There are cracks in my walls.

[John Harrison]

Client:
We noticed recent cracks in our dining room wall. What do you think it is from?



Response:
I think it is from the modifications you did in your basement.

[Bob Elliott]

John that beam looks like it was cut at least 50 years ago when they added the waste stack.
Yes I see the fresh 2x4's but did they simply attempt a repair to that beam after the recent cracking ?

[John Harrison]

they said that they added the 2x4 a few months back.
On the left side of that is a bath tub.

[Randy L. Mayo, PE]

John

What is the location of the cracked wall in relation to the cut joist?

[Dan Bowers, CMI]

Randy -

If you'll notice carefully in the photos, those severed beams / joists are fully supported by at least 6"-7" of structural air.

That always seems to fly with the builders or code guys in KC.

Met a guy in KC at Joe Ferry's seminar 2-3 weeks ago from your area. Real tall, real deep, loud voice. Said he was the only inspector down that way and for the life of me I could not remember your name. I believe he said he was a code inspector around Rolla.

[Randy L. Mayo, PE]

Dan

That inspector was Mike Gyovai and in his world he might think he is the only inspector, thats about all I have to say about that.

Back to my question.. I assumed the cut joist was directly under the cracked wall but I see the joist is cut for the toilet and wanted to make sure the dining room wall was adjacent to the bathroom.

[ldapkus]

Sometimes those joists get in the way of progress.

[John Harrison]

Originally Posted by rmayo

John

What is the location of the cracked wall in relation to the cut joist?

This joist runs under the dining room wall within a foot of the edge of the doorway that is showing the cracks.
Dining room wall is a supporting wall.

[Randy L. Mayo, PE]

John

Then I would say the cut floor joist has compromised the ability of the floor joist system to support that wall. It is not uncommon for the effects of a cut joist or construction errors to show up months or years later. Many factors play into this equation; the size of the wall load; the duration of the load; the stiffness of the wall. A 2x4 stud wall with drywall attached acts like a beam itself and is capable of carrying some load. Think of that door opening as a weak point in that beam which concentrates stress in the corner of the door opening. Another common cause for delayed effects from a cut joist is a change in use of a building or room. For example the previous owner seldom used the dining room and produced very little loads on the floor. The new owner put his grand piano in that room which would have overstressed the floor joist even if it had not been cut.