Foundations Archives - Page 12 of 12 - Charles Buell Consulting LLC

July 19, 2011 by Charles Buell

What was this support post designed for originally?

Human beings are very inventive; and, given a problem, a solution will be forthcoming—-even if it makes a bigger problem requiring and even more ingenious solution. This is where the term “Yankee Ingenuity” comes from.

Lots of times the solution might be to re-use something that has outlived its usefulness for what it was designed and then reused for something else. In construction, it was once common to reuse foundation form boards for roof/wall/floor sheathing and old wooden nail barrels might get reused as forms for a pier.

People have been known to take worn out bathtubs and stick them in the ground as an alcove for religious statues, and to use worn out tires for sandboxes and tire swings.

It makes me wonder what other uses we will find for some of the things we manufacturer now. Can’t you just see retaining walls made out of old monitors filled with concrete? Who knows.

But back to the point of this post.

A long time ago,

On a planet far away, before this thing was “pretending” to be a support post, it was a _________________?

Well, if you guessed an old wagon axel—you would be right.

***

Charles Buell, Seattle Home Inspector

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May 17, 2011 by Charles Buell

Is the inspector a “block head?”

It is very common for home inspectors to find issues with homes that are not acceptable by either past or present building standards. Yet these defects have stood the “test-of-time.” This makes it difficult for the inspector because the standard reaction from the seller is likely to be that, “It has been that way for forever—it is fine.”

Unfortunately, I can’t let it go at that.

Sometimes I get the sense from the seller’s side of the equation that because it has been that way for a long time, and hasn’t failed, that we as inspectors shouldn’t even mention it. The fact that these things that are not “right,” and have not failed, means only one thing: they haven’t failed YET. Things that are wrong, and haven’t failed, necessarily have a higher probability of failure than something that is constructed properly.

The following defect was found in the crawl space of a 52 year old home the other day—and is a very common defect. Concrete blocks, when used as support columns of homes, must be installed vertically to provide any real strength. As you can see in the picture these blocks installed on their side, are in perfect condition, in this really nice “closed-crawl” space. (Closed crawl spaces are ones that have concrete floors (sealed floors) and no vents to the exterior and the crawl space is used as a giant air return for the heating system—-an awesome way to install a crawl space—-if one is going to insist on installing one.)

So the inspector must call for repairs to ensure that the floor system will stay where intended. In this case it might be as simple as having the contractor fill the voids of the blocks or install additional wood posts next to the concrete blocks. Neither solution is likely to be costly and could perhaps be done by a qualified repair person in conjunction with other repairs necessary around the home.

***

Charles Buell, Seattle Home Inspector

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November 21, 2010 by Charles Buell

What is Efflorescence.

Most people have seen “efflorescence” even if they didn’t know what it was or that it even had a name.

Some people have even mistaken it for mold.

The typical “whitish build-up” visible on masonry structures is caused by moisture moving through the material. As the moisture evaporates from the surface, the salts carried in the moisture builds up to create what we call “efflorescence.” Depending on the types of salts picked up, the efflorescence can sometimes be yellow or pink or even blue. One should be suspicious of an oil spill, possibly a leaking oil tank, with yellow efflorescence.

It is very common on foundations below grade that have not been adequately sealed on the exterior or that are for some other reason being impacted by sub-surface water. Moisture can also wick up through the foundation footing and then evaporate out through the wall. While mostly cosmetic (in some cases it can lead to spalling and weakening of the concrete or brick structures), the main thing that is indicated by efflorescence is: “there is moisture in the material.” The first picture shows typical efflorescence on a basement wall.

Efflorescence on the foundation in a basement

This next picture shows where efflorescence “grew in areas that were not covered by the plastic ground cover (the plastic ground cover has been removed for picture taking purposes).

This next picture shows a “close-up” of the delicate structures that are sometimes created.

Close up of efflorescence "garden" — Close up of efflorescence “garden”

This picture is of severe efflorescence on the face of a fireplace.

efflorescence on fireplace — Efflorescence on Fireplace

Efflorescence is also very common on the faces of brick chimneys at the exterior of the home, or in attics and crawl spaces–or even hidden behind finished surfaces that cover masonry structures. Here is a picture of efflorescence on the base of a chimney in a crawl space.

This is usually the result of failing chimney mortar caps, missing flue hats, failing mortar joints and/or cracks that can also allow moisture into the chimney structure. The moisture can then travel through the chimney structure and come out in other parts of the chimney–creating the efflorescence. The chimney in this next picture almost looks like it had been painted white and now most of the paint is gone.

Efflorescence can easily be cleaned from masonry surfaces—-but it will be back—-if the moisture conditions are not addressed.

By Charles Buell, Real Estate Inspections in Seattle

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