structural defect

Hello everyone; I am new to the forum and appreciate help with the question. we have found a 2 family landmark home over 100 yrs old . But the home inspector found sagging floor joists below each of 2 bathrooms. Another main structural defect in main support beam. I a have attached pic of the defective main support beam. Are these defects fixable? [IMG_0195]. If there are experts or contractors in the forum board, appreciate cost estimate as well. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks

hmcghee

in General Discussion 9 years and 10 months ago

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mmontana.la | 9 years and 10 months ago

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Yes, both conditions can be remedied. Cost would depend on access and what needs to be removed to allow for the new install and extent of patching of finishes. To be accurate we’d have to take a closer look to give you a better idea and would be happy to do that. Email us at office@dinataleassociates.com.

Bond | 9 years and 10 months ago

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The main beam looks like the end started to wick water and rotted over time, causing it to slip from the beam pocket. Probably the easiest fix for something like that is to bold angle iron on either side with steel support columns spaced accordingly on concrete piers. Not a huge job, but not a tiny one either. With regards to the bathroom beams, it could be that they were notched, or it could simply be that the weight of a mud floor, tile, tub etc. just added up over time. If you plan on re-doing the bathrooms, it’s a simple enough fix. If you want to keep the current bathrooms, that’s another issue. Keep in mind that as beams shift, the whole house shifts accordingly. So when you jack something up, you could (think probably) be looking at windows that suddenly refuse to close, doors that were fine before now bind, cracks start to appear in tile and plaster where there were no cracks before, even old pipes, especially yellow brass pipes can crack, etc. All this being said, nothing unusual for renovating a hundred year old house, you just have to decide if you are up for the challenge.

daveinbedstuy | 9 years and 10 months ago

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What chinatownred said about plumbers cutting away joists under bathrooms.

dorkofwindsor | 9 years and 10 months ago

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i agree completely w/ daveinbedstuy

kassie319 | 9 years and 10 months ago

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I had similar problems in the area of two bathrooms. I believe that you will find that over the years plumbers have carved joists to pieces in order to run pipes and accommodate traps. I used a steel lintel bolted to the masonry and LVL’s sistered to framing on one floor. On the other floor I completely re-framed with new LVL’s.

CarmenR | 9 years and 10 months ago

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This is extremely common in old houses and there are a few methods for repair-anything from just sistering the beams and repairing the pockets to adding steel to adding steel and posts with concrete footings. There are varying costs for each method. Old houses are generally full of issues such as these unless the previous owner spent the money to fix them.

daveinbedstuy | 9 years and 10 months ago

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Everything is fixable for a price. Structural issues like this are commonplace in old homes and that picture doesn’t really tell the whole story. Despite it looking like it isn’t being supported by the wall, are there other posts supporting that beam? Posts can be added (with the proper footings poured) and perhaps the beam itself can be salvaged. More photos of the entire isssue woulkd help but you are not seeing something that isn’t easily remedied.

hmcghee | 9 years and 10 months ago

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[IMG_0195](//muut.com/u/brownstoner/s3/:brownstoner:2YBm:img_0195.jpg.jpg)