I recently purchased a home built in the early to mid 1920's. It is a 2 story with a gabled "barn style" roof. I had an engineer do an inspection prior to purchase and he discovered that the joists in the second floor ceiling (effectively the "floor" of the attic) run perpendicular to the rafters. He said the joists should be parallel to the rafters to prevent the roof from wanting to move outward under load (ie-snow). He recommended connecting a 2x6 near the bottom of each rafter pair, effectively making a triangle which would stiffen the roof and prevent movement. It doesn't appear that there have been any problems to date. Is this a major concern? Will his fix work? I don't want to have to worry about the roof, or my re-sale value.

I am finishing my basement in my home located in the North East (Upstate New York). The home is 4 1/2 years old. The basement is below grade for most of three sides and the fourth is at grade with a walkout slider. I did test for mosture and there is no problem. I have decided to use 25 ga steel studs (2*4) I will move the wall an inch or two off of the block wall The temperature has been a stable 50 in the basement The foundation is block construction. I have a few questions as I would like to do the best job possible... What insulation is really necessary, I like the tounge & groove styrofoam panals but they only provide an R Factor of 5 to 7.5 depending on thickness is that enough ? I saw postings where the panals were used and R-13 batting was also used. is that overkill ? should the batting, if used touch the styrofoam panals or should a small air space be used between the two. In using the Panals or Panals Batting combination am I correct in reading the various postings that the vapor barrier is only necessary behind the drywall ? I am also using a floating sub-floor called DRICORE a newish product from Canada its a 7/8 thick 2 * 2 tounge & groove panal made of laminated, waterproof MDF Waferboard bonded to a polyethyleen backing. The polyethlyeen backing has cleats on it so it raises the floating sub floor off of the concrete floor and creates an airspace (R5 value) under the floor and behind your walls as the walls are installed on top of the floor ( no wood touches the floor) . That said do you recommend installing the track to the floating floor or should I use a wood, 2*4 first and attach the track to this. Other than creating a nailing surface for trim do I obtain any other benefit from using a wood sole under the track ? Is there also any merrit to using a wood 2*4 at the top of the wall attached to the first floor rafters and then attach the top track to this ? I Lastly, the walls are dry, but since they are being "sealed" up would you suggest (as a preventative measure) using a waterproofing on the walls or a water sealer ? Regards, and much appreciation for your help in advance, Erik,