I have never built a porch before, but I understand the concept. These piers are under a 12x6 porch concrete with brick veneer steps. I did not see any signs of cracking or movement in the brick or the foundation. The home owner says this is how they were installed when home was built 2008 and they were not added later. These piers are just for added support correct? They are out of plumb and shimmed very poorly, but the porch is not in jeopardy if these aren’t fully supporting correct?
My report says “Concrete pillars were out of plumb and was shimmed to fit. There is no evidence of movement or structural deficiencies due to this. Evaluation and repairs as needed is recommended by a qualified mason as desired.”
I think the homeowner talked you into accepting this.
Those piers appear to be load bearing and are improper. Block orientation is wrong etc. Then you have some pan rust and corrosion. Sagging rebar and a lot of moisture along the upper perimeter. Is that sill plate wood or metal? It is saturated or rusted.
Not for you to decide what is load bearing, but they are likely there for a reason. IMO, call it out.
They could have been placed there for temporary support when the concrete was being poured. @mdurante for another opinion. Oh, did you check the sill for rot? As brian said, it looks saturated.
Ya, no rot. I was thinking they were installation supports as well. Its not a question I should be answering, but I just wanted to know for future if this is a typical build for a concrete porch. I did not see any evidence of any type of settlement or shifting at all at the porch. The stairs and brick veneer had typical spalling and that is the moisture you see on the porch foundation, but other than that all looked good. I guess I can only report on what I see.
Thanks Brian. I did take what he said as the truth, but only because he ended it with “It’s not how I would’ve done it, but I noticed that as well” Either way, I reported on what I saw and explained to the client they can seek a more professional opinion on those piers. I took them as installation supports, but its hard to say.
I agree. Thanks for your time. I was trying to make it an informational statement because I thought they were for the construction of the porch only, but I needed to just report what I saw and make it known those are not properly done.
I am curious to see what is above this. At least in my parts, this is not typical construction technique for anything that I am aware of. Have any more pics?
Who ever did the work clearly didn’t know what they were doing. First off, you don’t use rebar as a support structure under the decking, which @bcawhern1 Yes it is running the wrong direction. It should have been turned 90 degrees. Even #7 or #8 bar like what is there will bend under the weight of the slab above, and obviously it did. Those CMU piers were used as shoring for the decking and never removed and probably aren’t doing much of anything anymore. Since you have no idea what kind of internal reinforcement is within the slab, and there’s no obvious evidence of failure, note what you see and move on.
If this was done correctly, any bracing put in under the decking to support it would have looked more like wall framing with wood or steel studs and vertical supports would have been removed once the slab had fully set and reached at least 75% strength.
Many homes around here have front porches like this. Some crawl space depth, others full basement depth. They use them as safety rooms or storm shelters, and some are just for “cold” storage as the spaces are not heated.
I agree. (I’m in the same neck-o-the-woods as Ryan), and IMO, that’s just CRAPOLA!!!
(To start with)… That rebar does nothing unless embedded in the concrete!!
The last time I checked the reinforcement should be in the concrete not underneath. IMO who ever built that should win a prize for showing everyone on this message board how not to pour a porch slab.
Nikki.
Crawlspace.
Moisture/water migration between CMU bed, butt and head mortar joints, and corrugated sheet steel panels.
Bar Steel corrosion.
Water integration staining between corrugated panel seams.
No vapour barrier.
No ventilation.
Refer to a licensed general contractor for further evaluation and repairs immediately.
