Traditionally the architect acted as the owner's representative, both to inspect that the work followed the contract drawings, and to ensure it was done to an acceptable standard. By all means, she should withhold any additional payments. %%EOF Based on my description, he said he would not approve the foundation wall (high risk of developing major cracks), and he would insist on a complete tear down. There is a “strapbeam”which connects two separated footings. And they waited so long to install the anchor bolts that they ended up hammering them into the hardening concrete. Your lawyer will probably want you to retain the engineer to provide documentation of the deficiencies in the structure to use to argue the contractor is liable. 0000003464 00000 n 0000010203 00000 n The head inspector refused to talk with me yesterday, after getting a copy of the engineer's email. This has been an incredible nightmare. A frost protected shallow foundation (FPSF) is a practical alternative to deeper, more-costly foundations in cold regions with seasonal ground freezing and the potential for frost heave. I'm really angry that the engineers did that. 0000016095 00000 n 0000002305 00000 n During the installation, a section of the foundation footing is exposed and cut to attach to The surface of the footing is fully exposed to air - at grade level in the crawl space floor, and on the outside of the stem wall in a trench 4 feet wide that hasn't been backfilled yet. Debra, Maybe angry at the junior inspector, and afraid of you (and what's going to happen next). For your hole, much of the water is below the frost line since your footing should be below the frost line. Your winter has definitely arrived. 230 0 obj <> endobj He still insisted it was not required. If you’re working with an architect, and you like your architect, see if they can recommend a good general contractor to you. Only an engineer can properly assess a foundation that was not built to the code rules/tables. Winter is fast approaching, and I really need several things finished up quickly before the ground freezes. I forget how big Debra's house is, but rarely do I see an Architect involved in any residential project under 4,000 sq.ft. I don't understand why the Building Inspector would be angry at YOU. Three of them have returned and asked if he would take over once they realized what was involved. (They had to correct a sleeve under the footing that was badly sloped the wrong way for my crawl space drain.). Yes. The subsoil is a moderate shrink/swell clay, and I’m concerned that this exposed saturated clay may freeze below the footing. One more source of stress that I really don't need right now. For foundations and slabs, except for garages, the minimum strength of the concrete should be 2,500 psi. Find another contractor who has absolutely stellar references in custom residential or light commercial building projects, and have them take over. Downspouts on this side of the house Run out to the road. A contractor's general liability policy would cover someone getting injured as a result of a construction defect. Or is this not a problem until the temperatures get colder for longer? By the way, did you check your builder's insurance certificate(s) before starting the project? If a licensed structural engineer fails her foundation as built, it’s really not safe to attempt to build on it anyway. I would set up a meeting with the Head Inspector (call the Mayor if you have to) and set the tone. For example, ACI 332 (an option?) Paint It. The structural engineer that I finally reached by phone yesterday said that it was important to have horizontal rebar midway up the wall in order to properly control cracking. Be ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN they compact the backfill under the footing. xref He has made 32 errors in just 10 weeks - 12 code violations, 5 installation errors, and 15 violations of our contract and plan specifications. I really appreciate all of the information and support that you and other folks provide in this forum. (The permit technician warned me that he was really mad.). Apparently, the entire building inspector's department (from the head supervisor down) are furious about my consulting with an engineer about my foundation. 0000003946 00000 n I'm just praying we can find a decent replacement immediately, as the ground will start freezing soon. 0000001859 00000 n 3. She has one contractor, and is looking to replace him. My own outdoor underground crews (we install fiber optic cable as part of our work) have maybe another month depending on the weather. Much outdoor construction is winding down this time of year since it gets more difficult to do (and more expensive). Become a GBA Prime member and get full access to GBA articles, enyclopedia, videos, CAD library, and more. You’re further south than I am (I’m in Michigan), so you have a later season change. Thanks. They're in a position of power usually far beyond their qualifications, and they forget they should listen to experts when a situation arises. Maybe the inspector will try to help you out and not blame you for any problems that are found. The slab begins about 2” above the bottom. My contractor has left a 3-4′ wide hole in the ground, immediately next to the footing and extending 2 feet below the base of the footing. Absolutely need a lawyer now! How critical is it that they do this soon to protect my foundation? Yes, we have a copy of his insurance, which should be enough to cover any issues, if necessary. Don’t wait to deal with these issues. "I so far haven't been able to find a local engineer that is willing to do a third party review on a small residential project." Have you ever seen the kinds of costs you can have to repair a failing foundation? How do they differ from a General Contractor? Contact me by email: martin [at] greenbuildingadvisor [dot] com. If the concrete is fully cured, it should be ok. In a lot of cases they focus on large, complex buildings and bridges, and they won't want to be bothered with residential work. The edge footing … I don't know how critical that mistake is in the long-term stability of the wall. Footing projections, P, shall be not less than 2 inches (51 mm) and shall not exceed the thickness of the footing. Withhold payment until the job has passed inspection. That’s standard stuff and should be no problem for them to produce, but their liability insurance probably won’t cover this type of issue (ask anyway, the purpose is to keep them from ignoring your request to backfill). (!?) Thank you so much, T! 0000001636 00000 n The lower row is six inches from the bottom, instead of at the middle of the wall. When I briefly tried to ask again about the positioning of two sections of the horizontal rebar, he told me that it wasn't important because my foundation wall did not require any horizontal rebar. Examples are ones you would call to spec an LVL for a reconstruction/stud gut, under-pinning a foundation for an addition, spec'ing Simpson ties for a larger deck, etc. (Sigh...). I had spoken briefly with a lawyer just 2 weeks into this project, and he strongly suggested that we try to continue working with this contractor to avoid the conflict of arguing over who owes who how much money if we terminate the contract. 5.) Does this compromise represent something Debra will later regret, or is it simply that the existing contractor's shoddy work offends our sense of justice? Apart form assuming good-faith on the part of the rest of the trades that will be involved, there really isn't any reason to think the remainder of the project will be any different. You’re going to burn a lot of time with little getting done while you get this resolved. The size is calculated on the load and ground conditions. My guess is they're thinking this is not a simple case and would drag on. They are there simply to enforce the local "code" the best they can. 6.) But if it wasn't required, why did he go to the site to confirm that the missing overlapping rebar was being added to all the corners? All the skilled work is in the finishing and a good finisher can go through and finish everything better, and faster, than you probably could unless you do it all the time. Mat foundation requires less earth excavation. You don’t need anything fancy. Major settling? This won't delete the articles you've saved, just the list. One No. So far, we've only paid 50% of the contract amount. I agree with mr barker. Their fees are, traditionally, less than civil engineers who work on the commercial side. Depth of foundation below 0000009807 00000 n You need a trusted third party to give you an honest assessment of the quality of the work that’s already been completed. Footings should be inspected strictly to ensure that the bearing surface is good enough to sustain the weight over it. 0000001992 00000 n Who knows what else was done wrong when I wasn't there to observe the work before it was covered up. I’ve always hated seeing people get burned by contractors and it’s one of the reasons I like to help people on forums like this one. I had wanted to fire my contractor just 2 weeks into our project. 0000002929 00000 n One-way shear failure 3. 0000004176 00000 n My preference would be to cut the existing ones flush with the top of the wall and epoxy in replacements. This might include rebuilding parts of he foundation, if necassary. When I tried to speak with the head inspector, he wouldn't talk with me, and instead had me speak again with the inspector I have to deal with every day. foam. LOCATION OF HORIZONTAL REINFORCEMENT: It’s always better to catch things early. By the way, the attached picture is my back yard this morning. "the house footings poured 4" out of square, the base of the retaining wall installed incorrectly, failure to properly overlap rebar at all corners of the foundation stem walls, installing rebar just 3/4" under top of concrete wall, ...". Call 811. It is very unlikely that enough of the water will freeze to be a real problem unless it stays below freezing for days, even with the open hole. Right - which is why I wrote that traditionally that was the case, and now more commonly it's a project coordinator acting as the owner's representative. Thanks, Bill, for your suggestions. The walls are three feet high. And also said that I appear to know more about these construction issues than 99% of homeowners. Watch how fast they fix it after that :-). Hire that general contractor, have him inspect the work already done and supervise whatever is left. Figure 3-2 Sliding action resisted by foundation. Many homeowners think everything is ok until years later when little problems become major issues. I can't wait to start taking on part of the work myself, once the heavy grunt work is done and the house is framed next spring. 0000000999 00000 n A civil engineer with experience in building construction is probably best for this situation. Seems that we could enforce him to pay for an engineering review based on failing to follow our contract specifications - whether or not it was approved by the inspector. Then re-pour. Normally bonds are requested prior to job start though since they add some cost to the project. What seems apparent from this and other related threads is that while you have a good understanding of potential problems, you don't have the knowledge to assess the seriousness of the things you find. The fact that your current contractor has already had so many code problems makes me think they aren’t really qualified to do the work. Just needed hand brake and shears to work the corners in the field. I wanted to take the time to tell you that I think mr barkers suggestion about involving a PE is an excellent one. To prevent reinspection which … Document everything, including extensive photos, timelines, etc.. Then deal with the rest of the issue later, including new contractor, who owes what. Assuming you want to get it done this fall of course. That's unfortunate. (Huge sigh...). Earlier in my career I would have met with everyone, listened to the different patch-up, "save my .ss" ideas, and maybe even relented sometimes. One-inch vertical leg gets nailed to the bottom 2-by plate, through the 1 in. Vertical reinforcement was not code required with my short wall, and wasn't in my plans. Evidently you met this (mid rebar isn't required in any zone). Then a day to re-grade and form. It sounds like you pulled the permit and not your contractor? But at this point, I just can't deal with it any more! 7.) It doesn’t have to dip below freezing very long to kill sensitive plants. Exterior waterproofing of foundation wall and footing, Capillary break over footing vs. vapor barrier under footing, A Beginner's Guide to High-Performance Windows. When the ground starts to freeze it gets MUCH harder to work. I can't comment on the specifics of your situation, I was just trying to convey in general these can potentially be serious issues. This is what I found afterwards: TABLE R404.1.2(1) in the 2012 Virginia Residential Code - the code covering my house when I obtained the permit (Virginia's pretty late in updating code requirements). But I'll keep trying. Rusting and exposed rebar can reduce the structural strength of concrete; resulting in cracks, weaken foundations and slabs, as well as leaks in basement walls. Crazy! This is the Digline and you can use it … Then, without my knowledge or permission, they sent a copy of my general foundation concerns to the two main supervisors of the inspector that I have to work with - the inspector that approved my foundation reinforcement that did not meet code. I would do two things to protect yourself and your footing: have the contractor sign something like I mentioned earlier about this so it’s on record. %PDF-1.5 %���� How much coverage does he have? I pay $1,500 just for reviewing a drawing and getting it sealed. Don't take this as professional advice since I'm not the engineer of record and probably not even registered in your state, but hypothetically, the above situation you outline could potentially be grounds for complete tear out and redo of the project. The engineers I spoke to not only said that they couldn't help me, but that I needed to speak with the head inspector. We do plan to insulate the footings inside the crawl space excavation during the winter, and are trying to get our contractor to backfill the foundation trench on the outside as soon as possible. Good ideas, Mr Barker. They aren't there to consult, and they usually don't want to. The idea would be to play the innocent homeowner that wants things safe, but doesn’t know how to build things and got burned by a contractor. I get water up from the floor and between the footing and foundation wall which runs down onto the floor. But documentation of these extensive problems should be helpful with any upcoming legal battles. Stress your serious concern about imminent winter weather and the structural integrity of your foundation. For light structures or … However, before we signed our contract, my contractor said that his cement sub recommended vertical rebar anyway. On the other hand, if you pay a structural engineer to thoroughly review and provide a written report that says it's not sound and not code compliant.... © 2021 The Taunton Press, Inc. All rights reserved. I'm not looking forward to the arguments over how much more we may still owe him for work completed. Lots of things going on. Hanging the drywall is just grunt work but not terribly difficult, and nothing you can’t handle as long as you can lift the sheets of drywall. I doubt those hammered in bolts will have the same pullout strength as bolts properly set during a pour. A lawsuit is likely to be a nightmare. I'll see what I can do, though I'm really aggravated that I have to be the one to deal with it. Thanks. I so far haven't been able to find a local engineer that is willing to do a third party review on a small residential project. Again, DO NOT pay your contractor until you get your green tag from the city and pass inspection. Unfortunately, the exposed foundation drains will keep feeding water into this hole until it is properly filled in. According to ‘ Derek Worthing ’ (Author of The Construction of Houses), they are a fast form of construction with minimal excavation and are, sometimes, also used on soft clays as an alternative to the reinforced wide-strip foundation. Some installations envelope the footing, attaching the membrane to the vapor barrier under the floor slab on the inside and the waterproof membrane on the outside of the foundation. Asking contractors who they use to spec an LVL when they "open up" a client's older house would be a good starting point. And it's been downhill since then. Figure 1.2 2. Debra: you probably do need a lawyer. Price was still too high with other local builders, too. Do not pay the existing contractor another penny. Hopefully you can get the head town inspector to visit the site and provide something in writing that documents the deficiencies that won't pass inspection. However, I thought that the inspector couldn't approve any variation from the code unless an engineer approved the change first - which didn't happen in this case. <<9a96f1d3d23be149b3d553e6915a4e29>]>> As part of the work, we're removing backfill in one area and cutting a 3-foot-wide door in the concrete foundation wall to create a walkout basement. Soft ground under a footing is very bad. Liability issues would be different, but that’s probably something a lawyer would determine and might be contractual and not insurance. But I've learned it just doesn't pay. I know you’ve had some trouble finding an engineer willing to help you with your project though. Again, I may have missed some more pressing concerns Debra has. I've just summarized his major mistakes, and I needed to squeeze it down to 10 pt font just to fit it all on one page! If you two want to contact each other by email, I have no objection. Ask them for a copy of their insurance (an “accord” form) listing you as “additionally insured” (this means you can bypass your contractor and go direct to their insurance company if needed). With the city, I think (my opinion, I’d wait to see some other opinions here before acting on this) that you might just want to beg forgiveness from the inspector and tell him that you’re really concerned about the project and you think your contractor has been cutting corners. Thanks for the suggestions. Was finally able to speak with a structural engineer about our foundation issues. Caisson foundation is the prefabricated hollow substructures designed to be constructed on or near the surface of the ground, sunk to the desired depth and then filled with concrete, thus ultimately becoming an integral part of the. Many of these are not minor things, either. to uplift than a shallow footing or than a foundation having a shape that avoids having any soil above the top of the footing. 3.) I appreciate your suggestions. Guidelines provided by standard codes of practice should be followed so that foundation does not fail in any of the failure types as mentioned under any possible loa… Inspection of footing must be thoroughly conducted to ensure compliance with the drawing before it can be poured with concrete. Again, "generally speaking", you might consider sending a registered letter or similar (i.e. The stress has been incredible. I agree it’s not the best situation, but that’s where things appear to be headed, unfortunately.
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