Was wondering if I could get an honest opinion. We recently moved into a new construction home and had an SE evaluate the foundation. We don’t have any cracks right now but were concerned with beam placement. The SE looked over the foundation but said he wasn’t concerned about the beams, more so about the walls and the walls bowing in. What I found weird from our conversation and visit is that the SE walked in, looked at the foundation, I sent him the drawings via email, he went to his car and then came back and gave an assessment. He didn’t walk the perimeter and at least from what he told me, it seemed like he thought the higher ceiling walls in the basement were below soil grade but if you walk the house, the entire house is at least 6 inches above. I know it’s hard but looking at the video and drawings of foundation, should I be concerned? It is a two story house and land goes downhill around the home.
What exactly prompted you to have an SE “evaluate the foundation”? From my experience, there is always a long narrative of information that is left out of the initial post/question seeking help.
If you want help, I suggest you start over with ALL the information, whether you think it’s relevant or not. .
Have a good day!
Agreed, much more information is necessary. For example, why are you concerned about beam placement, why’d you hire an SE, are the walls bowing in? etc.
No bowing in on the walls. And no signs of cracks. The wall concerns came from SE.
Hi Jeffery, sorry I should’ve been clearer. What prompted us to call an SE was the placement of the beams. The house originally was going to have the beams placed in pockets but instead they revised and placed the beams on top of the concrete. I attached the images here. They tried to patch where the pockets were after the fact. The SE took measurements on the length of concrete the beams are sitting on.
What is 6" above? Obviously, not the entire house because it is on a basement. Is the top of the concrete foundation wall 6" above grade? If so, that is a good thing.
Sloping away from the house? If it does, then that is a good thing.
Need more photos. Did they patch the pocket and then lay the beam atop the patch. I would be concerned with that. That pocket patch would have to have some reinforcement tying it back into the concrete foundation.
Which walls? Concrete foundation walls? Wood walls? Are they bowing or bulging? Are they cracking?
I think you made a good decision to get and SE, but did you make a good decision on which SE? 
That doesn’t look good. You may want to get a second opinion.
It looks like a failed attempt at cutting in a pocket, so they put the beam on top of the wall to cover their ass. Well, you have more headroom in your basement. That’s a good thing.
We actually had a basement waterproof sealing company come by, they recommended additional steel pole support near where the beams sit on the concrete.
Thanks for the reply, yes the top of the foundation wall is 6 inches above soil grade. If you walk the perimeter of the house, there is six inches of the foundation wall exposed all around the perimeter. The land slopes away from the home, it’s a lookout basement.
As for the SE, I didn’t know where to start since you can’t simply google a good SE to inspect. Wish I knew one that came recommended.
That’s a great recommendation. Contact a reputable competent contractor to make the repair.
I agree that’s what I figured. It passed inspection but just doesn’t look right to me. The basement repair company we reached out to advised to placing steel beam support posts nearby to this section to give some additional support.
That sounds like a reasonable cure and will be cost effective. I would bite the bullet and get a second SE opinion for verification.
That’s what I would do if were my own house. But for a client I would throw the liability at someone else.
This might be a dumb question but when adding additional steel support, is there any concern with disrupting the foundation floor by adding these posts? I will more than likely reach out to a second SE and bring up the posts as a solution that was advised.
A proper footing needs to be placed for the posts, so yes, the slab needs to be cut to accommodate for this to happen. There are also other considerations other than just ‘installing’ a post, such as proper attachment of the post to the footing/slab and the beam. Most importantly, (after the footing), is that a “permanent” metal post is used and NOT a “temporary” metal post which is way too common with cheap contractors!! Be sure your SE drafts the actual prescription for correction that the contractor needs to work to.
All this guess work… smells very fishy! get a SE with a brain and experience to assess correctly and recommend necessary repair, if needed. Just because someone is a SE does not mean much. They could be good, they could also suck or simply not care.
The top of that wall can be repaired.
Agree with @jjonas on this.
If you are not finding any SE or Foundation Contractors through the internet, I would go to lumber yards in your area that are not the big box stores, ask them if they would recommend any SE or Foundation Contractors.
Would you say it’s necessary to contact an SE or just someone like the company below