extra support of the load bearing wall

WOW YIKES AND HOLY SHNIKEES!

Yes I absolutely agree with the inspector!

You should contact a contractor in your area so that they can take a look at the project as a whole and see exactly how bad the fix is. You may need to pull permits and hire structural engineers to analyze this project and prepare a report on what needs to be done to properly support the specific load that this wall will carry. the cost of this project can vary widely depending upon what is necessary and what all needs to be done and is hard to tell you what needs to be done from here because it is site and geographic location specific.

This is not something that I would suggest that an average homeowner tackle unless they have the knowledge, ability and experience with projects like this. There is more to this project than framing a simple wall and is worth the safety of you, others and the structure to have this properly corrected.

Good luck and be safe

Okay Redcloud,

I will move away from the "hire a professional" and give you some basic advice. I don't know your specific skill level, your specific building codes nor the specific steps pertaining to your specific project so I will give you some things to think about. I just wanted to come back and post this so you don't think I am some high falutting contractor that does not understand the DIY concept because I do, just so you know.

You may be able to lift the areas in question with some lally columns and shore up the floor joists and support them with sufficient support required by your municipality and by code. I do not know why the inspector is involved in the project but he is the one that you will have to consult with on the w's pertaining to the project and they probably will tell you that they are not contractors and you need to consult with one but on the other hand he might just give you some pointers. They tend to shy away from giving ANY advice because of the liability especially with a project like this.

This is a project that a homeowner can do but the risk in my opinion is not worth it. You may also have to have certain credentials to work on basements in your municipality so I just want you to know that there are so many factors at play here it is hard to tell you which way to go.

I understand that this is a DIY site and that you have come here for help and I understand that I am offering advice in your situation to not DIY however I hope that you can see why I would do so in this situation. Your house probably isn't going to collapse however you can do damage to the house if you do not know what you are doing. Plus the expense associated with this kind of[project can get rather high although you can probably rent Lallies or use beams and hydraulic jacks to tackle this project but with a project like this if you are at a DIY site asking, "how do I do this?" then my opinion is that you should hire it done and I realize that money does not grow on trees however if the inspector is involved then there is something going on that we are unaware of.

Good luck and please be safe.

Ahh to fix it...

If you need to have a structural engineer analyze the project $3-500 depending on where they have to come from.

The permit will depend on the amount of the project. so lets say $50 for conversation sake.

The work could be anywhere from $1000.00 to $5,000.00 and maybe more.

So it could be $6,000.00 but I am just throwing out figures that might be. Maybe more maybe less.

If you don't make the repairs then the next homeowner will have recourse against you because you knowingly have failed to perform the repairs which are life and safety issues if they split hairs. They then could come after you for monetary damages and if there are any disclosures you need to make pertaining to the sale of the house regarding damages or repairs and you fail to disclose those things then they may have recourse against you for fraud.

If you are buying another place and need to sell this one to finance the other one then you could effectively buy your house back if the new owners discover the omissions and want out of the house and purchase agreement/ contract. Best case scenario they ask you to make the repairs so you would have to do it anyway.

I would write in a clause acknowledging the fact that this deficiency exists and that you will have it taken care of at sellers expense. I know that this is not something you necessarily want to take care of but if you ignore it and pretend it does not exist then it could really come back to haunt yo and you could be the owner of two homes when it is all said and done, and is it worth buying the house back especially if you don't find another buyer for some time?

Do the right thing and take care of it or take the chance of getting nipped in the... well you know the rest.

Good luck to you and let us know how it turns out.

In the second picture it looks like there is another concrete block pier right behind the one that is offset and it looks like the hidden pier might be centered and carrying the beam properly.

My guess is that the offset pier was added because someone was worried that the ledger board on the beam wasn't adequate for the doubled joist that is running off the beam. You have two single joists that are about 16" oc plus an extra double joist between them coming off that beam indicating an attempt to beef up the floor structure in that area to carry some extra load. What is above that area?

If that is a good bearing pier behing the offset one then we can't really assess whether what you have there is a big problem or just sloppy work. The inspector has looked at it closely. Rather than assume you know what he wants have you asked the inspector to tell you specifically what remedy he would find acceptable. Otherwise you might not meet his expectations or you might go way overboard.