With regards to split faced

[William J. Decker]

And with any masonry building construction, in Chicago.

A nice little phrasing in the Chicago code:

"All masonry residential buildings shall be inspected during and after construction by the Architect or Engineer who designed them, or by a similarly qualified representative, to verify that the building was built as designed."

So, if there is a problem with a split faced, or any masonry building, it is the responsibilty or the Architect or Engineer to make sure it is done right.

NOT the code inspector, NOT the home inspector and NOT the mason.

Helps with regards to liability and the buyer / owner can get the records to see if these guys actually did the inspection.

Hope this helps;

[Bob Elliott]

Well it sure helps the Developer.
No more blaming them by the Judge as it is the architects job to be the site Inspector.
Looks like you just lost your phase construction work.

[William J. Decker]

Originally Posted by belliott

Well it sure helps the Developer.
No more blaming them by the Judge as it is the architects job to be the site Inspector.
Looks like you just lost your phase construction work.

Well, we still have plenty of work to do. Saw this, this morning. 20 year old single family, brick veneer at front and rear with split faced sides.

The ceiling of the top floor was a mess. Trusses rotted, and thermal imaging showing (and backed up by moisture meter readings) truss ends very wet, as well as the furing strips.

TYhey will have to get a structural engineer to design a fix and replace the roof, decking and trusses. Expensive. The new owner has been in the place for 3 months.

Like I said, look for structural, pancake collapses, this winter.

[George E. Russell]

Looks like the leak was in place for the full 20 years....bad stuff there!

[William J. Decker]

Originally Posted by grussell

Looks like the leak was in place for the full 20 years....bad stuff there!

Not a leak, the roof was fine.

Combination of water going through the single wythe split faced block and, in the winter, humidity going up through the can lights into this area.

[Gary Farnsworth]

Incredible. We do not make enough money. Good stuff.

[Bob Elliott]

Looks like you had to cut your way in to the attic space.
Was it vented at all?

[William J. Decker]

Originally Posted by belliott

Looks like you had to cut your way in to the attic space.
Was it vented at all?

Vented, out the side wall. Prevois owner, obviously because there was a history of water problems, had one vent removed (as shown by a miscolorer block.

It is very sad for the owner. Both the Architect and builder went out of business.

Go figure.

[William J. Decker]

As an update:

The owner called me out there, today. The contractor that the owner hired to fix it was doing the demo and replacing the trusses.

Pictures are here:

1) The old trusses, grouted into the wall pockets. No flashing and one NEVER grouts wood into masonry, especially in a single wythe wall. The fix calls for a steel ledger to support the new trusses. Bolts are through the wall.
2) The roof deck, at the front of the building (not demo'd yet) with a metal frame deck structure resting directly on the roof membrane.
3) The intersection of the brick veneer front of the house to the split block side. Please note that the air gap between the CMU and brick was grouted shut and the CMU interior spaces were not grouted, but just filled with rubble. Has anyone ever actually trained these masons?