Originally Posted By: tutley This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
This house had concrete floors. On the outside of one bathroom, a 2" ABS drain pipe is imbedded in the stem wall. Obviously poor planning on someone’s part. Is this a structural issue? If not, is there another concern for this abnormality?
Originally Posted By: ccoombs This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
If Murphy’s Law is on track I’m sure it falls in the middle of a short shear wall!
Joking aside, this probably isn't an issue structurally. Looking for other signs of structural issues in the area is about all you can do without reviewing a set of plans.
These things make me nervous more for what is happening in the walls and at the top plates than at the foundation level.
Originally Posted By: jpeck This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
tutley wrote:
Is this a structural issue?
Could be, yes.
How thick is the wall? Poured concrete, 6" thick?
2" pipe is about 2 1/2" outside diameter, that would only leave about 3 1/2" of concrete.
Where is the steel? Should there be any steel running across there? If yes, each piece of steel needs to have at least 1/2" clearance or greater (need to allow for the largest size of aggregate to get by the steel) on each side. That means each #5 needs 1 5/8" minimum. Plus, the outside bar needs to have 1 1/2" concrete cover, which adds 1" to the total. That means two #5s need 3 1/4", plus 1" extra clearance for concrete cover, for a minimum of 4 /14". And the wall is only 3 1/2" thick.
Okay, we will even allow for the 1/2" clearance of two adjacent bars to overlap, that reduces the minimum width to 3 3/4", but the wall is still only 3 1/2". Of course, I have been allowing the pipe to replace the other 1 1/2" of concrete cover, and it does not, so we need to add that extra 1" (already had the 1/2" in there), making the minimum required width of 4 3/4".
IF there is steel in there (anywhere the pipe goes up), there is going to be a problem if 2-#5s are in there, you might make it with one #5.
Originally Posted By: ccoombs This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Jerry
Very good point if it was a raised stem wall. Based on the post I assumed it was a slab-on-grade and there should be plenty of room for steel in the footings if this is the case.
