Drawing from his two decades of residential engineering experience, M+K project manager Jason Bischoff, P.E., writes in the July/August 2024 issue of Journal of Light Construction about the pitfalls of leaving construction errors unchecked—illustrating how even minor errors can lead to costly and complex retrofits if not addressed promptly.  

Avoiding Costly Structural Repairs

In my role as a project manager for a national structural engineering firm that specializes in residential design, I have the opportunity to learn about thousands of construction errors on a regular basis. Our firm has more than 65 engineers on staff working on projects across the U.S., and we are regularly tasked with providing quick turnaround retrofits to resolve construction errors to keep projects moving forward. From this well of experience, we’ve compiled a short list of the common construction errors with the most impactful retrofit requirements, along with some recommended preventative measures. Most of the situations described here can be avoided with oversight and awareness but are likely to balloon into major problems when overlooked. In most cases, the longer a construction error goes unaddressed, the more expensive it becomes to correct.

Out-of-Square Footings and Foundations

The need to keep footings and foundations square should be obvious, right? Still, nothing will stop a job quicker than finding out the foundation wall forms are overhanging the edge of the footing or the sill plates are overhanging the foundation walls. When these problems occur, it is worth pausing and reaching out to a design professional for direction on how to compensate. In some cases, the solution may be as simple as fastening a ledger to the side of the foundation to provide support for an overhanging sill plate. But in more drastic instances, more extensive or creative modifications to the foundations may be required. Depending on the scenario, it could be a much more difficult repair after the walls have been poured and even worse once the framing is installed.

Prevention: Measure twice, pour once. Make sure all measurements are checked prior to pouring. We recommend having an established process that clarifies whether the builder or the foundation contractor is accountable for verifying all dimensions prior to pouring the walls and footings and before any framing is set. Preferably, this is defined in writing in the subcontractor agreement.

Out-of-Level Foundations

A foundation that’s not level shouldn’t be much of an problem if it’s caught early. In an ideal situation, the framers install their sill plates as level as possible, shimming where necessary and checking level as subsequent levels are framed. It is imperative to check for level across all bearing points of a foundation. For example, if exterior wood-framed walls are bearing on a perimeter stem wall determined to be level, but the interior bearing walls are supported on a slab that is too high or too low, that is a recipe for major retrofits to those framed walls if not addressed early.

Prevention: Builders and their subcontractors need to ensure they are building from a level baseline, across all bearing points of the structure. A datum point should be established at one of the structural bearing points, and a laser or builder’s level should be used to verify that the rest of the structural bearing points are at the same elevation as the datum point. Continue reading “M+K Published in JLC Magazine”