As Pop says, the issues appear from your description as minor. If these conditions haven't caused floors to be out of level, drywall to buckle, doors or windows to stick, you have no immediate problems. I'd ask the realtor to get an estimate for the fixes, then negotiate.
TB
IMO only: They are rather minor, but ... since you can't get an eyeball on them, I'd ask what if any faults had been caused by the support issues. I don't think it's anything structural, but I'm no expert in that area. More likely something's just not perfectly level above, but the question for me would be how much out of level? How much of a perfectionist are you?
I can see myself handling t hose problems if they were mine, and they would't worry me, but I would have to lay eyeballs on them AND the fixes, just to be sure they met "my" requirements. Are the fixes going to be reinspected and will you get those results?
HTH,
Pop
All,
We are planning to buy a house and the inspector found following problems:
"All steel support posts in basement are not secured to concrete floor as required. This should have been done by builder and should be done."
"Two of the laminate main beams in basement are not supported properly on ends in box cutin foundation. These areas should be shimmed and supported properly"
Ratings are "B service/repair". Since it's a relocation and the house is in another state, we didn't get to see how did they look like. The inspector and agent told us that these are minor issues, and seems the sellers plan to repair themselves. However, another person told me these are serious problems.
So my questionis how serious are those, are they deal breakers?
Thanks
No, IMO they are not even worth fixing.
Not a big deal. The supports should be attached, but unless you bump into them with a forklift truck or something, they will continue to take the load and push down. There are many ways of securing them.
I don't know about the shimming of the laminated beams because I can't see them. If it is to stop sifting, it is not a serious problem either.
Ask how long the house has been standing. If it's more than a year (hell, a month)......
The inspector is correct. This should have been done by the builder, it is a minor problem. However, if they were not secured as required ... how certain can you be 1) that they are on the footings required and 2) that ALL the support posts requred are installed. (If the builder would shortcut on something like this, what other corners have been cut.)
Again, this is not a major problem. But it may be indicative of the quality of construction, in areas which neither you and the inspector could see.
Only you can decide that. If they are the ONLY problems, they are oversights which can easily be remedied. If they are indicative of shortcuts and a sloppy attitude towards construction, they are indeed dealbreakers. (If, for example, those steel support posts rest on the four inch thick concrete floor rather than the 12 or 18 inch thick footing ... there will be problems.)
If its a twenty year old house and there are no signs of sagging floors, cracking walls, etc, I'd be more comfortable than if it's only two or three years old.
In your place, I'd be cautious... particularly if there are other attractive homes as options.
Ken
Thanks everyone for the inputs, I can make more informed decision now. The house was built in 1994 and there is no sign of other problems. The inspector told us the build quality is above average and the house is in good condition.
Ken,
I agree with you. My major concern is about cutting corners in places that cannot be seen.
Those are very important points, but item 2 is something that the inspector should have reported on if it is a problem as it can be easily determined by looking at and measuring visible indications and checking a span table or two.
Item 1 is what really worries me as the real issue is hidden. Support posts are not simply added on a whim. They are supposed to be determied when the house is designed. Posts must sit on footings and be in place early in the framing process. The concrete floor is poured AFTER the posts are there, so the floor secures the posts in place, so to speak.
When we built our home, we used larger than usual steel beams in order to reduce the number of needed posts. With 6" steel beams (one 30' and another
20'), three posts would be needed at 10' intervals. We used 10" steel and this allowed a 20' spacing between posts. Thus, no post was needed for the 20' beam, and the 30' beam needed a single post 2/3 across its span. This post needed to support a load of approximately 22,000 lbs and could not be an adjustable post (they only support about 8,600 lbs). The footing beneath the post had to be 4' x 4' and 21" thick!This is pretty extreme, but it demonstrates that the post is not simply sitting on a 3" or 4" thick concrete floor!
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.