Home › Forums › Closed Forums › Buying and Selling RE › How to find out if House is “safe”
- This topic has 40 replies, 9 voices, and was last updated 15 years, 6 months ago by
SD Realtor.
-
AuthorPosts
-
February 26, 2009 at 8:05 AM #15165February 26, 2009 at 8:26 AM #355250
peterb
ParticipantCounty records should have the house lay-out and foot print available. I think you can even call them to ask about it.
February 26, 2009 at 8:26 AM #355834peterb
ParticipantCounty records should have the house lay-out and foot print available. I think you can even call them to ask about it.
February 26, 2009 at 8:26 AM #355724peterb
ParticipantCounty records should have the house lay-out and foot print available. I think you can even call them to ask about it.
February 26, 2009 at 8:26 AM #355695peterb
ParticipantCounty records should have the house lay-out and foot print available. I think you can even call them to ask about it.
February 26, 2009 at 8:26 AM #355559peterb
ParticipantCounty records should have the house lay-out and foot print available. I think you can even call them to ask about it.
February 26, 2009 at 9:00 AM #355760sdduuuude
ParticipantIf you have friend who is an architect, they may be able to help.
February 26, 2009 at 9:00 AM #355871sdduuuude
ParticipantIf you have friend who is an architect, they may be able to help.
February 26, 2009 at 9:00 AM #355731sdduuuude
ParticipantIf you have friend who is an architect, they may be able to help.
February 26, 2009 at 9:00 AM #355594sdduuuude
ParticipantIf you have friend who is an architect, they may be able to help.
February 26, 2009 at 9:00 AM #355285sdduuuude
ParticipantIf you have friend who is an architect, they may be able to help.
February 26, 2009 at 9:02 AM #355599NotCranky
ParticipantThe beam is there for the load bearing purposes andmight be enough.The wall below that may have been superficial or not.The beam should definately be continuous. A standard wood beam should be approximately 1″ per foot of length of the opening.If it is a beam of some kind of engineered lumber product it could be a little less. You could take some drywall off and look at the material to find out what it is and then check span tables accordingly.It definately matters what is on top of the beam, structurally speaking. If you have somebody look at it that should be taken into consideration.
Even if the beam is of appropriate type and size,
there is a possibilty that previous owners removed a sheer wall below the beam . It is a little harder to determine if one should be there or not. You probably know, sheer walls resist racking in an earthquake. A good contractor or structual engineer could try to determine this for you.It might require taking some drywall and flooring out, if good prints can’t be found. Maybe you could get repair suggestions in writing and negotiate a credit to resolve the problems.There are other possibilities involved, of course, so just take this as food for thought.Check permit history ,maybe, but not likely, permits were pulled for the modifications. Be careful even if you find permits because people are known to play tricks on inspectors. They will do a lot of the work before or after the inspectors involvement.Do a complete forensic study.
February 26, 2009 at 9:02 AM #355876NotCranky
ParticipantThe beam is there for the load bearing purposes andmight be enough.The wall below that may have been superficial or not.The beam should definately be continuous. A standard wood beam should be approximately 1″ per foot of length of the opening.If it is a beam of some kind of engineered lumber product it could be a little less. You could take some drywall off and look at the material to find out what it is and then check span tables accordingly.It definately matters what is on top of the beam, structurally speaking. If you have somebody look at it that should be taken into consideration.
Even if the beam is of appropriate type and size,
there is a possibilty that previous owners removed a sheer wall below the beam . It is a little harder to determine if one should be there or not. You probably know, sheer walls resist racking in an earthquake. A good contractor or structual engineer could try to determine this for you.It might require taking some drywall and flooring out, if good prints can’t be found. Maybe you could get repair suggestions in writing and negotiate a credit to resolve the problems.There are other possibilities involved, of course, so just take this as food for thought.Check permit history ,maybe, but not likely, permits were pulled for the modifications. Be careful even if you find permits because people are known to play tricks on inspectors. They will do a lot of the work before or after the inspectors involvement.Do a complete forensic study.
February 26, 2009 at 9:02 AM #355290NotCranky
ParticipantThe beam is there for the load bearing purposes andmight be enough.The wall below that may have been superficial or not.The beam should definately be continuous. A standard wood beam should be approximately 1″ per foot of length of the opening.If it is a beam of some kind of engineered lumber product it could be a little less. You could take some drywall off and look at the material to find out what it is and then check span tables accordingly.It definately matters what is on top of the beam, structurally speaking. If you have somebody look at it that should be taken into consideration.
Even if the beam is of appropriate type and size,
there is a possibilty that previous owners removed a sheer wall below the beam . It is a little harder to determine if one should be there or not. You probably know, sheer walls resist racking in an earthquake. A good contractor or structual engineer could try to determine this for you.It might require taking some drywall and flooring out, if good prints can’t be found. Maybe you could get repair suggestions in writing and negotiate a credit to resolve the problems.There are other possibilities involved, of course, so just take this as food for thought.Check permit history ,maybe, but not likely, permits were pulled for the modifications. Be careful even if you find permits because people are known to play tricks on inspectors. They will do a lot of the work before or after the inspectors involvement.Do a complete forensic study.
February 26, 2009 at 9:02 AM #355765NotCranky
ParticipantThe beam is there for the load bearing purposes andmight be enough.The wall below that may have been superficial or not.The beam should definately be continuous. A standard wood beam should be approximately 1″ per foot of length of the opening.If it is a beam of some kind of engineered lumber product it could be a little less. You could take some drywall off and look at the material to find out what it is and then check span tables accordingly.It definately matters what is on top of the beam, structurally speaking. If you have somebody look at it that should be taken into consideration.
Even if the beam is of appropriate type and size,
there is a possibilty that previous owners removed a sheer wall below the beam . It is a little harder to determine if one should be there or not. You probably know, sheer walls resist racking in an earthquake. A good contractor or structual engineer could try to determine this for you.It might require taking some drywall and flooring out, if good prints can’t be found. Maybe you could get repair suggestions in writing and negotiate a credit to resolve the problems.There are other possibilities involved, of course, so just take this as food for thought.Check permit history ,maybe, but not likely, permits were pulled for the modifications. Be careful even if you find permits because people are known to play tricks on inspectors. They will do a lot of the work before or after the inspectors involvement.Do a complete forensic study.
-
AuthorPosts
- The forum ‘Buying and Selling RE’ is closed to new topics and replies.