Have concerns about property inspection on purchasing house

8/16/2019 at 10:15:30 AM

To do properly, the replacement beam should be engineered. Depending on the outcome of the specifications/design one can come up with a cost 3k plus should be expected. That being said the sag may have affected other areas of the house that was not revealed on inspection so be careful.

Hope this was helpful.

8/16/2019 at 1:34:43 PM

Hi Dyan from Edmonton,

The house deal would be a breaker if cost to upgrade house to code and structural integrity cannot be negotiated.

Another caveat is what is the extent of damage above the sagging floor, i.e are there signs of problems in main floor or upper floor.

If a tele post was removed in basement for a pool table say 8 ft long with 3 ft playing space either end, the span your looking to support is possibly around 14 ft. To pickup the main floor system your inspector or engineer would possibly specify the use of a 3 ply 11 7/8 x 1 3/4 LVL beam, jacked with a 4 ply built up 2x6 post, these posts possibly hidden in wall framing.

A structural cost without finishing would cover;

* City assessment or engineer inspection and recommendation for beam and support spec (cost varies by area)

* Build permit (cost varies by area)

* Consult with carpenter or designer for basement layout

* Jack main floor up to allow room to install LVL beam and let down

* Prepare endpoint posts for LVL beam, this may require exterior wall and interior wall demo, reframing

* Support material, deliveries, allowance for interior wall framing

Ballpark cost $3500

8/16/2019 at 2:02:07 PM

I would recommend you have your real estate agent contact the owner or the owners real estate agent

8/16/2019 at 2:04:08 PM

Your real estate agent then could reduce the price to get this done. I would allow for $10,000 minimum without seeing it. You need to get an engineer's drawings and Stamp as well as upgrading you're being to allow for the span without the column or add to call him back in. If they don't take the money off don't buy the house!!

8/22/2019 at 8:28:49 AM

Dyan

I am not an engineer, but if your assessment is accurate and there was a telepost there previously, that means that the footing and structure are likely in tact and it may simply just need to be reinstalled.

Notwithstanding that there may be damage in the upper floors from the sag depending how long it was removed, I don't think it would be a deal breaker for me, but I definitely would get estimates for repairs prior to making the deal.

Cheers

John Kuehnl-Cadwell, CD, ME

Master Electrician

Datawise Solutions Inc