Thread: Unprofessional/Improper Supports in Crawlspace

I inspected a home yesterday and found supports in the crawlspace that was in my opinon added by the home owner. They are not proper for sure but what surprised me (which I guess it shouldn't) is that this home was built in 2008. There is no evidence of the floors slopping/sagging or any other related problems or conditions observed inside the home. The post were not even secured with some being loose and could have been pulled out. My only question is could the builder have possibly left them and used them as temporary support? I've personally never know of any builder in this area doing that but I'm always learning and if someone knows any different please school me on it!!! As always thank you for any help or advice sent my way!!!

God Bless

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Did the main floor framing look OK as far as size and installation (spans and spacing)?

Could it be it was installed because they had a piano, or heavy furniture, or loaded china cabinets?
Were there any signs of distress inside the house?
Did they have tile floors?

I have seen added supports for all of those reasons, even when there was nothing really wrong with the original construction.

However, I have also seen construction with undersized or over spanned joists that needed additional support.

Originally Posted by Derek A Smith

I inspected a home yesterday and found supports in the crawlspace that was in my opinon added by the home owner. They are not proper for sure but what surprised me (which I guess it shouldn't) is that this home was built in 2008.

What? You think a home owner did it better than the contractor would have done it?

My only question is could the builder have possibly left them and used them as temporary support? I've personally never know of any builder in this area doing that but I'm always learning ...

Or the contractor could have left them for permanent support - I doubt the contractor would use 4x4 PT for temporary supports.

Homeowner may have complained about 'bouncy' floors, contractor said to himself/herself 'I can fix that, no problem' ... and you are looking at the 'fix'.

From what I have seen doing code inspections the last 10 years ... never underestimate the stupidity or 'Git R Done' ingenuity of contractors working with permits ... you will never stop being surprised and amazed at what they are capable of thinking up and doing.

Originally Posted by Jack Feldmann

Did the main floor framing look OK as far as size and installation (spans and spacing)?

Could it be it was installed because they had a piano, or heavy furniture, or loaded china cabinets?
Were there any signs of distress inside the house?
Did they have tile floors?

I have seen added supports for all of those reasons, even when there was nothing really wrong with the original construction.

However, I have also seen construction with undersized or over spanned joists that needed additional support.

Jack I'm not sure on the piano or heavy furniture the home is vacant. But there were no signs of distress inside the home that I observed. They did have wood and tile flooring. The construction was not undersized or over spanned....which made me wonder why it was done. Thank you Jack for the help and reply!!!!!

God Bless

- - - Updated - - -

Originally Posted by Jerry Peck

What? You think a home owner did it better than the contractor would have done it?



Or the contractor could have left them for permanent support - I doubt the contractor would use 4x4 PT for temporary supports.

Homeowner may have complained about 'bouncy' floors, contractor said to himself/herself 'I can fix that, no problem' ... and you are looking at the 'fix'.

From what I have seen doing code inspections the last 10 years ... never underestimate the stupidity or 'Git R Done' ingenuity of contractors working with permits ... you will never stop being surprised and amazed at what they are capable of thinking up and doing.

Jerry I wasn't implying that the home owner did anything better or could I just assumed they were added by the home owner and not the contractor. But I can not verify either. I agree on the 4X4 pt but wanted to just ask and see if I was missing something.

I will also agree with you on the Git R Done ingenuity of some contractors I sure have been amazed by some of the things I have seen! Thank you Jerry for the help and reply!!!

God bless

Someones answer to bouncy floors.

Over spanned or undersized floor joists.

"improper and unprofessional installation" is a standard phrase I use in my reports when I encounter stuff like this. Whether or not the floor system or walls above shows any signs of distress, settling, cracks, etc., you definitely need to include this stuff in your reports.

Pardon me, but I have a couple other questions regarding this crawl space.

First, in the third picture, shouldn't the insulation be unfaced or at least have the facing against the floor above?

Second, are all of the PVC joints glued? I don't see purple at all of the joints and it looks like three wet spots on the ground (left side of picture, on my little tablet anyway!)

Thank you. I'm still learning...