nealtw

For some reason I am having trouble opening photos. I would still get quotes on lifting the house back up to level. The house settled a few inches soon after it was built and won't likely move any more. We have leveled just the floor but sometimes re-leveing the house is no big deal.

nealtw

Ok, managed to open your photos. The question becomes which wall is supported by footing in the basement. If it is the wall beside the first step, there should be a double joist coming from over the door to the post to the right and a double from that wall to the other double. If that wall hasn't got bearing below the there would be a beam above the wall running full length to another beam from over the front door.
Is that a repair to the right of the stairs on the floor?

BridgeMan

Stairway below the landing needs a handrail, badly.

nealtw

Bridgeman; You don't like the supper slide down and right off the landing out the door?

bryce

Yes every one says that but it is the least of my concerns. It's kind of cool look no, wide open? Railing would ruin it. You can see how he uses it as table, lol.

Should i replace that support pillar? How strong is that encased stuff?
I going to be meet with the owner this weekend and he is going to answer all my questions. At least he fixed the headers, i guess he felt bad about it.

Btw, i was thinking of taking that wall out on the far right beside the staircase on the first floor, you can see the door.


Is that completely nuts? There is another wall and support above it in the room above, see first picture to left. I guess that is a no no. But what if it supported by a solid frame of real 4x4's around the entrance? Would that work, would that be strong enough?

nealtw

Have him go over what he has worked on and what he knows about.
Bearing walls, walls that have been removed, size of beams or headers that have been placed. A scetch of how the floor joists upstairs are running will be helpfull.
No you wouldn't just frame out an opening with 4x4s. A none bearing wall can just be removed. A bearing wall can be removed but some engineering has to done on how to support everything.

bryce

"A bearing wall can be removed but some engineering has to done on how to support everything. "
What does that mean? If i put a big massive 4x4 frame around it then support from the basement. What else could i do?
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nealtw

Have a look at the post beside the the landing in your photo. The white box running across the ceiling will be some sort of beam. As little as two 2x10s and as much as a huge expensive engineered beam. The beam has to be strong enough to carry the weight of the floor and roof and anything else above. The ends are held up with 2x4 or 2x6 studs, as many as are requirerd to carry the load. You would find solid blocking below that post from the bottom of the floor sheeting to the top of the wall downstairs and than as meny studs carry the load to the footing below the floor. When removing a bearing wall you would need help calculating beam size, post size and whether or not the existing footing for the wall will be strong enough to carry that weight.
Like I said, it can be done but, it deffinitly is in the planning and cost benefit analysis

nealtw

bryce: keep in mind some of the sloping floor around a new staircase could be caused by some one failing to re-structure the framing for a changed load.

CallMeVilla

Did your inspector lift the ceiling tiles to look at the structure? He can do this . . . It might solve some questions at this point.