Original Foundation, etc

[lvass]

While taking a long look at the photos I got from the crawl space. I was looking for more evidence of the ice dam from the roof, I found all these other issues. This house was built in 1933 and remodeled in 2007. Its only 500 squares. How do I write this up without killing the deal for sure. My gut tells me to have a structural engineer inspect it.

[Greg Bell]

Why are you worried about killing the deal. Just so you know the house kills the deal not the inspector.

[lvass]

Your right Greg. My friend has her heart set on this little house. I was also looking at the pictures to see where all the problems causing the floor sag in the living area and not in the kitchen area of the main room. I want to go back to the house tomorrow.

[ROBERT W. NEWLAND, JR.]

Don't ever ignore your gut.. listen!

For one thing the beam supports are all wrong, but you probably can see that.

[lvass]

I have the following on the report: "The foundation and floor joists show settling, excessive moisture and lack of adequate support, highly recommend an inspection by Structural Engineer" Does that cover it?

Thanks everyone for your help on this.

[Jeffery L. Haynes]

You would be surprise at how little you can fix structural issue for........especially interior footings and framing issues. Inspectors often wonder when should I recommend a GC over a SE.......... rule of thumb is that a GC can replace components in a like manner or that which is acceptable by code; the benefit of a GC is that they can give the client some hard numbers by which the client can use to determine if they should proceed further. An SE more often than not deals with why the component / system failed and corrective measures needed to bring it back to structural stability.....and even then a GC often has to get involved to look at the SE's report and then estimate off that.

Based upon what I have seen in the pictures I think a GC is more warranted however you can always recommend both.

regards

Jeff

[lvass]

Thanks Jeff! I'll run with that.

[Marcel R. Cyr]

Don't forget to mention it's Green attributes like CFL's.
And not to hire the same Contractor that did the upgrade remodel.

A reputalble licensed Contractor will do just fine.

[Joe Funderburk, CMI]

Originally Posted by jhaynes

You would be surprise at how little you can fix structural issue for........especially interior footings and framing issues. Inspectors often wonder when should I recommend a GC over a SE.......... rule of thumb is that a GC can replace components in a like manner or that which is acceptable by code; the benefit of a GC is that they can give the client some hard numbers by which the client can use to determine if they should proceed further. An SE more often than not deals with why the component / system failed and corrective measures needed to bring it back to structural stability.....and even then a GC often has to get involved to look at the SE's report and then estimate off that.

Based upon what I have seen in the pictures I think a GC is more warranted however you can always recommend both.

regards

Jeff

And I would throw in a "foundation specialist" as an option in addition to a GC. Many companies specialize in this type of work, and some have SEs on staff. Most, also, give free estimates.

I'm with Jeff. An SE in this case is probably a waste of money. There is nothing to engineer (i.e, figure out or design).

[Jeffery L. Haynes]

Originally Posted by mcyr

Don't forget to mention it's Green attributes like CFL's.
And not to hire the same Contractor that did the upgrade remodel.

A reputalble licensed Contractor will do just fine.

Only if its a government project should you recommend using the same incompetent people........

[lvass]

Thanks for taking the sting out this report. I'd like to know who did the remodel so I know to stay away from them myself. You guys have been awesome. Thanks