I enjoy posts by James Quarello. He shows dedication and a great deal of, may I use the word, "common sense." This is an older post by James, but a good one.
When we are children we go to school to learn how to read and write and use math. As we get older we begin to focus on learning a specific trade or occupation, but maybe not always.
During a recent job I found deficiencies to the basic structure of a newer home, three years old, that were so incredible that it begged a few important questions.
First where did these guys learn their job? Who taught them framing and structure? Can they or do they look at and read plans. And the big one, why wasn't this caught by the local municipal building inspector?
Reasonable questions I believe. When a home is built it is assumed that the people who are doing the work have some level of skill. That those who are in charge and coordinate the build are educated and overseeing the process. Again these would be reasonable assumptions.
The first photo shows the foundation wall at the lower left. On top of that shown by the arrow is the sill plate. Perpendicular to the sill plate is the rim or box plate. That is the two vertical boards in the picture. What you may notice is the sill plate extends over the foundation wall. And that as a result the rim joist is only supported by the edge of the sill and not the foundation. This was found in another location in this basement, the other areas were not visible.
The next picture shows a support pier for one of the main structural beams for the home. Notice there is an askew metal plate under the column. This caught my eye immediately. My first reaction was there are no concrete footings under the piers. The homeowner confirmed this because he too had become suspicious. He had drilled test holes next to one of the piers. Nothing but dirt! The kicker was one pier was able to be removed by hand.
Other problems discovered were small and shoddy shims under the main structural beams and cut through trusses.
This home by the way was a high end home costing a few million dollars.
But here in Connecticut home builders and general contracts are not required to have any training in order to go into business and do their jobs. I think it shows, wouldn't you agree?
James Quarello
JRV Home Inspection Services, LLC
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It is truly amazing that this stuff gets by the municipal inspectors.