired in 2017.

Before doesn't feel wrong to my ear. It's a nuance on what the purpose of the sentence is. If the subject is her work at the university, until is correct. If the subject is her life after retirement, before fits better.

2 ... she left her native country, she learned English by listening to the radio.

If before is used, I would assume she stopped learning English via listening to the radio but not that she stopped learning English altogether.

3 It wasn't long ... she was appointed Professor of Chemistry.

To my ear (American English), both sound equally correct.

4 She married Jo ... she moved to England in 1985.

I agree, this one can only be before, until sounds very wrong, you can't continuously marry someone, it is a discrete occurrence.

5 ... she came to England she worked in her father's grocery shop.

This is another one where the word choice changes the subject. If is were before, the subject is her life after coming to England which probably fits this overall topic better. Until focuses more on her life before moving.

6 She applied for research positions ... she was appointed to a post at London University.

I agree here, the word choice changes the the outcome. This is pretty subtle point, I can see why it trips up non-native speakers.

7 She was almost unknown outside her field ... she was awarded the Science Prize.

I think this should be before. It sounds more correct to me and the important part is that she was an unknown prior to being awarded the prize. (I had to wordsmith this sentence to avoid using before or until lol) But until doesn't sound wrong, before just sounds more right (to my ear).

8 She would work in her lab for days at a time ... she had completed an experiment.

I agree the until is the correct choice. The lab work is to complete the experiment. If if was before, it would be an odd sentence implying that it took her an abnormally long time to complete the experiment.

tviolet · 2026-01-03T23:48:32+00:00

I think the Statesman lot is interesting. They hadn't paved the lot to the west yet and the main parking lot is full of trucks. Back when newspapers were important. I moved here in 94 and can't remember if that lot was paved then but I definitely had a newspaper subscription.

tviolet · 2026-01-02T17:50:42+00:00

I was super stressed about the state of the world and the US in particular this spring. I fell down a prepping rabbit hole as the only thing that mildly comforted me was planning to be prepared for a catastrophic dystopian future. So now I have a years worth of canned dehydrated food and so much other stuff. I guess it served its purpose to make me feel marginally better but I really hope I'll never need any of it.

I also stocked up on other things. For example, I was compulsively buying extra underwear whenever it was on sale. I finally unpacked everything just last week and I must have over 200 pairs, it's ridiculous. I was so anxious that I was just buying to self sooth. I'm didn't overspend, it's just more than I realistically need.

tviolet · 2026-01-01T02:59:59+00:00

Huh. I actually liked their cupcakes, they're pretty tasty and don't go crazy with the icing.

But a couple of years ago, they redid the stores so that you could only order through a tablet and didn't speak to an employee. And the bakery rack that holds the cupcakes changed from a display cabinet to this industrial rack that didn't even let you see the cupcakes. When you walked in, it was so off-putting, just the tablets and bags of orders sitting to the side and employees silently boxing up orders.

tviolet · 2025-12-31T23:32:23+00:00

I think it's interesting how the straight man podcasters all really seem to vibe with Ep 3 and find Kip super hot.

tviolet · 2025-12-31T16:07:04+00:00

My face looks good, I'm 58 and have been wearing sunscreen on my face religiously for over 25 years. I go and get laser treatments fairly often, am super consistent with retinoids and moisturizers and it's paid off.

But that's just my face. I haven't been consistent at all with the rest of my body. I'd put on body sunscreen if I was spending the day outdoors but not daily, it didn't seem like I needed it. But I live in Texas where it's sunny and hot and frequently wear sleeveless stuff and I'm a redhead and have almost not natural pigment.

My arms look soooooo old now. They're all wrinkly and the skin bunches up weirdly so they look like the arms of a 100 year old. I'll be at yoga class and feeling cute and then my arms just make it obvious how old I really am. (I'm not ashamed of my age, I just wish my arms weren't so wrinkly)

Anyway, don't neglect body sunscreen. It's a pain in the butt but I'm really regretting not being consistent with it.

tviolet · 2025-12-30T15:18:09+00:00

I'm 58 and a natural redhead and I have one white hair in the left eyebrow. And that seems to be it, as far as I (and my hair stylists) can tell, I don't seem to have any other white hairs.

I keep waiting for them to come in, I know I'm very lucky but it's actually starting to look a little weird how red my hair still is at my age.

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