Originally Posted By: Guest This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
I can’t tell if the rafters were cut or they seperated from the ridge. If they seperated, then the walls weren’t tied properly at the ceiling joists. The wall spread is what caused the failure, not the ridge board. The ridge wasn’t deisgned to be structural and is probably heavy enough for the job. There’s other problems.
I see ridges 3/4 thick all the time. The only reason they're there is to have something to nail the rafter to.
That's my theory and I'm stickin to it, until the moment I find out I'm wrong. At that point I may well delete said theory in the interest of self esteem.
Originally Posted By: gbeaumont This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
hi to all.
I tend to agree with Chad although one of those rafters looks cut, but maybe I'm seeing it wrong. I bet that the ceiling joists are running the opposite way to the rafters and should have had collar ties mounted way low on the rafters.
It's either that or snow load, I know you get alot of that in your area Jeff 
Originally Posted By: jpope This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Chad is close to correct. The problem is much deeper. The foundation has failed in several places (pictures will be posted soon) and the walls have moved causing the rafters to separate from the ridge.
There is plenty of snow in this area, but not the freezing kind  . This home is in East LA
-- Jeff Pope
JPI Home Inspection Service
"At JPI, we'll help you look better"
(661) 212-0738
Originally Posted By: jpope This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Okay, here we go. This is what the foundation looked like. Much of the crawl space was less than 10" deep. So this was a difficult crawl and many of my pictures didn’t come out well.
The plaster walls of this old home also told the tale.
-- Jeff Pope
JPI Home Inspection Service
"At JPI, we'll help you look better"
(661) 212-0738
Originally Posted By: gbeaumont This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Jeff,
really the excuses that you come up with to cover up the fact that your a "deal killer" you should be ashamed   
I gotta ask what did the report say, did you recommend one brand of dozer over another ?? inqiring minds want to know
George was a speaker at our South Bay Chapter meeting earlier this year.
My report said "Recommend repairs by a state-licensed contractor specializing in repairs and retrofitting of footing and foundations." 
-- Jeff Pope
JPI Home Inspection Service
"At JPI, we'll help you look better"
(661) 212-0738
Originally Posted By: roconnor This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
gbeaumont wrote:
... should have had collar ties mounted way low on the rafters.
Shame on you Gerry ... you mean rafter ties. Collar ties are intentionally mounted up high to help keep the top of the rafters from lifting off the ridge board.
Looks to me like there are two problems ... foundation issues and no rafter ties. The collar ties up high do almost nothing to keep the rafters from spreading ... 
I would almost bet the ranch that soon after construction they started getting some sagging on the ridge line from no rafter ties, and attempted to post it down. Looks like 3 or 4 hack posts. But that 1x ridge board just doesn't work as a beam. May have also contributed to the foundation problems.
Jeff ... I am surprised you didn't call for an SE to evaluate and recommend repairs. Contractors can not perform evaluations or repair designs by state laws, and it was a framing contractor that installed that in the first place.
Just my opinion and 2-nickels (yes nickels ... LOL) ... 
-- Robert O'Connor, PE
Eagle Engineering ?
Eagle Eye Inspections ?
NACHI Education Committee
I am absolutely amazed sometimes by how much thought goes into doing things wrong
Originally Posted By: roconnor This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Jerry … I have actually seen worse that was much less expensive to jack up and shore, than demo and rebuild … thats a last resort in my book.
Had one worse than that a few weeks ago where I walked in the basement and almost immediately walked out. Lots of problems, but the kicker was a multi-ply main girder with cracked outer plies and bearing on the edge of a 2x6 crushed down about 1" ... ready to let go. Wasn't obvious until they removed some drywall for me because I smelled problems. Had them go buy 1/2 dozen tiger jacks right then to immediately shore it up. Contractors had missed that. Scary stuff and lots of problems, but repair costs are still far less than the dozer option.
The strange part was that the contractor they called in to do the shoring (pretty well known) also started installing replacement beams and posts. Turns out the framing isn't so simple and beams installed are undersized and now need reinforcement.
Homeowners and many HI's just don't get that it is much better to spend the money up front to have an SE look at things and advise what needs to be done, instead of just winging it or hoping that a contractor uses a good engineer to advise them. I can't count the number of times I get called in by a homeowner who gets prices that vary greatly and they are not sure who is right. Usually turns out that the really low guys are missing things or just dont fully understand the problems.
Just my 2-nickels as an engineer also ... 
-- Robert O'Connor, PE
Eagle Engineering ?
Eagle Eye Inspections ?
NACHI Education Committee
I am absolutely amazed sometimes by how much thought goes into doing things wrong
hmmm. I wonder what could have caused this?