Things seen this week during structural inspections!

I'll add before anything that these photos were almost all taken under 2 particular homes.

This is from a home in North East Los Angeles and it has some very interesting structural components underneath. Here you can see the concrete stem wall was formed in with this bubble-like footing for one of the posts.

A bunch of different wood members acting as supports for the center foundation wall. Might I add that the whole property wasn't seismically retrofitted at all.

These non-reinforced posts with no connection bracing or anything where found all over the crawlspace. A quick jolt from an earthquake and those puppies would fail.

Post on a brick on a pier... without any bracing. Again, these were seen all over under the home.

Another one similar to the picture before this.

This was a property in Echo Park that has some serious retaining wall issues. We'll more than likely be doing a sistered wall next to the existing concrete wall after the excavation of all the eroded dirt.

At least that tarp is doing it's job! For now... I can't imagine these heavy rainstorms are helping any.

This wasn't really a structural discovery, but a satanic one for sure. I'll let you decide what this is and why this is.

This is a concrete foundation with a 1/4-1/2 inch crack running vertically down the middle. Additionally, the post and sil above are leaning back and aren't braced.

More random brick placement under the wooden framing. Also, if you look in the back, there is a post/pier that was completely fallen over and is no longer supporting the sub-floor.

Zoom in on this one and you can clearly see a wooden 2x4 lodged into the concrete. This, among other things, has created a situation where the concrete below has started to crumble. And... no bracing.

Lean with it, rock with it!

It's redundant at this point, but the amount of random blocking and unregulated supports is hysterical.

Ah yes, the 4 wooden "beams" holding up the middle post. Classic.

Efflorescence (salt and other mineral deposits left behind after water intrusion) can be seen here. In the back right, more evidence of some serious water damage and lack of waterproofing.

"Just go ahead and throw the scrap wood in the mixture. Nobody will ever inspect this again." Says the silly contractor from 1910.

I'm only joking. Obviously OSHA and many city regulations were absent at the time.

Hope you had a good laugh or at least enjoyed these. More to come next week! Also, follow our Instagram for more cool posts: https://www.instagram.com/alphastructural/