Looks like somebody ordered the joist material too short and hacked together a solution.
In theory, a guy could knock the blocks out and put on sister boards out to the rim.
That would open it up for foam.
Rim joist access blocked
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In theory, a guy could knock the blocks out and put on sister boards out to the rim.
That would open it up for foam.
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The plot thickens….
Just got off the phone with a structural engineer . Briefly described the situation to him. Right away he said “those pieces of wood are to support the floor joists….you don’t have a rim joist.”
i then asked how much for him to assess in person.
$600
Yikes.
Just got off the phone with a structural engineer . Briefly described the situation to him. Right away he said “those pieces of wood are to support the floor joists….you don’t have a rim joist.”
i then asked how much for him to assess in person.
$600
Yikes.
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59,767 Posts
And cutting holes will not weaken them.
You do have a rim there that is supporting the wall above.
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I have left a few messages for other engineers to call me back. Hopefully I can get a guy to come who is less than $600. I really don’t want pay that much for his visit.
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That only covers the visit and the discussion, if you are making changes you would need it in writing so that would be getting close to $2k.
As it is now, it was passed by the city or an engineer. Changing the structure would require the city or more likely an engineers stamped drawing filed with the city.
The sill plate is supporting the joists.
The blocking was put there to hold them upright
until the plywood subfloor was glued and nailed on.
Ask the "structural engineer" how many houses he's framed.
Wood does have some insulating value. Why not pull out a block, insulate behind it, put it back in, and move on? Use plain fiberglass (no vapor barrier and not foam) so you don't trap moisture. There's no way you can save enough money on HVAC power reduction to pay for the repairs if you get dry rot down there!
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3,989 Posts
What are looking for them to tell you?
The block is for lateral restraint of the joists, required at each end of a beam or joist at the bearing location. When a beam or joist carries load, they have a tendency to rotate. The block prevents that and is required to be 2x of the same depth as the beam or joist.
The only thing you can say is lacking is that the "rim" joist does not have any lateral restraint. But if you want to provide that there's another can of worms.
The blocks are not temporary. See above.
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