Cantilevered girder

Specific Inspection Topics Structural Inspections
#1

I inspected a home today that was built in 1993 and was put together fairly well, but I did run in to this odd structural situation.

This girder cantilevers about 3’ past the pier and sits over a masonry fireplace. I am unsure if this was an oversight when built, but it appears someone noticed and tried to fix by applying some more blocks then gave up. The piers are placed every 6 feet.
I have noted it in my inspection with a recommendation for it to be fixed professionally, however I wanted another opinion. Would you recommend this to be repaired?

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#2

Hi. Kenny, Those appear to be engineered joist full span, is it possible they just added the beam to elliminate the bounce?

Also, what’s up with the dry stack block work at the end of the beam.

Something just don’t look right. :slight_smile:

#3

I noticed the dry stacked block too, Marcel but I don’t see I-joists as you do.

Kenney, the cantilever looks excessive to me. But if there was no sag or other visible problem, I would probably just recommend repairs as needed to maintain structural integrity of floor system at cantilevered beam area…no harm, no foul…and it let’s the professional decide what is needed when he sees it up close.

#4

I should have put my glasses on I guess. :mrgreen:

I blew it up and they are regular joist, what fooled me was the one to the outside where it looked like a wider and maybe I-joist.
They still look full span.

Refer to Architect, Licensed Contractor, plans and write hard. :slight_smile:

#5

Yes, the piled up cinder blocks were a surprise to me. The masonry is the foundation for a raised hearth/masonry fireplace. My guess is that the fireplace came after the floor framing? I have seen the cart get before the horse before on jobsites. Thanks for the input. I explained that there was no sag in the floor where the framed floor meets the masonry hearth, and that given that 16 years had presumably passed since this mistake was made, it could be a good while (if ever) that a sag should appear. But any mistake structurally is worth noting, and the client agreed.

#6

I have yet to see a girder cantilevered over a foundation wall…it just doesn’t happen.
Considering the proximity of the pier to the foundation wall it looks like they simply failed to to make a support pocket in the foundation wall itself and as a result added the additional blocking (which I suspect now does not have a proper footer under same) in order to carry the load above.

All loads have to be account for…you have floor trusses 24 inches on center which means you have a 48 inch cantilever…I’ve been building for 30 years and I have yet to see such an animal…24 inches is pretty much the most you will find without an engineer stamp.

I would write it up…

#7

I would be happy to do a quick calculation, if only I knew what the girder is supporting. It’s entirely possible that the girder is adequate for that cantilever, and it’s also possible that the fireplace was built after the fact, and that someone just hacked off the end of the girder and created that cantilever, and it’s not adequate. What saves people such as that is that one seldom achieves the full design live load on the floor above, which is probably 40 PSF. I see another girder beyond in the picture, and that one appears to extend to the right beyond the end of the girder in question.

I would be suspicious, also. It’s rare that anyone would design such a thing when the foundation wall is inches away to support the end of the girder. The girder appears to be something like a 3x10 or maybe 4x10 or 4x12. With normal center-of-house loads, I don’t think I would ever design such a thing, and that’s not a really hefty member. Suggestions that a qualified design professional look at it and evaluate it are right on the money for this issue.

#8

Kenney

It appears to me the girder may have extended at one time to the foundation wall and at a later date the girder was cut to install the fireplace. Was there additional evidence such as floor joist cut to accommodate the fire place?