sloppy foundation pour?

[Cristy Sali]

Hi,

First. Thanks to all of you that volunteer your time to respond to posts by people seeking help. Like me!

I know nothing about foundations or how to add pictures to this board so apologize if I messed it up.

But anyway. I am adding a 1 story addition that we want built to support 2 stories some day. The foundation plans are show in the image and based on the plans the part of the foundation wall that extends up seems to be spec'd at 4.75 to 5" but my contractor poured it and it is completely random and is from 4.5 to under 4in wide. It averages under 4.25". My contractor says it doesn't matter. But I want another opinion. Can someone take a look and give me your thoughts. Seems like really sloppy work to me and I don't want foundation problems in the future.

[Cristy Sali]

Okay the picture didn't work. It basically looks like this.. Except I have a 10in wall and 12/36 footing I think. The contractor told me the foundation wall that the 2x6s wall plate rests on is non-load bearing so it doesn't matter that it is under 4in wide in some places. The ledge that the joist rests on also drop 1" from the end of the wall to the corner. Just seems like sloppy work but is it structurally okay? And is he correct that this 4" wide wall that the 2x6 plate rests on is not load bearing?

[Joseph W. Keresztury]

Christy, the images are not showing up. Email them to me and I don't mind checking them out. joeksatx@gmail.com

[Randy L. Mayo, PE]

Cristy

All parts of that concrete foundation wall are load bearing. And if the upper part is not uniformly the same height above the lower part I would question the quality of the concrete workmanship. If the quality of his concrete work is sloppy you can reasonably expect all his work will be the same. I have discovered long ago the owner of a construction company sets the quality of all work he or his employees produce. An owner with high quality standards will not employ or keep anyone that produces less than the level of quality the owner has established as his minimum. Do you have a contract and was it provided by the contractor? if so, most likely it does not contain quality standards. Last but not least you can always fire the contractor and hire another.

[Cristy Sali]

Hi,

The upper part is about 1.5" higher than the lower part from the side to the corner. This is only about 10ft. It appears the lower part is completely unlevel but it could be a combination of both being unlevel. Also the width of the upper wall is completely random and goes from 4.5 to 4 to under 4 to 4.25 to whatever. They have assured me that it doesn't matter but it just seems sloppy.

Maybe I should call someone else in for another opinion. Should I call a structural engineer or someone from the city building department?

Regards,
Rob