Ben H Posted December 21, 2010 Report Share Posted December 21, 2010 Same house as the missing lintels from the other day. Appears they started at each end and planned to meet in the middle. And they did, just not in plane with each other. Notice the nice "feathering" of the mortar to try and hide the fact they are jackasses. Click to Enlarge 37.21 KB Click to Enlarge 43.6 KB Click to Enlarge 39.47 KB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hausdok Posted December 21, 2010 Report Share Posted December 21, 2010 Looks like there's been some flooding in that crawl. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben H Posted December 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2010 Yeah it had some water in it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Posted December 21, 2010 Report Share Posted December 21, 2010 Hey Ben, nice block photos! I am curious why you imprint your photos with your logo. Marketing or protection? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Baird Posted December 21, 2010 Report Share Posted December 21, 2010 When I first looked I thought I was looking at block underpinning or skirting added after the framing. Then I decided it was an "owner-built". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted December 21, 2010 Report Share Posted December 21, 2010 Should scratch the mortar to see if it was mixed properly. Too much or too little water and it's strength drops. If they can't lay block, maybe they can't mix it right either. Wrong mix is a bigger finding. I'm always looking for bigger 'fish'. Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bain Posted December 21, 2010 Report Share Posted December 21, 2010 Should scratch the mortar to see if it was mixed properly. Too much or too little water and it's strength drops. If they can't lay block, maybe they can't mix it right either. Wrong mix is a bigger finding. I'm always looking for bigger 'fish'. Marc How does one empirically or quanitatively determine if mortar was correctly mixed by scratching it? Clearly if the stuff is like sand there's a problem, but what about everything in the middle ranges and slightly beyond? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghentjr Posted December 21, 2010 Report Share Posted December 21, 2010 Same house as the missing lintels from the other day. Appears they started at each end and planned to meet in the middle. And they did, just not in plane with each other. Notice the nice "feathering" of the mortar to try and hide the fact they are jackasses. Click to Enlarge 37.21 KB Click to Enlarge 43.6 KB Click to Enlarge 39.47 KB Based on the bottom picture it looks like a mix of different block sizes. May have been different support requirements or they had an excess of the wider block? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben H Posted December 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2010 @Les - I was playing around with Fast Stone and added the watermark when resizing. I plan on posting some pics of FB, and wanted to keep the piracy at bay....arrrhhh. I'll be up in your neck o' the woods this week. I'll look out for you. [] @ghentjr - I suppose you could be right about the different sized block. However, the 1st pic is coming down the wall, and the last one is where it ended. Nothing particular special about the wall. Why use different sized block for 4-5 ft in the last 1/4 of the wall? Just doesn't add up in my mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted December 21, 2010 Report Share Posted December 21, 2010 Should scratch the mortar to see if it was mixed properly. Too much or too little water and it's strength drops. If they can't lay block, maybe they can't mix it right either. Wrong mix is a bigger finding. I'm always looking for bigger 'fish'. Marc How does one empirically or quanitatively determine if mortar was correctly mixed by scratching it? Clearly if the stuff is like sand there's a problem, but what about everything in the middle ranges and slightly beyond? I wasn't suggesting to go as far as attempting an empirical or quantitative determination. Just scratch it with your fingernail. If it scrapes off that easily, that's all you need to write off the whole installation. If it's borderline, forget it, just write up the blocks. Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgbinspect Posted December 21, 2010 Report Share Posted December 21, 2010 @Les - I was playing around with Fast Stone and added the watermark when resizing. I plan on posting some pics of FB, and wanted to keep the piracy at bay....arrrhhh. I'll be up in your neck o' the woods this week. I'll look out for you. [] @ghentjr - I suppose you could be right about the different sized block. However, the 1st pic is coming down the wall, and the last one is where it ended. Nothing particular special about the wall. Why use different sized block for 4-5 ft in the last 1/4 of the wall? Just doesn't add up in my mind. Each block width (grouted and ungrouted) is rated to hold back, as a retaining wall or bulkhead, varying soil depths. So, they may have reduced block thickness because a thicker and more expensive unit wasn't required, or they may have simply been using up their misc. locks to get rid of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bain Posted December 21, 2010 Report Share Posted December 21, 2010 Should scratch the mortar to see if it was mixed properly. Too much or too little water and it's strength drops. If they can't lay block, maybe they can't mix it right either. Wrong mix is a bigger finding. I'm always looking for bigger 'fish'. Marc How does one empirically or quanitatively determine if mortar was correctly mixed by scratching it? Clearly if the stuff is like sand there's a problem, but what about everything in the middle ranges and slightly beyond? I wasn't suggesting to go as far as attempting an empirical or quantitative determination. Just scratch it with your fingernail. If it scrapes off that easily, that's all you need to write off the whole installation. If it's borderline, forget it, just write up the blocks. Marc I'm slow, so be patient. Are you saying that if you can easily scrape mortar out of one joint--or even ten--in a block foundation, your stance is that the entire installation should be "written off," which I assume is synonymous with "considered failed?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted December 21, 2010 Report Share Posted December 21, 2010 Yes, if it's portland cement based. Not so with lime based. Not necessarily failed but definitely an issue. Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terence McCann Posted December 21, 2010 Report Share Posted December 21, 2010 Should scratch the mortar to see if it was mixed properly. Too much or too little water and it's strength drops. If they can't lay block, maybe they can't mix it right either. Wrong mix is a bigger finding. I'm always looking for bigger 'fish'. Marc How does one empirically or quanitatively determine if mortar was correctly mixed by scratching it? Clearly if the stuff is like sand there's a problem, but what about everything in the middle ranges and slightly beyond? I wasn't suggesting to go as far as attempting an empirical or quantitative determination. Just scratch it with your fingernail. If it scrapes off that easily, that's all you need to write off the whole installation. If it's borderline, forget it, just write up the blocks. Marc I'm slow, so be patient. Are you saying that if you can easily scrape mortar out of one joint--or even ten--in a block foundation, your stance is that the entire installation should be "written off," which I assume is synonymous with "considered failed?" The block that's out of alignment by a country mile is "small fish" - barely worth a passing glance. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgbinspect Posted December 21, 2010 Report Share Posted December 21, 2010 These aren't fragile systems. Any masonry foundation is made up of materials with psi ratings that make supporting a lil" ole' house a walk in the park. If you do the math, you can probably stack fifty house on top of each other on the typical house foundation. It's akin to using a 4x4 as a foundation for an empty milk carton. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bain Posted December 21, 2010 Report Share Posted December 21, 2010 THese aren't fragile systems. Any masonry foundation is made up of materials with psi ratings that make sopporting a lil" ole' house a walk in the park. If you do the math, you can proably stack fifty house on top of each other on th etupical house foundation. What is the psi rating for block walls when the cells haven't been slushed? I could Google it, but asking you is quicker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgbinspect Posted December 21, 2010 Report Share Posted December 21, 2010 Ha! I'm on the road... sorry.. just google a solid block - pretty much the same.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bain Posted December 21, 2010 Report Share Posted December 21, 2010 I shouldn't be lazy in the first place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgbinspect Posted December 21, 2010 Report Share Posted December 21, 2010 Search the thread "The Mightly Brick" here at TIJ. If memory serves, I believe, based upon average total gross home weights provided by the manufactured home industry, fifty homes stacked was accurate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bain Posted December 21, 2010 Report Share Posted December 21, 2010 Pages on the site are hanging and loading really slowly. Mike must be trying to block me again. Professor Google says that 8" x 16" split-face CMUs are rated at 1,250-1,900 psi depending on their quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgbinspect Posted December 21, 2010 Report Share Posted December 21, 2010 Pages on the site are hanging and loading really slowly. Mike must be trying to block me again. Professor Google says that 8" x 16" split-face CMUs are rated at 1,250-1,900 psi depending on their quality. Well, there you go. that means that in a perfect world, even using the lower psi rating, that block can support 80 tons! (considerably less if it's cored.) The average frame house is between 50 - 100 tons I think. All that info is floating around in here from past threads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgbinspect Posted December 21, 2010 Report Share Posted December 21, 2010 FWIW, Philadelphia's City Hall, to this day, still holds the world record for the tallest load bearing structure on the planet topping out at 548 feet or roughly 54 stories of good ole' solid masonry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghentjr Posted December 21, 2010 Report Share Posted December 21, 2010 @Les - I was playing around with Fast Stone and added the watermark when resizing. I plan on posting some pics of FB, and wanted to keep the piracy at bay....arrrhhh. I'll be up in your neck o' the woods this week. I'll look out for you. [] @ghentjr - I suppose you could be right about the different sized block. However, the 1st pic is coming down the wall, and the last one is where it ended. Nothing particular special about the wall. Why use different sized block for 4-5 ft in the last 1/4 of the wall? Just doesn't add up in my mind. If the block was that far off you would/should have seen it from the exterior. No? Using different sized block can easily be explained in many ways. Your picture, (last one) shows an evenly "irregular" joint which is clearly two sized blocks. The cracks in your second picture are due to the blocks being joined. In a normal layout the blocks would have been overlaid differently. Because of the two different sizes the mason made a joint which was bound to crack. Think outside the block. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erby Posted December 22, 2010 Report Share Posted December 22, 2010 Les, Here's the thread about putting logos on your photos. https://www.inspectorsjournal.com/forum ... C_ID=12852 - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert1966 Posted December 27, 2010 Report Share Posted December 27, 2010 That looks really bad, I would be afraid of horizontal pressure. I had a contract do about the same hen tiled a bathroom shower, by the time he reached the top he was 1.5 inches out of plumb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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