Ask her husband. 
It may be possible that some might not understand the magnitude of a draw inspection requirements of a Banks request because I am more Commercial than Residential.
A Draw Inspection on a Commercial Project would consist of the Inspector delegated by the Bank to walk the Project and compare the work done with the AIA document for requisition for payment.
This is a document that is broken down into all the Divisions of the AIA and amounts attach to. The percentage of work then would be assessed in comparing with the dollar amount, retainage, and work completed.
He or she would also be impowered by the Bank as it’s representative to evaluate that some condition might not be suitable for the Banks interest and note it as such. Further inspection at that stage could be warranted by the Finance. In this scenario, the Inspector would be prompted to meet again at the job site with the relative parties as such the Architect, Engineer.
This may be a little different than the Residential Market, but that is possibly why so many problems in that area. Until the Residential builders are monitored, to their standards and quality of buildings, it will continue to be a problem.
Marcel 
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That makes too much sense Marcel… 
I wish it would be that way for residential. Not only would my fee increase for a draw inspection, but the quality of homes being built just might improve.
Something even funnier, when I pulled into the driveway of this house the county permit/code inspector was just wrapping up and leaving. I asked her how it went and she said everything is ready to go. Hmmmm… I happened to notice a single 40 gallon hot water heater supplying the entire house, 4.5 baths. All with seperate tubs and showers.
I would have thought a place like that would have had an inline and then a holding tank or something.
Aaaaaack.:shock: :neutral:
Well Brian;
Maybe someday, things will change and we will have our day. ha. ha.
Marcel
P.S. take care and watch out for those 2 million dollar babies, You will know the Contractor picked up a half mil. ha. ha.
Brian K Doles said in post #1:
The question remains, how do you know they are just resting on the slab?
They may appear to rest on the slab when in fact they may be laterally restrained as required from below and supported on proper footings.
Marcel said in post #19:
Again, you are presuming, as it Brian K Doles that no lateral restraint is present.
It is very good advice to check the construction drawings because such a lateral restraint may be present without it being obvious.
Again, a common technique to prevent lateral movement of a column at its base is to set an anchor bolt into the concrete, having it project up from the concrete by several inches, and then to bore a hole in the base of the column that fits over the anchor bolt.
This provides all the lateral restraint that is required, is a very inexpensive compliance technique, and not obvious the restraint is in place via visible inspection.
See here:
There is no requirement that pressure treated lumber be elevated above concrete, and certainly not when in contact with a slab that requires a vapor retarder/moisture barrier under as is the case with basement slabs.
As far as the number of posts as the style of structural design…there are many ways to skin the proverbial structural cat. Not my way of doing things but it appears to be a sound design nonetheless.
Why did the builder choose this method? Lack of experience? Money?
Either way it still works and likely still meets IRC code minimums.
Brian K Dole ended with:
That may mean nothing if the code inspector was the electrical inspector or construction inspector.
Might not mean anything even if she was the plumbing code inspector.
Plumbing Codes do not set a minimum size of water heaters or amount of water heaters for a home.
The IRC in particular only states in P2801 and R306.4 that dwellings should be equipped with cold and hot water, but there is not Code mandated criteria for sizing water heaters. Since Georgia has adopted the ICC codes, having a single 40 gallon water heater to serve 4.5 baths may certainly not be a good idea, but it is probably completely legal and code compliant and not within the realm of any Code inspector’s concern.
Wow you shure are smart ! :roll: :|.)
Brian,
Everything set aside, overall, how did this House look on the interior?
In general, was the quality of the work satisfactory or mediocre.?
They might very well have been design and Architectural issues here that are prevalent to any of our knowing.
Marcel
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Quality was fair. For a home of this size the owner picked out some very basic materials, i.e. lighting fixtures. But again that was the owners choice. Not everyone has good taste! :o
But there were some poor design issues in my opinion.
Brian K Doles said:
I am smart and educated and which is why I (and others) raised some intelligent questions regarding your intial (and possible erroneous) findings.
This was no ‘swipe’ concerning your abilities.
Just an opportunity for all to be equally and further educated by this thread.
While I (as a builder) would never consider building a house as this builder chose to do, that does not mean this builder chose to build it ‘wrong’ or structurally deficient.
“Different” does not automatically equal “bad”.
While I as a plumber would never rely on a 40 gallon water heater to provide enough hot water for a 4.5 bedroom house…I as an IRC plumbing code inspector also would have to approve a single 40 gallon water heater for this house. There is no ‘code’ violation. As long as there is ‘hot water’ provided to the dwelling, the dwelling ‘meets code’.
The problem we ‘inspectors’ often have is that we try to impose our own biases upon the structures we inspect.
There are many ways of achieving code or other “compliance” without being conventional.
And that is the ‘key’ to this thread.
I don’t necessarily see anything ‘wrong’ with the house in question.
Wouldn’t be the way “I” would build it, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t built ‘right’.
My contribution to this thread is to provide some additional professional experience to help others ‘think’ a bit further and to think ‘out-of-the-box’ regarding what they think they see in the field…
And thinking “outside-the-box” IS “SMART”…
homebild said:
You need to understand, these findings were only my comments, my opinion. As you had yours. This was a draw inspection only and I don’t have a leg in the race when hired for draw inspections. I’m a home inspector that does not quote code in my reports as I am not a “code” inspector. I have ICC certifications, which is strictly for my knowledge, not “power”.
I appreciate your comments and find them useful.
I don’t believe I stated the house was incorrectly built, I just stated that I don’t agree with how things were done. Again, my opinion. I wouldn’t have built this home as they did either.
For a draw inspection… not your problem. But for future reference and to satisfy curiosity… it was new enough to have hangered joists, so it was new enough to have had beams installed which would have allowed posts to be placed much farther apart than they are.
I wonder if the posts support a concrete floor that was poured after plans were approved and the home was signed off on by the inspector. If it was signed off on. I don’t know why anyone would do that, I believe concrete is installed to reduce sound transmission. It’s a head scratcher.
Good points, Marcel. Hardware on the joists but not at the post bases? Nice to see plans but they’re often not available during the draw inspection and they don’t usually pay enough to look at them.
I believe there is a method to this madness, it looks to me like the owner has future plans for the basement and may have instructed the builder to do this temporarily. I noticed a stack of PT 2"x6" lumber in one of the photo’s, could be for bottom plate or framing walls. It almost appears to be a hallway running down the center with cells on both sides, maybe for an indoor kennel. I have seen this done before by a family who raises Dachsunds, they had over 600 pups in the basement. There is good money in exotic canines. I also used to go to church with a lady who has a similar setup in her basement to keep clothing seperated for a mission she runs for the underpriviledged, and her son is a builder. Do you know who the builder is Brian? Anyway my guess is, this is not a case of poor construction, but they passed on having gutters, so they can forget about having a dry basement. M2CW
I’m sure you noticed and probably already know this. Their are water heaters that can handle this. My brother has a 4 1/2 bath with a hot tub and has a single 50 gallon gas water heater that meets all of the demands. His 10 yr. old one broke down last Christmas and I replaced it with this. It is a power vent design that has fast heat recovery. He is in North Chicago area. The water gets a little cold in the winter. Cost about $900.
…
Do you see any simpson hardware on the top side of each post?
Are you suggesting someone would engineer that support structure by design? Look at the windows and patio doors - Come on now, that’s got to be temporary…
The whole story Brian. The whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you Hannah!
Now I’m sure that’s no going to look like that once the retention is removed.
I’ve been on a few inspections lately where that post structure would come in handy for tying the kids up till I’m through with the inspection…
No hardware, just toe-nailed.
I agree, I’m sure they are temporary and the basement will be framed at some point. It’s just unusual, around here they usually frame the entire basement and have it ready to finish. For the cost of framing and materials I would think it would be beneficial to frame it as it’s being built.