The article I chose is Soil and Settlement. This article describe the different composition and make up of soils and how this affect a home. The article elaborates on which soils are better for foundations. More dense and compacted soils are better for foundations. The article also elaborates on compacting and disturbed soil.
Inspecting the retaining wall for the basement step stairwell, we found that the inside of the masonry wall had been parged. A closer look revealed that some of the parging was cracking. Knocking on the surface identified some hollow areas, where the parging actually has separated from the masonry. At the top of the retaining wall, we found that the yard sloped down to the wall in the immediate vicinity of the wall. The parging cracking and separations is probably due to a drainage problem and pressure from water making its way through the masonry wall. Changing the slope of the yard to make sure that water drains away from the wall would be a good first step.
Finding foundation structural problems in many houses may require close attention to details throughout the house instead of direct inspection of the foundation walls. With the basement finished in many homes, it is frequently impossible to see the foundation wall anyplace by a small area, perhaps in the unfinished utility room. Frequently, too, there is very little opportunity to see much of the foundation from the outside, due to soil and mulch buildup against the foundation and siding running too low to the ground. Therefore, looking for wallboard cracks, uneven floors, sticking doors, racked window frames or sagging rooflines may provide visual clues that might indicate foundation issues or other structural issues.
Student Inspection Assignment - Structural
I dropped by some new residential construction to document the progress/workmanship on site. All of the new houses are 2’x 4’ member, stick-built, platform framed with hip roofs on slab on grade foundations. The site grading for this particular residence adequately sloped away from the house. The slab is very new, and no signs of shrinkage cracking was apparent. The first image attached shows the front door framing, and highlights the cripples, header, jack and king studs. The second attached image shows a (green) pressure treated 2’ x 4’ sill plate with attached vertical member framing.
Student Research Exercise - Barn Inspections
[FONT=Arial]Barns and outbuildings are a very common site in my area, primarily as workshops, but also for agricultural purposes. Pre-engineered metal buildings are the most prevalent, but timber framed pole barns cladded with sheet metal exterior paneling are also common. Water damage often results from improperly placed nails (missing the underlying truss), or as the result of the washers on the nails degrading and allowing water intrusion. The water damage is typically readily apparent as rust on the sheet metal, or as stains on the wooden trusses. People commonly mitigate the water intrusion by the application of a bituminous sealant, but this will also be subjected to the same extreme weather as the washers, and eventually crack. [/FONT]
‘Structural Issues for Home Inspectors’ course
Picture shows the expansion joint at the garage. The driveway has already slid downward toward the street. This has opened more of a gap where water can enter and have a negative effect on the concrete. Water will eventually enter this area, saturate the soil and crack the concrete.
this house is less than one year old.
‘Structural Issues for Home Inspectors’ course
Fire Rated Doors.
On a recent inspection “outside city limits in the country” I inspected an attached garage with an interior hollow core door (non -fire rated) used as the door to separate the garage from the dwelling. When I explained the proper type of door that should be installed, I was waiting for the response I often hear when on these “ out in the country inspections”. Were in the country codes aren’t enforced… or something to that effect. My response Yes and safety stops at the city line? The door was replaced.
The info provided in the library really reinforced the need to ensure proper fire rating and fire installation, insulation and separations ARE MAINTAINED.
The photo that was taken is about excess water build up indicating poor drainage causing water erosion to the foundation. Water build up over time and cause the slab the house is on the erode and shift. It can also cause water to come into the house causing further damage.
The article that I read was **A caution on using XRF alone for identification of problem drywall. **This article explains that using you should not just use an XRF device to determine if the drywall has certain elements that could be toxic or the use of Chinese drywall. It suggest that different paints and wallpapers could could change from room to room because most paints have a component called Strontium. Strontium is used in a lot of paint, mostly in colors yellow, blue, red, and white pigments. Readings also very depending on how many layers of paint used. If using the XRF ensure that chemical testings are done to verify.
This is a picture of the basement slap at one of the support columns. There is a very large settlement crack, about quarter inch, with efflorescence indicating water is coming through this crack. As a side note, since water is coming through, radon may be as well, but that’s a different test. The slab is higher than the column footing. There is now evidence elsewhere above of shifting, so this most likely is just the slab, and not structural.
For the second assignment, I read Concrete for exterior and structural walls. The concrete replaces wood walls on the exterior, which leads to greater structural integrity, lower fire danger, sound muffling, and lower energy costs. As it relates to structural, I wonder how it compares to wood framed. There would be more weight, so possibly more settling. But, on the other hand, it is a stronger material, so would it withstand more settlement forces better?
The attached photo shows a structural problem in the block wall. It appears the footer has heaved causing the wall to tip and separate. There is also evidence of moisture intrusion. I feel the structure is unsafe and in need of immediate repair.
BUILDING PERMIT
Building permits are issued by townships or local municipalities in order to maintain safety and proper building practices in new construction and renovations. The permit can be abstained filling out the forms, paying a small fee. You may be required to summit a professional set of drawings and summit to periodic and a final inspection.
This picture shows multiple issues with a significantstructural component of the homes Foundation system located at the Crawl space.
Let us start with the settling of theconcrete Footer. It appears that the builder did not go deep enough into thesoil to reach a solid soil base. This allowed the concrete footer to settle dueto excess moisture, which in this case came from the condensate discharge ofthe HVAC system, located at the crawl space only 8’ from the Footer.
The 4x4wood post support was not attached properly to the Footer or the Girder it issupposed to support. This condition proved to be somewhat inconsequential dueto the significant settling of the Footer.
Thissituation definitely shows how a unrelated system of the home can drasticallyaffect structural portion of the home.
This is a picture of an engineered roof truss. The truss meets at the ridge and the fastener pictured is attached according to pre engineered specs. These trusses arrive on site pre fab and are fastened to the house structure to form the roof structure.
The article I chose to read was “How to become a 203K Inspector”. This was under the marketing and success section of the articles. I am a minority in this field; I am a woman, over 40 and have only been inspecting for a little over a year. I am always interested in broadening my skills and abilities to expand my client base…so I looked into this article.
This article was helpful. It really told me the basics of what is necessary to become a 203K inspector. Further, I decided that even if I had the qualifications, I am not sure I am willing to do all of the paperwork necessary for this aspect of the service. I think I will stick to gaining more experience in the field, taking more classes and join a networking group.
Structural Design Concepts
StructuralDesign can be very complex in detail due to all of the variety of climate conditions,soil conditions and ample amount of other factors that determine proper loadsand safety over the life span of a residential home. The Designer also needs towalk a fine line between performance and the cost involved.
The maintwo forces that need to be considered for the Designer are Vertical and Lateralforces. These forces can intertwine and gravity plays a large role when dealingwith the vertical forces. The main lateral forces are more to do with wind,seismic along with flooding and soil.
As you cansee in a couple of short paragraphs, structural design is substantially morethan crunching numbers for a proper load figure. A load amount in one part ofthe country may not be adequate for a different climate. To be a goodstructural Designer one will be required to incorporate all of their educationand abilities to perform the job well.
Dave Fowles
Below is a picture of the truss system in my attic. These trusses are MI Tek 20/20 Fink style trusses. Fink style trusses feature two “V” angles supports within the outer triangle shape. No ridge beam is needed for this system. Also note the black Internet cable and the NM conductor that are stapled to both the highest and lowest points of the truss system.
Basic waterproofing of basements is a critical measure of maintenance for an area of the home that is susceptible to water intrusion. Water intrusion in basements can develop into suck problems as toxic mold, rot, and foundation collapse.
The first step in basement waterproofing diverting water away from the foundation. This can be done by grading, digging swales, and installing drain pipe.
Next, you must repair all cracks and holes in the basement area of the foundation. Small cracks can be filled with epoxy and latex, and larger cracks must be filled using mortar.
once all of the drain water has been diverted from the foundation and all cracks and holes have been repaired, a sealant must be applied to the areas to be waterproofed. This sealant penetrates into the concrete and prevents future water intrusion into the basement.
I observed areas of the subfloor (sheathing) to have water stains and what appeared to be microbial growth under the master bathroom. I confirmed with a moisture meter that elevated levels of moisture were present in the subfloor in several areas. Qualified personnel specializing in microbial clean-up and remediation should be contacted for clean-up, and the source of water intrusion should be identified and corrected prior to the end of your option period.
