Support Posts in basement need improved

[Ahoragi]

Calling on anyone in the construction/home building field.....
We have support posts every 7 feet along the center wooden beam in our house. The house is about 38 ft by 25 ft upstairs and downstairs. Apparently the PO replaced the original support posts which were integrated into the slab. He used pressure treated blocks of wood on both lower and upper contact points. The upper pressure treated blocks are bolted to the wooden beam with two bolts but the lower are not and the posts are not bolted at either end. This does not sit well with me so I would like to improve this but it is not an area that I am familiar with.

Total height from floor to wooden beam is 73".

Does anyone have any advice on correcting these support columns? My thoughts are that the upper and lower contact points need to be bolted in but I feel that lower center contact point on the block is too much for the wood to handle (pressure point).

Happy New Year.

 

[zrock]

That looks like all new construction so im wondering how they were able to remove the existing and put those in and still be up to code. Second question is why their is a gap between the 2 sections of beams? First thing i would do is try to slide another 2x10 or what ever size is in their and through bolt it and make that all one structure. 3rd thing i noticed is why do they have the wall so far out? looks like it they brought it back a few inches it would have picked up the load above. The other question is when they replaced the posts did they put them in the same spot where the slab would be thicker to support the load? Now if it was me fixing this i would move the ball back to pickup up the load with a proper header, then i would integrate about 4 x 2x10 studs nailed together and built into the wall to pick up the load of the posts. With a proper header and the wall picking up load you could probably eliminate a few of the posts..

Now on to the not so fun side. I would go see your city and see if their was a permit pulled and closed for this renovation and see if they changed anything. Then i would have a engineer come and give you a proper plan to fix as this is holding up the second level of your home. Even if the engineer gives you the plans to do the repair and you do it yourself it would be money well spent.

 

[ABMax24]

That sucks. My guess is the PO removed the posts to free up room, and realized later they were required. Would've been nice if they had moved the wall back a foot and the posts could've been hidden in the wall.

I wonder if you can pull up that carpet/underlay and find where the original posts were located?

 

[Ahoragi]

Thanks for your response. The house is from 1973. It once had a metal beam going across that the previous owners before the previous owners removed decades ago I assume. They installed permanent posts that were cemented in the slab. We can see where they were cut off flush with the floor. The previous owner installed these new posts right next to the old ones. So I assume the wood beam was on top of the metal beam at one point in time which is why it has a gap in the middle. I am no expert, just my guess. The new studs and drywall was the previous owner's attempt to add two more rooms (one was for growing pot ) so they are not load bearing, just walls erected to form rooms. I am pretty sure there were no permits pulled for everything the previous owner did. They did renovate the entire upstairs and it was done very very well.

I will say that we bought the house without an inspection done (we had well/septic inspections) and I know that it was a mistake not to have it done. This is one of those regretful smacking-myself moments and It's now on me to correct this.

 

[Ahoragi]

More pixs. I am assuming that cut out in the wall is where the beam once was.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Are your floors still level? If so, don’t open up a hornet’s nest that doesn’t need to be. They’ve stayed level since 1975. And watch where you decide to put the refrigerator if you redo the kitchen.

 

[Gearhead660]

Looks like they took out the I beam to gain some head clearance.

 

[Ahoragi]

Looks like they took out the I beam to gain some head clearance.

That was my thought as I would bang my head on it if it were still there.

 

[Ahoragi]

Are your floors still level? If so, don’t open up a hornet’s nest that doesn’t need to be. They’ve stayed level since 1975. And watch where you decide to put the refrigerator if you redo the kitchen.

There is a slight slope towards the center of the house. I measured the height of the wood beam at the very end near the foundation and it is 73" high. It stays 73" all the way to the other end so I am not sure why the floor has a slight slope to it.

My goal is to make the posts permanent in case of an earthquake (rare) or other major rumble-ish event.

 

[stoveliker]

Are your floors still level? If so, don’t open up a hornet’s nest that doesn’t need to be. They’ve stayed level since 1975. And watch where you decide to put the refrigerator if you redo the kitchen.

I think it's more recent than that. See the post at 11.48 today.

Even if floors are (still) level, forces will be distributed in different way in the structure than an engineer designed, so you don't really know what is going on unless you can see what is happening in all structural elements.

 

[zrock]

I beg to differ that upstairs renovations were done well if that mess was left in basement. Their is no way that was done to any code.. do yourself a bug favor and pay a engineer to come and look. This is your families lives on the line and I have seen things like this fail.

 

[stoveliker]

Or simply your dollars; things can go bad slowly and unnoticeably at first before expensive damage occurs and becomes visible.

Invest a bit to have it assessed and fix it needed

 

[Ahoragi]

Good suggestions, will do. We have funds set aside for a metal roof and new siding but better to have this done first.

 

[zrock]

yes no point in doing any other reno's until you have the structure issue fixed. If you are handy after you have someone look at it you may be able to do the repairs yourself and just have it inspected after. Sad part is if the floor has sagged a bit when you level it back out it will crack all the drywall above it more than likely.

 

[all night moe]

Sad part is if the floor has sagged a bit when you level it back out it will crack all the drywall above it more than likely.

This can be negated some. When leveling, raise jacking a 1/4'' per day. This helps everything adjust.
This also helps from moving the structure in ways unwanted. Say if your jacking under a frown in a beam, it can lift the beam without tacking all the sag out. A little at a time in jacking helps with this. Old rule of thumb was an inch a day. I like a 1/4 better for drywall/plaster purposes.

 

[xman23]

The original cut off columns where set on footings. The screw jacks on the slab are not the same. As said I would look for any sag and correct it before it gets any worse.