Wall not on foundation?

[Joshua L. Frederick]

This wall was about 3-4 inches away from the foundation block, along the entire length of this room (about 10'). There were some blocks, right in the middle of this span, that had shifted inward approx 2". The rest of the wall appeared to be plumb. Now, this gap, between bottom wall stud and the foundation was consistent along the whole span. Any opinions on why or WTH would be appreciated. I already reported on it, I'm just a bit curious on this whole scenario.

Thanks, hope you all had a safe & happy 4th. I had to work, go figure.

[Marcel R. Cyr]

Joshua, in the first picture, what is that block vertical joint that appears black? Is that an open joint?

Second picture, the wall definately is bulging in and the wall is parallel to the floor framing, is that correct.?

Third picture, is the lumber on the left a band joist and is the dirt I see, the exterior backfill of the wall?
Maybe I can help if you answer these questions.

[Joshua L. Frederick]

Yes & yes. I had to reach over the block to snap the pic. From the outside you could stick your hand through this gap, that was consistent along the span. Kinda like it was meant to be, in a way.

[Marcel R. Cyr]

Originally Posted by jfrederick

Yes & yes. I had to reach over the block to snap the pic. From the outside you could stick your hand through this gap, that was consistent along the span. Kinda like it was meant to be, in a way.

Well for one thing, if the vertical joints are hollow like that it must provide for water intrusion and weaking of the wall in general.

The other thing I see is the blocks are all hollow and no sill plate anchored to the block nor the band joist that I can see.
No visible sing of achor bolts nor dura-wall reinforcement in the second photo that is visible to me.

Due to the unbalanced fill on the outside, it is critical for block walls to be anchored to the floor system that acts as a diaphram and holds the top of the wall.

The details below should help explain what I am trying to convey here;

http://www.waybuilder.net/sweethaven....asp?iNum=0801

Framing of the structure begins after completion of the foundation. The lowest member of the frame structure resting on the foundation is the sill plate, often called the mud sill. This sill provides a roiling base for joists or studs resting directly over the foundation. Work in this area is critical as it is the real point of departure for actual building activities.
LAYOUT
The box sill is usually used in platform construction. It consists of a sill plate and header joist anchored to the foundation wall. Floor joists are supported and held in position by the box sill (fig. 1-1). Insulation material and metal termite shields are placed under the sill if desired or when specified. Sills are usually single, but double sills are sometimes used.

Figure 1-1.—Box-sill assembly.
Following construction of the foundation wall, the sill is normally the first member laid out. The edge of the sill is setback from the outside face of the foundation a distance equal to the thickness of the exterior sheathing. When laying out sills, remember the comers should be halved together, but are often butted or mitered. If splicing is necessary to obtain required length, you should halve the splice joint at least 2 feet and bolt together.


Once the required length has been determined, the next step is to lay out the locations of the anchor bolt holes. Use the following steps:

1. Establish the building line points at each of the corners of the foundation.
2. Pull a chalk line at these established points and snap a line for the location of the sill.
3. Square the ends of the sill stock, (Stock received at jobsites is not necessarily squared at both ends.)
4. Place the sill on edge and mark the locations of the anchor bolts.
5. Extend these marks with a square across the width of the sill. The distance X in figure 1-2 shows how far from the edge of the sill to bore the holes; that is, X equals the thickness of the exterior sheathing.

Figure 1-2.—Anchor bolt layout.
After all the holes are marked, bore the holes. Each should be about 1/4 inch larger than the diameter of the bolts to allow some adjustment for slight inaccuracies in the layout. As each section is bored, position that section over the bolts.
When all sill sections are fitted, remove them from the anchor bolts. Install sill sealer (insulation) as shown in figure 1-3. The insulation compresses, filling the irregularities in the foundation. It also stops drafts and reduces heat loss. Also install a termite shield (fig. 1-4) if specified. A termite shield should be at least 26-gauge aluminum, copper, or galvanized sheet metal. The outer edges should be slightly bent down. Replace the sills and install the washers and nuts. As the nuts are tightened, make sure the sills are properly aligned. Also, check the distance from the edge of the foundation wall. The sill must be level and straight. Low spots can be shimmied with wooden wedges, but it is better to use grout or mortar.

Figure 1-3.—Installing sill sealer.

Figure 1-4.—Installing termite shields.
FASTENING TO FOUNDATION WALLS
Wood sills are fastened to masonry walls by 1/2-inch anchor bolts. These bolts, also known as j-bolts because of their shape, should be embedded 15 inches or more into the wall in unreinforced concrete (fig. 1-5, view A) and a minimum of 7 inches into reinforced concrete (view B). The length of the anchor bolt is found in the specifications; the spacing and location of the bolts are shown on the drawings. If this information is not available, anchor bolt spacing should not exceed 6 feet on center (OC). Also, a bolt must be placed within 1 foot of the ends of each piece (as shown in fig. 1-6).

Figure 1-5.—Methods of sill fastening to foundations.

Hope some of this information helps you a bit.

[Greg Bell]

The house I inspected Saturday had a room addition with block walls on a 3 1/2 inch slab. It appeared that they took the old screened porch and made it into a room. It had sunk about a 1/2 inch. They also had a fireplace on the second floor that vented into the living area. The fire place had burn marks on it, so it must have been used. It was with out a doubt the worst home I have ever inspected. To top it off it was a 3600 sq ft house in a neighborhood of 1500 sq ft houses. I have a feeling that the only future for this house is a wrecking ball. The buyer thought he was getting a great deal since it was a 3600 sq ft house for $65000.

[John C. Boujaoude, PE]

Too much lateral pressure behind the foundation wall, could be high water table.....call for an SE to evaluate.

[Jeffery L. Haynes]

It appears that pic 1 shows negative grade....looking through the foundation vents.
which is further validated by the way insulation is hanging down.......as if condensation collects on the fiberglass strands pulling same down.......pic 3 does indeed show lateral pressure being exerted upon the wall as is evident how the wall is bowing yet while at the same time the upper top block on the last course is closer to the bandjoist.
Also looks like mulch is up against the block wall.....again indicating negative grade.

Was this an addition to the house or simply a builder (or owner built it) doing crappy work?


I did an estimate on a home recently where a broker went into contract to purchase a home.......she and her husband thought they were getting a great fixer upper.....needless to say it was a lemon.............they are not to happy with their home inspector who missed some serious issues.


I am getting ready to do an inspection this morning on a foreclosure.......up front the buyers have already informed more of over $8000.00 of structural repairs needed......... since the home is close by I stopped by last week just to do a quick walk around and I can see it will need more than that.........I think its going to be a long day.

regards

Jeff