Hello everyone, newbie here!
My mother-in-law has a 1950s era non-end unit townhouse that we're looking at modernizing. When poking around in the basement we saw a beam that supports the first floor that had cracks running through it (see photos attached). We're not sure how bad these are. It is the only beam that shows these cracks.
The beam is next to a double beam that seems to be where all of the weight for the 2nd floor is being placed. There is no support column under the double beam - all of the weight is being carried on the sides of these very old wood beams that are embedded in concrete on the side foundation walls. We were surprised that the entire weight of the house was not being supported by a column below it as all of the 2nd floor weight seems to come down on a single point in the center of the house. All walls you see are non-weight bearing and for a partial finished basement.
So, the question is, is this beam as bad as it looks? Can we just jack it up or do we need to add a footer under the jack to support the weight?
Thanks!
My mother-in-law has a 1950s era non-end unit townhouse that we're looking at modernizing. When poking around in the basement we saw a beam that supports the first floor that had cracks running through it (see photos attached). We're not sure how bad these are. It is the only beam that shows these cracks.
The beam is next to a double beam that seems to be where all of the weight for the 2nd floor is being placed. There is no support column under the double beam - all of the weight is being carried on the sides of these very old wood beams that are embedded in concrete on the side foundation walls. We were surprised that the entire weight of the house was not being supported by a column below it as all of the 2nd floor weight seems to come down on a single point in the center of the house. All walls you see are non-weight bearing and for a partial finished basement.
So, the question is, is this beam as bad as it looks? Can we just jack it up or do we need to add a footer under the jack to support the weight?
Thanks!
