Structural Engineer or Contractor

I purchased a gut renovated brownstone a handful of years ago. I’ve noticed some suspicious cut corners. I’ve noticed the top floor sinking towards the center of the brownstone (where bearing wall on parlor level was removed). Do I bring in a structural engineer or a contractor to check and see if joists were reinforced.

suebklyn

in General Discussion 6 years and 5 months ago

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powell5424

in General Discussion 6 years and 4 months ago

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@suebklyn – Your best course of action would be to get a recommendation from a design professional or licensed contractor 🙂

astoriahomeowner

in General Discussion 6 years and 4 months ago

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Special inspector in google. C’mon Sue. Explain the issue, and have them come through to see the property.

dorkofwindsor | 6 years and 5 months ago

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FYI – sue I was in the same boat as you. bought a flip, had a structural engineer over and he basically looked at me and said something to the effect of ’20 feet wide house beams can fully support the floor without support underneath, but floor bounce is simply a matter of preference’. basically I wasted his time, I don’t even think he charged me for the visit. can’t remember his name but I did get here @ BS. I had flipper derangement syndrome for a couple years ;). Also, I’ve seen a few nice flips recently that don’t deserve the stereotype (although mine did). best of luck, I know what you are going through.

a2chitect | 6 years and 5 months ago

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Sounds like the joists which span the full width of the brownstone on either side of the stair opening were not reinforced when they removed the parlor wall.

Those walls are not load-bearing but rather supporting walls to prevent joist deflection. With the wall now gone, the joists need reinforcement. This is possible to do but not an easy job. We’d be happy to come and take a look and can maybe recommend a contractor and next steps.

suebklyn | 6 years and 5 months ago

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@bolster – Do you know how I’d go about finding a special inspector?

powell5424

in General Discussion 6 years and 5 months ago

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Start with a design professional or special inspector. From there, you can hire a general contractor to make the necessary fixes (which it sounds like you’ll need). The wall that was removed may have been load-bearing, which could be causing the sinkage. A fix could be as simple as sistering the floor joists. However, it could be more complicated and would need further clarification.

Guest User | 6 years and 5 months ago

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you may need both. in order to determine what was done you’ll probably have to open up the ceiling below (contractor) but you’ll need the engineer to figure out where that opening should be, and to inspect the conditions once it’s opened.

Guest User | 6 years and 5 months ago

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you may need both. in order to determine what was done you’ll probably have to open up the ceiling below (contractor) but you’ll need the engineer to figure out where that opening should be, and to inspect the conditions once it’s opened.