Honestly, old houses are a whole different animal. I’ve seen floor joists that just stop mid-span, or a random post in the basement that looks like someone’s afterthought. Here’s how I usually tackle it: first, I try to figure out where the main loads are coming from—usually the roof or upper floors. Then I look for direct paths down to the foundation. If something doesn’t line up, I start poking around for old repairs or modifications. Sometimes you’ll find an old wall that was removed and nobody bothered to redistribute the load properly.
One thing I’ve learned—never assume anything in a house built before, say, 1950. Plans? Maybe. Execution? Depends on who was swinging the hammer that day. It’s not always logical, but if you take it step by step and double-check what’s actually carrying weight, you can usually piece it together. And yeah, sometimes you just have to scratch your head and wonder what they were thinking...
I get where you’re coming from, but I think sometimes folks overcomplicate it with old houses. Sure, there are weird surprises, but the basics of load paths don’t really change—gravity’s still gravity, even if the framing’s odd. I’ve found that tracing from the foundation up can actually be clearer than starting at the roof. You spot those “afterthought” posts and can usually tell what they’re trying to support (or not). It’s messy, but not impossible if you keep a level head and don’t get distracted by every oddball fix someone made along the way...
I usually start tracing from the top down, but you make a good point about following it up from the foundation instead. Last time I did a kitchen reno in an 1890s place, there were two random posts in the basement that didn’t seem to line up with anything above. Ever run into mystery supports like that and just wonder what someone was thinking?
Yeah, those mystery posts are wild. I swear, every old house has at least one spot where you just scratch your head and wonder if someone lost a bet during construction. I’ve seen supports that don’t line up with anything, or beams that seem to just end in midair. Sometimes I think they just added stuff whenever something sagged, no real plan. It definitely makes tracing the load path a bit of a puzzle—sometimes I have to remind myself not everything in these old places is logical by today’s standards.
I’ve had to design around those oddball supports more times than I care to admit. Sometimes you open up a wall and there’s a beam just... floating, no rhyme or reason. Makes planning built-ins tricky. I’ve learned not to assume anything’s actually carrying weight unless I see proof.
