Newb doing some practice runs

**Aaron Scheuerer** · 05-12-2016, 06:38 PM

So I inspected my buddy's house and found this beam flaking away. How serious is this? The beam seamed stable and it was just the one but I've never seen so much rust

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**Claude Lawrenson** · 05-13-2016, 05:13 AM

Based on what can see in the photos - there appears to be a high moisture content in this location. Possibly by water seepage/or penetration and/or possibly high humidity.

I look forward to seeing other comments to help our newb.

Cheers......

**Garry Sorrells** · 05-13-2016, 05:14 AM

No major concern if you are tearing the house down (razing).

Else it appears to be a supporting structural members and should be addressed. Addressed on two levels, one being why is it rusting and the other what is it supporting.

I beams are rated by their design and material thickness. As the material rusts away the load capacity decreases.

**Aaron Scheuerer** · 05-13-2016, 10:09 AM

thanks guys! Its much appreciated!

**Jerry Peck** · 05-13-2016, 01:07 PM

Do you have a close up photo of that beam?

From what I see ... don't see ... is the web in between the top and bottom flanges - looks like it is already gone ... what is that whitish/brownish color thing with the dark dots?

What is the web of that beam (did you poke it and get 'hands on' to it)?

**Raymond Wand** · 05-13-2016, 02:33 PM

The bigger picture shows there is much more going on than just a rusted i-beam. Big water entry problems, mould substance on ceiling, rotted rim joist (upper right). Old house, bad grading, stone rubble foundation, wood column likely rotted at bottom, leaky basement, either dirt floor, or heaved concrete.

**Aaron Scheuerer** · 05-14-2016, 09:49 AM

Originally Posted by Jerry Peck

Do you have a close up photo of that beam?

From what I see ... don't see ... is the web in between the top and bottom flanges - looks like it is already gone ... what is that whitish/brownish color thing with the dark dots?

What is the web of that beam (did you poke it and get 'hands on' to it)?

The thing with the spots on it is the center of the I beam itself. these are the closest pics I got. Ill def get closer next time. The bottom of the I beam flaked away when i poke it with the screwdriver but the center of it was sturdy with no flaking.

**Markus Keller** · 05-15-2016, 11:19 AM

You buddy needs to get his poor water management or leaking issues under control as quickly as possible. Looks like a typical U channel type steel beam bolted to the wall to support the joists. That situation won't be a problem until its too late. There will be a lack of support at some point if your buddy doesn't deal with the issues and he'll be screwed.
Based on what it looks like the beam already needs replacement.

**Mark Reinmiller** · 05-15-2016, 12:35 PM

A suggestion, not being picky, work on taking better photos. On structural issues and many other issues it is good to have an overall photo, like you do, and closeups. A little closer would help. Also, it seems like the photos are blurry or very low resolution. Many home inspectors take photos with too low a resolution. I may be picky about this because I am a structural engineer and often get send home inspection reports. I like to get an idea as to whether something really needs to be looked at by an engineer. Sometimes I have no idea based on the wording or the photos.

**Jerry Peck** · 05-15-2016, 02:14 PM

Originally Posted by Mark Reinmiller

A suggestion, not being picky, work on taking better photos. On structural issues and many other issues it is good to have an overall photo, like you do, and closeups. A little closer would help. Also, it seems like the photos are blurry or very low resolution. Many home inspectors take photos with too low a resolution. I may be picky about this because I am a structural engineer and often get send home inspection reports. I like to get an idea as to whether something really needs to be looked at by an engineer. Sometimes I have no idea based on the wording or the photos.

Mark,

Not being picky, but it's not the resolution ... it's the focus.

A 640 x 480 resolution photo (remember those days) provides a very good photo when viewed on a computer screen. The mega pixel photos only help when viewed on very large screens or when blown up in size for poster printing.

See the 640 x 480 photo below - it's the focus, not the resolution ... (and lighting/flash as necessary) ... the photo below was taken over 15 years ago with what was then the standard format of 640 x 480 resolution.

**ROBERT YOUNG** · 05-15-2016, 05:02 PM

It appears the foundation is wicking water up.
Efflorescence all over the concrete.
Suspect perimeter drainage.

No capillary break between the materials.
The steel H beam has oxidized.

Building science 101.

**ROBERT YOUNG** · 05-15-2016, 06:19 PM

Originally Posted by Markus Keller

Looks like a typical U channel type steel beam bolted to the wall to support the joists.

Never seen that type of wall support.
Any articles would be appreciated.

**Gunnar Alquist** · 05-16-2016, 07:22 PM

Three problems (in my opinion) with taking high resolution pics.

1) Size of report. Some reports will resize the photo and others will not. As a result, the report may end up too large to email to some folks who have restrictions on their email.

2) Storage of reports and pics. Large format pics take up a lot of space. If an inspector is taking 100+/- pics per report and doing 7-10 inspections per week, that can end up with well over 100,000 pics per year.

3) Large pics can be zoomed-in on. That can be an advantage or disadvantage, if the inspector is not paying attention to the background.

**Aaron Scheuerer** · 05-16-2016, 07:46 PM

Originally Posted by Mark Reinmiller

A suggestion, not being picky, work on taking better photos. On structural issues and many other issues it is good to have an overall photo, like you do, and closeups. A little closer would help. Also, it seems like the photos are blurry or very low resolution. Many home inspectors take photos with too low a resolution. I may be picky about this because I am a structural engineer and often get send home inspection reports. I like to get an idea as to whether something really needs to be looked at by an engineer. Sometimes I have no idea based on the wording or the photos.

good advice thank you very much and Ill look into the problem

- - - Updated - - -

Originally Posted by Jerry Peck

Mark,

Not being picky, but it's not the resolution ... it's the focus.

A 640 x 480 resolution photo (remember those days) provides a very good photo when viewed on a computer screen. The mega pixel photos only help when viewed on very large screens or when blown up in size for poster printing.

See the 640 x 480 photo below - it's the focus, not the resolution ... (and lighting/flash as necessary) ... the photo below was taken over 15 years ago with what was then the standard format of 640 x 480 resolution.

thanks Ill look into the issues

**ROBERT YOUNG** · 05-17-2016, 05:31 AM

Originally Posted by Gunnar Alquist

Three problems (in my opinion) with taking high resolution pics.

1) Size of report. Some reports will resize the photo and others will not. As a result, the report may end up too large to email to some folks who have restrictions on their email.

2) Storage of reports and pics. Large format pics take up a lot of space. If an inspector is taking 100+/- pics per report and doing 7-10 inspections per week, that can end up with well over 100,000 pics per year.

3) Large pics can be zoomed-in on. That can be an advantage or disadvantage, if the inspector is not paying attention to the background.

Gunner, I think the idea is focus and lighting. As Jerry said, A 640 x 480 resolution photo (remember those days) provides a very good photo when viewed on a computer screen. The mega pixel photos only help when viewed on very large screens or when blown up in size for poster printing.

1: High resolution point and shoot cameras point images can be compressed.
A report deals with defect narratives. Images are utilized to point out the defect or deficiency.

2: As for storage. I as well as many other home inspectors, and photographers, store images on a separate hard drive. I use a 3 terabyte disk platte on a sata connection. The drive can be hooked up via USB, SATA, eSATA, or cloud based.
I also have 1.5 terabytes SSD in my PC and transfer images seamlessly to any drive I wish.

3: Taking images from several angles and distances will allow flexibility when editing. Focus and lighting allow a good clean noiseless image to start from.