Today involved a busy day visiting three houses, all with various structural needs and compromises. The first and last houses were located in the Salt Lake City, Utah area while the second house was located in Alpine, Utah. We saw a typical layout of reasons why these homes required structural analysis. The first home that required a professional engineer was built well and seemed to be holding up just fine. The issue lay in the fact that a homeowner thought that once he bought a home, he could do whatever he wanted to it. He failed to receive proper permits for a home project, and the city required a professional engineer to inspect the scene. The second home required structural analysis because of settling that affected the structural integrity of a heavy masonry wall. This home even recently had structural piers installed when, in reality, structural piers weren’t needed whatsoever. Third was a home with rafter problems and a roof that was skeptical of a roofer that appraised it a few weeks previously. This was an eventful day for an engineering company.
First came the home of the man who didn’t get the correct permits before digging an 8-foot hole right on the side of his home. The homeowner sought to build a basement entrance and jumped the gun because he didn’t realize that it wouldn’t get approved by the city after the project was completed. Now that the project is complete and the city isn’t able to give the correct permits, the city required us to come out and make sure the job was done right. We walked around the home and started to take some dimensions of the retaining wall that was holding the soil up and keeping this basement entrance secure. We also asked the homeowner about the building process and what was inside the retaining wall.
Concrete is strong, but reinforced concrete is even stronger. When rebar is added to the drying concrete of a retaining wall, the wall is able to hold substantially more than it could have before. The homeowner was able to show us pictures of the wall before and during the reinforced concrete pour. With solid dimensions of concrete, rebar in the middle, and only soil to hold up, it was obvious that this retaining wall was more than enough to properly support the load it must carry to provide a safe basement entrance. In our engineering report we made sure to include the pictures that the homeowner provided as a form of evidence that the concrete was installed properly. This report along with an official engineering stamp of approval, is exactly what the city needs to see for their approval.
Next is the home in Alpine, Utah where some improper drainage started to cause some major problems in the garage. The homeowners of this home walked us around the outside of the home and showed us simple cracks along the side of the brick wall. Some masonry walls crack because of the weight of the brick, which is usually heavier than other materials walls are made from. The drainage pipe was properly installed to let water run away from the home, however, this was only installed a couple of months before, when the damage from the settling had already been done. The cracks on the outside didn’t raise too much of a warning, but what the homeowners told us next was shocking.
The homeowners informed us that last month, a company that installs structural piers told the owners of the home that the damage would continue to get worse and compromise the integrity of the whole wall if not properly fixed. This was all true information. The part that made our hearts a little sad was when we heard that the company told them they absolutely needed structural piers to save their home. This was a lie. This issue could have been easily fixed for much less, but the structural piers company charged them top dollar to have an “overkill fix.” Additionally, this company missed a crucial spot on the garage and didn’t even completely fix the problem.
A trick with a hammer can be used to test the evidence of a secure floor. Hitting a hammer on the concrete floor in the garage can make two possible sounds. If the sound is firm, then soil is present under the floor in that area; however, move a couple of feet away and try again and you may hear a more drum-like sound, which is evidence that there is a pocket of empty space between the floor and the soil beneath. This trick helped us determine that there was still a huge pocket of air underneath the center of the garage that the structural piers company completely missed. We gave the homeowners good suggestions of who they could go to for an honest structural piers assessment if they ever needed more help with them in the future. We also explained what can be done to continue the security of the home and get their money’s worth from the company to get their monies worth.
Lastly was another house in Salt Lake where the attic and roof were asked to be inspected and a professional option was given. An almost complete breakthrough of one of the pieces of wood in the trusses was observed by the homeowners, and then replaced by a family member who nailed another 2×4 piece of wood on either side of the compromised truss to strengthen it. Doing self-repairs can be a little risky, however, this self-repair was spot on and exactly what an engineer would call out for in this situation. Inspection of this repair was concluded fairly quickly with the easy answer that it was safe and didn’t require any further repairs.
Next on this home was the roof. A professional roof repairman came to inspect the shingles a couple of weeks before we did and told the homeowners that the roof would need to be fully replaced in the next year or two. After taking a look at the roof we decided that the roof had at least 10 more years of life. The shingles wear and tear was very minimal and only along the edges of the roof. This was the west side of the roof and just to be sure, we also wanted to inspect the south side. Upon inspection, we found that this side actually did have a little more wear and tear. The shiny glossy surface was a little more visible on this side. We gave a rough estimate and told the homeowner this side probably had close to 4 years left of life, however, a thin roof coating could be added to this side of the roof to make it last closer to 10 years as well. This was a much cheaper option for the home right now and the homeowners were very pleased to hear their entire roof didn’t need replacement for another couple of years.
All in all, there are some amazing professional business owners, but on the other hand, there are companies out there trying to charge you top dollar for something you may not really need. We don’t make money off selling you the most expensive fix and have no motivation to sell you something you don’t really need. Additionally, we have a network of reliable, trustworthy, reasonable contractors and businesses that can fix just about everything that you could think of in the home building world. It’s always a smart idea to get a professional opinion from someone who isn’t going to try to make extra money off you first, then decide what steps to take going forward.