Beam Me Down, Scottie
Love Clintonville? Victorian Village? Grandview? Arlington? Old Worthington?
Most older homes I am familiar with in Central Ohio have a basement so the beams and the columns are a lot more noticable than those in a crawl space. Not that we don't have parts of homes (winges, additions) on a crawl space but as a real estate agent or a buyer we seldom get into the crawl space to see.
We rely on home inspectors! Inspectors like Jay who is in Virginia who wrote this.
Not an old home lover? Don't read further...
Love old or older homes? Clintonville? Victorian Village? Grandview? Arlington? Old Worthington?
Read Jay's post and next time you see "the gap" know to look at the structure below, if you are interested in the home. Jay's photos showing "the gap" reminds me of the Clintonville marble test, something YOU can do during a showing. Get yourself a marble!
Thanks to Jay Markanich for allowing the Re-Blog.
While in a crawl space recently I couldn't help but notice a poorly-founded beam. This is the main support beam under the center of the original portion of a country home with numerous additions.
The beam has moved as the makeshift columns underneath have moved. This is very poorly done. This has likely been shifting downward from day one.
Beam support is crucial to the entire structure of any house. This is a "built-up beam," composed of three 2x10" planks that are only nailed together.
Not only is the beam not supported well, but it is also not sufficiently sized for what it is asked to do. And the planks are merely nailed together, with no support under the splices.
This beam should have been larger and made more solid with numerous through bolts in addition to properly-spaced and founded columns underneath.
How do I know it has moved?
These are just two of many photos I could have taken of the wall above that beam. The gap of the settling kitchen floor on the left is 1 1/2" and the gap of the living room floor on the right is 1". That gap varied all along that same contiguous wall. And walking along the wall created quite a bounce!
My recommendation: Transference of load onto proper support is what makes a house stand for a long time. Start at the bottom and work upward to see if support is large enough and properly positioned.
You can beam me UP now, Scottie.
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