Squeaky Floors Screamed Trouble at Home Inspection (Malvern)
Earlier this past week, I was performing a Home Inspection in Malvern on a nice, newer construction townhome for a client of mine. The townhome was only several years old and was looking to be in great shape from the exterior portion of the home inspection.
As a Home Inspector in Malvern, I typically start with the top floor of the home and check the basement next. At this particular home inspection, I got to the basement and ran the heating system and went around the 1st floor to make sure heat was coming out of each of the registers. My client was on the 1st floor with me and as we were walking around, I noticed the floors were squeaky. Now, I've come across squeaky floors before, but these screamed trouble! The floors were extrordinarily soft and spongy in places and this wasn't normal for a young home. It was time to uncover what was causing this!
From the basement, I could see the flooring support consisted of engineered I-beams (aka I-joists). These
particular joists were engineered from wood with fiberboard. From the picture, you can see there are two flanges and a web. The engineered I-joists consist of 2x3 flanges on the top and bottom and a 1/2" OSB section that is usually very wide (approximated 10 inches) called the web.
Engineered I-joist are becoming increasingly popular in construction, especially residential, because they are both lighter and less prone to warping than solid wooden joists. They are designed such that if you need to run plumbing or ducting through them, you can cut holes in the center web subject to certain limits established by the I-joist manufacturer. In general, holes up to 1 1/2" in diameter can be cut anywhere in the web. These cuts or holes cannot be in the load-bearing section of the joist. In other words, the I-joist flanges should never be cut, notched or drilled. The bending stress created from such an action would likely cause the I-joist to fail and compromise the structural integrity of the joist.
This is what happened in this particular home.
When I was looking in utility room, I saw the gas line running to the fireplace. Well, the lines were being run through the I-joist. That would be fine if the lines were run through the web of the I-joists, but what either the builder or owner (we aren't sure who) did was cut the bottom flanges off in several of the I-joists and cut into the web as well. The entire structural integrity of the floor was compromised.
What can be done to remedy this structural failure? Can you repair damaged I-joists? Can you quiet the squeaky floors that scream trouble?
Manufacturers of I-joists state to never attempt repair on a damaged I-joist. What we had in this home was a rather large problem. The only remedy according to the manufacturer is to replace them completely. This would mean the owners would have to remove their belongings from the 1st floor, have the finished floor taken up, damaged joists taken out and replaced and floor reinstalled.
The buyer decided to walk away from the Squeaky Floors that screamed trouble at this Home Inspection in Malvern, PA!
Buying a home is probably one of the largest investments you can make. It's important to protect yourself with a thorough, Quality Home Inspection. Call ARTI Home Inspections LLC at 610-220-1907 for your Malvern Home Inspection Today!
David Artigliere with ARTI Home Inspections LLC is a ASHI-Certified Home Inspector in Malvern, Collegeville, Norristown, Malvern, Exton, Conshohocken & Surrounding Montgomery County.
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