Interesting Shot.

joasis

Brick home, 30 years old.....absentee owner, called and said the floors have a "bouncy" feeling....we went out yesterday to have a look.

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genecarp

Nice, i am sure you know the drill. how far do you go?

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joasis

The above shot is what is left of a 2 x 10 joist....the top picture is a view through a hole we cut in a closet....that is the rim joist and sill plate.

T&M proposal to fix...the customer wants a complete bid....even after I told him it would be a CYA type of bid...there is no way we would know how far this will go, and it isn't looking good.

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neolitic

Maybe they have a moisture problem?

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davitk

I like the weep holes in the block.

TaitINC

i'll bet his floors were bouncy...but don't bounce too hard or you'll go right through.
do you know what caused it yet?
are those weeps holes or holes from termite treatment?

reveivl

You're right that it isn't looking good. There's the existing damage (probably very extensive), and then the problem that caused this symptom. He wants to 'patch it up'?
Unless you're very hungry, I'd leave it alone. (or get paid up front every week)

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joasis

The holes are from a termite treatment, I am guessing. There are vents for the crawlspace, all sealed. Like they are there for decoration.

The house has settled slightly over the years, and has no gutters...best we can tell is over time, enough water has worked it's way under to cause this.

The problem with bidding this is how far it will go? Access under the home is tight...and I mean tight. Unless we could knock the brick veneer off, there isn't a way to jack the entire home up....so as it stands, I am getting a fellow GC out to make a bid, and then we will present him the best way to proceed. It ain't going to be pretty.

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RayGoerdt

wound up doing one like that a few years ago, bid it high if you do it.

genecarp

Bidding this type of job does usually not work well for anyone involved. i would really push the T AND M approach, explain to them that it is in their best interest. usually if you include a estimated range with the T AND M arrangement it makes the client feel a little more comfortable , G

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KentWhitten

That looks bad....real bad. HO is not going to like what it costs either way. Keep it T&M.

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neolitic

I've done several as bad,
but not with the brick veneer.
A straight contract figure would
give the HO a stroke if I priced it.

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davitk

Ha! And bill 2X weekly to keep up to date.

j_builder

We just finished a rot-out project built in the 50's identical to your project. The H/O wanted a fixed price also instead of a T&M OR Cost-Plus price along with an estimated completion time... long story short I told him ten days to two weeks at a fair price $9***.00/9 days... ended up replacing the previous hack(s) work (galvanize-copper plumbing) sistered 2x6 floor joists that didn't go from plate-girder tiled tub surround osb sub-floor floor tiles etc. I'm thinking that T&M or Cost-Plus would have hurt the H/O's wallet much more in the end results.

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genecarp

Another way i approach the HO in this situation is to explain to them that i will give them a firm price. I then explain to them that since i can't see the full extent of the damage, i must assume the worst case scenario for the purposes of my estimate. I then offer to track the job T & M, and offer to charge them whichever way it comes out cheaper.

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davitk

That is all fine in theory but what happens when the job turns into something you never dreamt possible, for example the deck board replacement job I did back in August that revealed the framing dropped 11" from the original elevation, honestly I would have initially guessed 2 or 3 inches max. Turns out the creek it was built over was causing the footings to settle - "worst case scenerio" would have meant getting the DNR involved

Sometimes that can of worms has multiple lids; go T & M and let the HO take the risk, save the guess work for Vegas.

DanTheMan9727

Yikes. This happened to my parents place too. Pretty easy fix, though.

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A W Smith

No metal termite shield, Hollow core block on top course instead of semi solids, Did the original builder even include a starter colony of termites with every house he built? Crawl access doesn't seem to be a problem as you will have to remove a bunch of floor anyway to replace band joists you cant slide in from outside because of the brick veneer. Don't be afraid to bid it because once you open it all up it will probably be easier than you think. good money in jobs like this no one will touch. start with a worst case plan of action first, than a not to exceed lineal feet of component replacement bid, anything over is change order cash in your pocket.

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