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  1. #1
    Erol Kartal's Avatar
    Erol Kartal Guest

    Question Crawl Space Foundation

    Hello,

    Inspected a 30 year town home yesterday and found the front storm door and especially a first floor bath door way out of plumb. There is also minor cracking extending outward from where a first floor load bearing wall meets the ceiling.

    In the very yucky, uncondtioned crawl there were no visible signs of stem wall cracks in areas that did not have foam board insulation. There is an overspanning of the floor joists (24'' o.c.) with a horizontal span of at least 14' - No support beams OR bracing.

    I suspect (so far) that the overspanning may be the cause of the cracks where wall meets ceilng. But what about the settlement issues with the doors. I've been unable to determine the likely culprit and would appreciate your feedback. Photos attached. I already know about the rot in the joist pic which is beneath the front door.

    Thanks
    Erol Kartal

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  2. #2
    Erol Kartal's Avatar
    Erol Kartal Guest

    Default Re: Crawl Space Foundation

    Any takers before I send my report? I'm inclined to believe that the absense of load bearing beams are the problem.

    Erol Kartal


  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Charlotte NC Licensed in NC and SC
    Posts
    597

    Default Re: Crawl Space Foundation

    Erol,

    Good example of an issue that can not be evaluated from pictures alone.

    Just too many variables that requires a good on-site study which it appears you have done well.

    You just have to observe and report on these things as you see it and report the need for additional investigation.


  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Chicago
    Posts
    164

    Default Re: Crawl Space Foundation

    Quote Originally Posted by Erol Kartal View Post
    Hello,

    Inspected a 30 year town home yesterday and found the front storm door and especially a first floor bath door way out of plumb. There is also minor cracking extending outward from where a first floor load bearing wall meets the ceiling.

    In the very yucky, uncondtioned crawl there were no visible signs of stem wall cracks in areas that did not have foam board insulation. There is an overspanning of the floor joists (24'' o.c.) with a horizontal span of at least 14' - No support beams OR bracing.

    I suspect (so far) that the overspanning may be the cause of the cracks where wall meets ceilng. But what about the settlement issues with the doors. I've been unable to determine the likely culprit and would appreciate your feedback. Photos attached. I already know about the rot in the joist pic which is beneath the front door.

    Thanks
    Erol Kartal

    Hello Erol,

    Out of plumb walls are not likley related to the floor truss system. How far out of plumb?

    In your second post you referred to the door movement as settlement. The racked door in the photo looks like settlement not an out of plumb problem. Was the wall leaning or just racked?

    You indicated floor joist on 24" o.c. and a span of 14 feet. The picture shows standard metal plate connector wood trusses, not joists. 24" o.c. is common. More information would be needed to determine if they are over spanned.

    As an example, a 4x2 truss, 12" depth, 24" o.c., 40 psf, can span over 17 feet. A 3x2 can span a little over 15 feet.

    At 14' I doubt a center beam or strongback was part of the original design or is needed.

    Hope this helps a little bit.

    Sincerely,

    Corey


  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Santa Rosa, CA
    Posts
    3,154

    Default Re: Crawl Space Foundation

    While it is often helpful to cite a possible reason, there is nothing wrong with saying what you found and noting that you don't know why it is like that.

    Department of Redundancy Department
    Supreme Emperor of Hyperbole
    http://www.FullCircleInspect.com/

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Fletcher, NC
    Posts
    28,042

    Default Re: Crawl Space Foundation

    Quote Originally Posted by Gunnar Alquist View Post
    While it is often helpful to cite a possible reason, there is nothing wrong with saying what you found and noting that you don't know why it is like that.
    And calling for a "structural engineer to design appropriate repairs".

    Don't get into that 'further evaluation' thing as the structural engineer *HAS TO* "evaluate it" before designing appropriate repairs.

    Jerry Peck
    Construction/Litigation/Code Consultant - Retired
    www.AskCodeMan.com

  7. #7

    Default Re: Crawl Space Foundation

    Erol:

    Could be poor carpentry if no problem found or loose hinges?

    Rolland Pruner


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