[kenglish]

I just had my home inspected for the upcoming closing and the inspector noted a major concern with the use of shims and that the wall should be reinforced. Any ideas for acceptable repair would be greatly appreciated.

Best regards

 

[Gary in WA]

Sounds like you need to pack mortar mix into the gaps between the sill plate and the concrete wall top. Smooth the outside face, if able to, when done. Be safe, G

 

[kenglish]

Advice Please!!!

I have no experience with this and the gap in the inside of the crawl space at the sill plate ranges from 1/4" to 3/4" and the length is probably 15 ft. on perpendicular walls. Is the shimmming an acceptable method of leveling the sill plate and how much is allowable? Will packing mortar into the cracks be an acceptable method for reinforcing the sill plate? The foundation is not poured concrete, it is block construction, therefore the top is the open side of the block and it is directly beneath the sill plate. Is there building code that covers this? Thanks in advance for all the help!! I would attach photos but I haven't figured out if I can do that....suggestions?

 

[Ron6519]

I just had my home inspected for the upcoming closing and the inspector noted a major concern with the use of shims and that the wall should be reinforced. Any ideas for acceptable repair would be greatly appreciated.

Best regards

What exactly are you saying about the wall? Is this the foundation wall? Exterior wall? Etc...
What type of foundation is this? What's it shimmed with? How big are the gaps? How old is the house?
Ron

 

[kenglish]

What exactly are you saying about the wall? Is this the foundation wall? Exterior wall? Etc...
What type of foundation is this? What's it shimmed with? How big are the gaps? How old is the house?
Ron

It is the foundation wall that would be the front and left side of the attached garage. It is a block foundation and the sill plate is shimmed with steel plates in some places and small pieces of pine in others along a 15 ft length. The home is only about five years old, so It was built this way originally. The gaps range from 1/4" to approx. 3/4".

 

[Ron6519]

Why does the foundation wall need to be reinforced? To have that much of a gap on so young a house does not bode well for competance of the foundation contractor.
My concerns would be for the overall quality of the house. There are many things that are buried that might become an issue in a few more years. The builder did not seem to pick the best men for the job.
Ron

 

[Daniel Holzman]

I am interested in EXACTLY how the sill plate is attached to the block. Perhaps you can take a picture and post it. With a conventional poured concrete wall, the sill is attached to the concrete using J bolts that are embedded into the concrete approximately every 12 inches (exact spacing depends on code). With a block foundation, normal practice is to fill the block with concrete in the location of the J bolts, and embed the J bolts in the block.

The J bolts are threaded on top, and penetrate through the bottom of the sill plate to the top. The top of the J bolt has a nut (double nut if the contractor is unusually careful). The nut holds the sill plate down flat on the concrete (or block), which prevents the kind of gap you are seeing. Additionally, if there are any gaps left between the sill plate and the concrete, the gaps would generally be filled with foam, fiberglass, or similar material to minimize air infiltration under the sill and into the basement or crawl space.

Sounds like you may be missing the J bolts. That would be a serious problem, since all you are left with without J bolts is a friction fit between the sill and the foundation wall, which is unacceptable.