Is this a huge problem? The house frame is about 2" off the slab along the north side. On the other sides of the home it varies by 1", but not in as many places.
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If I were a buyer I would beware. Why is the house frame not firmly on the foundation? |
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I would start by evaluating the north wall section in several ways. First of all use a nylon string (such as a masons line or a chalk line). Stretch this along the outside edge of the slab to see of the original slab was poured straight all across the area where the wall overhangs the edge. Secondly repeat this test along the lower edge of the wall (outside) to see if the base of the wall runs a true straight line. And then third attempt to run the same test along the upper side of the wall (also outside). If the house is multi-story do this wall test along a point where the wall meets the second story. These three tests will quickly help you to determine if the overall structure was built correctly or not. There is always the possibility the the slab was built in a shoddy way and not straight from the beginning. If by chance the walls are not actually sitting on a concrete slab that forms the floors on the inside of the house then there is a possibility of another serious problem going on. If the house wall is straight along the bottom edge and not matching to the foundation wall it may be that the foundation wall has tipped due to movement of the soil. If so then this needs to be looked into carefully. |
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Checking if various lines are straight may help explain why there's an overhang, but the question remains: Is this a huge problem? I don't know if we can fully answer this, as the devil's in the details. Are there additional floors? Is this in snow country, if so what's the snow load? What are the wind and seismic concerns? Is the wall 2" off a bearing wall? The bottom plate of the wall must have adequate bearing area on the concrete or the vertical studs could actually crush the fibers of the bottom plate. It may not be an issue for regular studs but beam supports are a big concern. Even good sized openings in the wall could be an issue. Then there's the lateral concerns from wind and possibly seismic. The bolts or whatever anchors are used are probably all misaligned, with very decreased edge distances, significantly reducing the ultimate strength of the assembly. What all this means is there is cause for concern, but depending on the design loads involved and their locations, it may not be a problem, or could be a huge problem. Without a detailed study, it will be very difficult to say. |
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