Can someone explain to me what undermining is and show me some pictures. I think I ran into it today but I can’t be sure. Ill post some photos soon
underminingpresent participle of un·der·mine (Verb)
Verb:
- Erode the base or foundation of (a rock formation).
- Dig or excavate beneath (a building or fortification) so as to make it collapse.
Wow thats the guy from all the videos. Thanks for the link man. I am still unsure if what I saw was undermining. There was no footing where the soil had errodede from under the Crawlspace wall. I’ll post pics in a but
Was it a crawlspace between the house basement and the attached garage?
If so, often a lintel is used to span from wall footing to crawl footing and bearing under the middle of the lintel is not needed.
Not exactly what I was looking for but here’ the idea:
That’s pretty much exactly what it looked like. You are da man! Thank you so much
Juan,
If the concrete or blocks are reinforced properly you can effectively span an open area without a footing. You may need a little more information before calling that out as a defect.
I did not call out it out as a defect. I was waiting for responses from here and after what Larry has said and shown me I know its not a defect.
The reason this can be done Juan is because in masonry the lintel only has to effectively support a triangle shaped section directly above it. The rest of the weight will be transferred to the sides.
I can appreciate what Randy is saying however if based upon YOUR knowledge and experience, you are not sure what you are looking at AND/OR can not give a knowledgeable opinion as to condition then you should call it out…not saying its a defect but simply that further investigation is warranted by a structural engineer or licensed general contractor. One of the most important parts of the business is managing one’s liability.
You can pretty much state what Randy has told you…that with proper use of Concrete Lintels and/or reinforced blocks this may be acceptable however you can not determine if the concrete lintel and/or blocking was properly reinforced, further evaluation may be warranted…blah, blah, blah.
regards
Jeff