Ask the Inspector: Solving Serious Settlement Situations

I was checking a detached house some years ago; the client (home owner) was worried there had been ongoing, serious settlement in the centre of the home. It’s time to Ask the Inspector, once again:

After taking one look inside the crawl space under this area in question, it was clear that the main support (framing top plates) was left completely unsupported at the far end.  It appeared to be acting like a diving board, but with most of the weight of the upper floors bearing on it.

In the sample image below, if enough of the upright supports were either not installed (or had been removed for some reason), the horizontal double top plate supporting the floor joists would obviously sag under that weight…

I have to admit, I backed out of there rather quickly once I realized the situation…

The client was so grateful to know what the problem was and could then confidently proceed with remedying the situation.

Worry turned, once again, into a SMILE and that made my day!

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