Newly Changed Shims Good or Bad?

[EmperorSunLao]

Hello,

My wife and I just bought a house and our inspector found there were pressboard shims in the foundation in the crawl space. We worked with the seller and the seller paid to have them replaced with hardwood shims. I don't really know if how they changed them is appropriate or not though. We have a few pictures of the new shims here, if you can please tell me if these look okay or if they need to send the contractor back in to correct them.

 

We really appreciate your help, thanks.

[Marc]

A 2" thick solid concrete pad is needed above the celled concrete blocks, then above that, hardwood shims.

Send the contractor back in. Not the same one.

Edited September 20, 2022 by Marc

[Jim Katen]

2 hours ago, Marc said:

A 2" thick solid concrete pad is needed above the celled concrete blocks, then above that, hardwood shims.

I agree that a 2" solid concrete pad should have been installed there. But that plan was screwed when the house was built - there's no room for a 2" pad now. Trying to add one isn't going to be worth the trouble and, in my experience, will just make a mess of things. You'll end up two steps behind where you are now. 

Personally, I'd cut my losses and call it good. 

 

[Jim Baird]

...looks like a good repair to me, long as you can keep termites away.

White oak is what I think I see, and it was long a preferred wood for big thick entry door sills where weather and traffic bring stresses to bear.  I give the job an A grade.

[John Kogel]

A steel plate on top of the column will block termites from tunneling up the inner surfaces of those blocks. If termite blocking is not required by local codes, the owner is not strictly required to do it.

A welding shop can cut a cap to fit and then a short screw jack can lift the weight off the pier for the install.

The more time you spend in the crawlspace, the better.. Rig up a light and lay down some plastic mat or best is a concrete skim coat over poly.

Then go in there once a year, to get the Xmas decorations maybe, and inspect those concrete blocks for termite tubes.

[ejager]

In our neck of the woods, LVL's require 3" end bearing, sometimes 4-1/2" depending on load - though there are always engineered exemptions.

 

I suppose its possible that these were NOT end bearing locations, but mid spans in a multiply beam... 

Edited September 24, 2022 by ejager
Midnight insights stuck in my head in the morning

[Jim Baird]

Speaking of white oak, a 3000 yr old white oak dugout canoe was recently discovered submerged in a Wisconsin lake.

USA Today
https://www.usatoday.com › nation
3,000-year-old dugout canoe found in Wisconsin's Lake Mendota - USA Today

[Rob Amaral]

Ditto all above... but let it slide...I'd be more concerned about conditions conducive to termites at the entire system under there..... you may want to pro-actively do something about that and let this slide.....