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You can get away with a sloppy handshake but with a carelessly built house? Not so much. Eventually, its qualities will deteriorate to the point when the only thing holding it together is pure luck. And you better call in the construction engineers before that runs out, too.

Alpha Structural, Inc. presents itself as the only company in Los Angeles County licensed to engineer and build any type of foundation or hillside repair. For its 25th birthday, the organization has decided to share some of the craziest structural construction fails they've found over the years, making many internet users question the sanity of some contractors. "Besides having a stellar reputation, we're called out to inspect and propose solutions to many structural issues," a spokesperson of Alpha Structural, In. told Bored Panda. "Specializing in advanced hillside foundation repair methods we mainly are called to inspect when there are issues such as sloping floors, failed retaining walls, etc."

"A very common engineering fail we see is mid-century hillside homes that are sinking. They were often built with shallow footings that are prone to sink over time. Additionally, there is a lot of expansive soil in Los Angeles which, due to its high clay content, expands and contracts. This leads to corners or sides of a home that sink."

Since the company has already inspected tens of thousands of properties, it's hard to catch its engineers off guard. "I would say we're more likely to be surprised by what's under the home than the structure itself! Although, while we are not alarmist in any way, every once in a while we will come across a structure that we are surprised is still standing."

According to Alpha Structural, Inc., everyone living in the area can take measures to make their building a safe place. "We always recommend earthquake retrofitting your home," they added. "It's no surprise seismic activity is prevalent in Los Angeles, so taking the time to retrofit your home is key. Also, most foundation problems are caused because of no drainage, or poor drainage around the home. The most cost-effective solution to preserve your foundation is to make sure your yard slopes away from the structure and that your gutters and downspouts are cleaned and route the water away.

However, it's easy to get carried away. "People tend to overreact when it comes to their home. Things such as hairline cracks and minor sticking of doors can cause quite a panic in most homeowners. Plenty of information about our services can be found on our website!"

Continue scrolling to check out what epic fails these guys find daily and upvote your favorite entries!

More info: alphastructural.com | Facebook

#1

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Everything is code when there is no code. (Not in LA)

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#3

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

YES, this is a real skull & YES it was called in to the police and YES it was confirmed by a detective coroner.

While doing a real estate inspection in the valley, one of our assessors came across the above skull. It was said to be found in Peru by the previous owners. Apparently, they brought it back in their luggage when returning from their vacation in Peru. Why they would do this is beyond me.

This was later confirmed by the sellers of the property that it was in fact brought back over to the states from Peru. The skull, which was studied by the coroner, was roughly 1,000 years old. This is by far one of the craziest things we've seen doing foundation inspections in Los Angeles.

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luismilian avatar
Luis Milian
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

wow. the scary part (if is true) is that it traveled in someone's luggage all the way from Peru and TSA did nothing about it.

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#4

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

This was taken during one of our structural inspections in North Hollywood. It's gonna take a little more than duct tape to fix this one.

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Phoebes
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"If duct tape doesn't fix it, you just aren't using enough". ~Dwayne Johnson

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#5

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Now, I forgot the term for these, but basically it's a massive hole/well that was about a meter under the concrete footing. The owner had no idea this was here. Must have been there for decades.

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#6

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

And they were wondering why their floors were sagging.

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#7

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

During an inspection, one of our assessors found this beauty. A wall created entirely out of concrete filled washing machines.

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#8

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

And there goes the other half of your house

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Rich Auntie Skeleton
Community Member
5 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I remember seeing an episode of Hoarders where a guy had a house like this. He had so much junk in his attic and the weight of it was all being held up by one sagging beam. One book falling over would have bought his whole house crashing down on him. God it was sad.

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#10

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

"I have sagging floors" And this is why.

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#11

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

This is something you don't see every day: A colony of bees/hornets/wasps, have created a honeycombed nest on the carcass of a dead animal and it became the perfect online content. Nasty.

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#12

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

This is a foundation made up of river rock, some sort of hardened mortar and the tears of the contractors who did it. Also, I see a rhino!

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LOttawa
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Maybe the contractor was also an artist... it's the only way I can explain the rhino

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#13

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

This is a very interesting view from a basement window. It's actually located in a shower and you can see the critters moving around in the dirt. Hope you like bugs!

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#14

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

It may seem as if this is a photo was taken at an angle, but I assure you, it was perfectly straight. The floors are just sloping down a good 6 inches from the middle of the home.

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#15

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Nothing is worse than coming across a massive gas pipe while excavation. It wasn't on the initial plans.

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#16

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Though these jacks are pretty common...they should never be used as a permanent pier. Unless secured with duct tape of course.

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#17

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

This is an abandoned home in East Los Angeles. I don't want to get too technical on this, but not even the homeless would want to set up shop in there.

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#18

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

This is one of the craziest structural fails I've ever seen. No re-bar, not bolted, settling 2 ft and it's on sand...Just wow!

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#20

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

A soft-story can be described as multi-level structure built with a first floor that is much less rigid (soft) than the floors above, such as in an apartment with tuck under parking. This is a cause for concern, for when an earthquake hits, the existing columns do not have the strength to protect against the sideways movement that can occur.

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Michelle Carlson
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It looks like you could hit it with a hammer and the whole thing would come down.

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#21

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

This is actually the door leading to Narnia. It just so happens that it's under a house in Pasadena, CA.

Seriously though, they used this as a sort of "shear wall" for additional strength. Again, an obvious DIY job.

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#22

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

May not look like much, but a single toddler jumps and that set of stairs and deck come down.

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#24

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Not in terrible condition but I really want to kick it in.

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donald_pelton avatar
Donald Pelton
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It reminds me of one of those traps created by Wiley Coyote in the Road Runner cartoons.

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#25

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

It's simple, the floor is actually a balloon. Prepare to fly.

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#26

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

The fact that almost all of the post & piers were like this is concerning!

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captijn avatar
Pan Narrans
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That only confirms my suspision that we are dealing with magic carpet dealers!

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#27

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

This is what happens when wood touches dirt over a long period of time. It soaks up water and rots.

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RaroaRaroa
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A fact anyone knows, surely. How do these places get built in the first place?

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#28

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So from here we see there is a slope starting from the right and going 15 feet to left.
After peeling back the carpet, we discovered a massive slab crack. To the right of the crack we see another crack that's been patched. The left side of the house was completely sinking a total of 18 inches from the point of the crack. One of the worst slab conditions we've seen so far in LA.

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#29

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Stay hydrated my friends...

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#30

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Let's just say it's a little over-engineered.

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heatherbateman avatar
Phoebes
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't know...I bet you don't see in cracks in any of THOSE floors!

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#31

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

This patio above the garage had a little water intrusion...

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bianaw avatar
Biana Weatherford
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Why was this inspected? For insurance purposes? So they could get a demolition permit?

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#32

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

They might want to add a "Do not park next to this obviously failing retaining wall because it might fall on your car in the night and we're not paying for it" sign.

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Donald Pelton
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There was a parking lot on West Colorado Avenue in Colorado Springs where a wall had been built at the bottom of a hill like this. It gave way, and buried a car.

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#33

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This is a disaster waiting to happen. A large area of the back patio is basically floating on this hillside. Also, you can clearly see my finger in the frame.

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Hendra Lim
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

it's still there because of the tree roots is holding it, PRAISE MOTHER NATURE!

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#34

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

The issue is....all of it

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#35

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

The columns on the side are fine, but the middle one...it's game over

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#36

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

During an inspection in Los Angeles, we came across this brittle, failing foundation made of brick. The mortar simply fell right off of the brick in a dust waterfall. An earthquake would more than likely demolish this home.

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Ginge
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ballsy move playing jenga underneath a house, don't think i'd fancy being under there..

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#37

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Post that's barely resting upon a concrete pier. This one is undermined and probably one good shake away from collapsing.

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#38

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

It's a bucket filled with sand, not concrete, used as a concrete pier. Code? Nope. Aesthetic? Nope. Funny? Yep.

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#39

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

This speaks for itself. If you're wondering about the filter, I lost the original. All I have is our Instagram photo.

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#40

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Nature will find it's way. (Ficus Tree Root)

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#41

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Let's play a game of Jenga in the back yard.

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#42

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

A big concrete block, random wood members and plywood. That should do.

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A B C
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

it's way better built up tan some other foundations shown here...

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#43

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Did a structural assessment for this home and the lady was wondering why her home was sloping 7 inches. Some classic LA settlement.

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Ginge
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think the house is about to take off! How many balloons do they have on the roof?

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#44

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

The roots basically said F**K YOU and broke the wall with ease.

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#45

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

This was a very interesting hillside home that was sliding down the hill. They needed an engineered wall to keep the house from cracking down the slope.

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#46

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

This one is subtle but the property is shifting like crazy! The back wall is bowing quite a bit and in the top right, where the stilts connect to the overhang, you can see the waviness of the connections and how unstable it really is.

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#47

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

A few more inches down and that would have made a nice half-pipe for skateboarding. Image below shows the cause of this dip!

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M O'Connell
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's not weird that they built a brick patio on top of a wooden deck?

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#48

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

This was found under a house. Somebody undermined the entire footing then stopped the excavation and left.

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#49

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

This is a sump pump. It should be isolated in a plastic or concrete basin to collect water. This was installed into dirt. Fail.

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#50

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Water was constantly getting into the wall. This is the ugly result!

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#51

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

They did it right in the 1920's.

Not.

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#52

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

"who goes under a house to steal a wooden block off a pier?"

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#53

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Seems that they mixed every piece of rubble after a demolition and made a wall with it.

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#54

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

"I tried fixing it myself but I thought I'd give the experts a call"

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thedavids06 avatar
Brivid
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A lot of people really don't have the money for experts. Many people inherit their parents home and the problems that come with it but no money to fix it.

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#55

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

A pier with the footing sinking 7 inches down on the right. There were 6 others just like it under this property.

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Jace
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Why are these made with so little contact? Shouldn’t they be wider where they meet?

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#56

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Poor drainage, erosion and lack of care

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#57

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Just don't stick your hand in there...the house could bite.

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#58

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

This may look like a cool, industrial ceiling pattern in a DTLA villa, but it's actually water intrusion coming through the cracks above.

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#59

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

This was a failed retaining wall that we're fixing up. It actually wraps around the front (which you'll see below) and the pressure underneath and farther up the hill caused it to fall over and collapse into the street and into the neighbors yard. What occurred was called a "surcharge" and it's when the pressure from the structure puts too much tension into the surrounding soil that it slowly gets pushed outwards.

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#60

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

This is a deck that extended past the garage doors below it. Needless to say, it had some insane wood-rot underneath! In the photo to the right, you can see the once sturdy deck was held together by a massive framing bolt. Now it's free floating.

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#61

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

This is the side of a home that had awful water damage and wood-rot. The walls were so badly damaged and damp, they began to buckle and burst open, exposing the interior framing and causing the house to sink on one end.

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#62

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

This is a pretty severe crack in the concrete foundation of a hillside home. Metal strapping is one solution to this, though it's never recommended because the problems will persist and show up again in a few years. Replacing this section would be the correct action.

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#63

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

You don't have to be an expert to see there's an issue here. The foundation and framing connection (cripple wall) is buckling out toward the driveway. This is causing sloping floors, interior and exterior cracking and sticking doors.

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#64

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

It's like crawling through broken glass

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#66

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

A pier made with brick & mortar...No Bueno!

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#67

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

A spider made this crack it's home and now we can't do the work. We don't want to tear a spider family apart like that.

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llsewer avatar
Jaguarundi
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well, she IS a single Mom since she's already eaten their father...

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#68

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

I mean, if it works...

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mhubert10 avatar
mhubert10
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

if they had placed the bottom CMU block with the holes in a vertical position then ok. In the horizontal position, the CMU has little strength

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#69

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

A missing pier will inevitably cause sagging of the sub-floor.

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#70

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Well, it does the job but it's not strapped and it could cause future damage.

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moconnell avatar
M O'Connell
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Is that literally a 4x4 with leftover drywall on both sides?

#71

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

This is more of an art piece that was built into the foundation. There's rock, a cinder block, 2x4's and a metal plate, all tied into the foundation. Beautiful, elegant, illegal.

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Naomi Armitage
Community Member
5 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh, I LOVE this piece, it speaks to me! It's saying, "Disaster imminent."

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#72

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

This is actually a project that we took on and it's almost done. This is a VERY steep hillside up in Hollywood that was collapsing and continuously falling and creating more damage to the hillside. We drilled piles down about 30 feet to bedrock for stabilization and added a new retaining wall system for the upper tier.

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#73

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

At this point it's not worth repairing. Just replace the foundation.

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#74

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

The result of bad water proofing: Spalling Concrete.

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#75

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

This was the "foundation" of an old school built in the early 1900's. Completely made up of rock and rubble, this would in no way survive an earthquake. We're redoing the entire foundation.

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blueion3 avatar
Cathleen Morris
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can foresee imminent danger in a lot of America’s infrastructure!

#76

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

This was a massive 30' retaining wall in the back of a few properties. There's nothing really "wrong" with it, other than it's clearly uneven at most points and it seems to have been un-permitted. A pool at the bottom right clearly indicates the real reason the wall is there; cliff diving practice.

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#77

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

A post that's barely resting upon a concrete pier.

This one really makes me chuckle because it looks like the feds are using a spotlight to catch a felon (Dasani bottle) on the ledge of a skyscraper.

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#78

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

This pier has simply given up in life and is allowing the process of earth decomposition to take place.

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Craig Lee
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The scary thing about a lot of these photos, is the fact that it's not all original and this is sloppy work from homeowners or cheap contractors. This is what happens when homeowners go with the cheapest option sometimes. I'm a contractor in Washington state and have never seen this amount of sloppy construction. I've seen terrible work before, but these are all really bad.

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#79

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Another large, vertical crack that is displaced. Though it is a newer looking foundation, there was no reinforcement bar and a small earthquake hit the area. Snap.

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Craig Lee
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is almost worse than crappy DIY or early 1900's construction. Because it's more current it should be done to code.

#80

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Termites and dry rot...unfortunate

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#81

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Here's the real damage. A rotating concrete foundation with a complete absence of re-bar (reinforcement steel). Not only is the concrete rotating; it's sinking, cracked on both ends and could easily cause the house to fall at any time.

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#82

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

The previous contractor filled the whole thing up with rubble...

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Anne
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Cheap way to get rid of trash without paying for it, I guess..

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#83

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

This is a ridiculous spalling issue. It's as if they threw in small pieces of re-bar while the concrete was hardening.

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#84

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

If you open up a wall and the concrete crumbles out like this...you might have some foundation issues.

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blueion3 avatar
Cathleen Morris
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Might ....!?!!!? “Might have some foundation issues. ....” Surely you jest!

#85

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

An obvious issue. The foundation and existing wall failing and sliding down the hillside.

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#86

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Here, you can see both sides of the property have collapsed and crushed the cars below.

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#87

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

This is a look at an 1885 home in Los Angeles. The "posts" are 2x8s with little to no concrete pier to rest on. The brick foundation is crumbling and falling apart more and more every year and needs to be entirely replaced. It's lasted this long, but it wont last for much longer.

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ispeak catanese
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

To my untrained eye it looks much neater than some of the hell holes seen in this post!

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#89

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Seems as if it did more damage than not. Those walls are coming out for sure.

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#90

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

A wall that's trying to change zip codes

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#91

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

A deteriorating river rock foundation in Pasadena. There's a bunch of those out there and almost all of them need work!

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#92

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Burn the house

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#95

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Somebody is playing Jenga

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#96

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Being serious, this is a bad slope issues, mainly due to poor drainage and downspouts pouring right out near the base of the foundation. Caused a lot of wood rot and joists to start bowing.

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#97

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#98

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

This is my favorite of today's post. This is a brick foundation that completely toppled over in the night. We were called out to do emergency shoring (Support lumber) to keep the house from collapsing down. We're adding brand new concrete foundations to both side's of the home. CLOSE CALL!

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#99

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

That bolt/screw you see is supposed to be holding down the framing into concrete. The concrete foundation has eroded almost completely.

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#100

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

There were about 7 of these DIY posts under the home. The owners were wondering why the property was sloping so much. This is why!

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#101

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

This was an inspection of a soft story building in Los Angeles. These buildings are under a mandatory ordinance for earthquake retrofitting. While on the "discovery period" for this project, it was discovered that there was awful wood-rot and rusting of the bolts and straps.

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#102

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

The crawl space access is all sorts of ****** up.

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#103

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

It's cracked on both ends. The mud sill was doubled as a part of a lifting process. It basically did nothing but cause more pressure down.

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#104

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

A full foundation replacement + Caissons is in order. (Caissons are just steel reinforced concrete shafts going deep into bearing soil)

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#105

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Hmm..I wonder why this house was leaning 9"

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#106

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

It may look somewhat stable..but touching it with a hammer would turn it to dust. Also, the pipe on the ground broke in half when we moved it.

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#107

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Wall.exe failed to exist

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#108

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Water intrusion causing some spalling (when water seeps into concrete and oxidizes the re-bar and causes the concrete to break) *breath*

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#109

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

A poor excuse for a solid foundation. I think you should be concerned when you can fit your arm in the crack..... Don't make jokes, I'm serious.

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#110

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Stones and dust holding up a post under a home.

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#111

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

This homeowner thought it was a good idea to undermine the foundation and put in a few masonry blocks underneath. This was discovered by the city somehow. Tisk tisk. We are doing an entire sister foundation (built-in foundation right next to the existing) and I will be sure to share when we are done.

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#112

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Here's a better angle on the photos above. You can see how the mudsil (2x4 bolted to concrete foundation) is cracked in half and coming inward. No good.

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#113

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

A crack from hell. This is a displaced and sinking foundation. This crack was probably the result of years and years of seismic movement in the area. (1909 home)

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#114

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Displacement in the basement

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#115

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

That crack in between the tiered stem wall is dropping about 2 inches.

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#116

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Industrial concrete building with some bad water intrusion. Caused the steel inside the concrete to rust and break off.

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#117

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Straight as a nail.

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#118

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

This is a beam. A DIY glulam beam. A glulam beam is laminated peace of wood made up of other layers that are glued together. There's 8 different pieces of lumber all glued together here. Not very stable and definitely not safe.

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#119

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Gravity will take care of the rest.

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#120

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

This is a brick retaining wall that has been failing over the past 20 years. It leads right up to the house and would surely turn to dust in the case of an earthquake.

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#121

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Same property except somehow it has gotten worse. It's quite obvious this is a non-permitted area will multiple issues. Brick garden wall is failing, brick and masonry wall is failing, material strewn around the yard, broken irrigation, and a sign that really helps people only in the back yard.

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#122

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Sorry for the bad quality photo, but this is a one-story brick warehouse from 1947. The lower half of the brick wall is completely tilted and days away from falling apart.

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eliyahu-rooff avatar
Eliyahu Rooff
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's okay. I wouldn't have wanted to stand close to it to take a photo either.

#123

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

This is the house equivalent of breaking your femur bone. This is a very large crack in the foundation that is causing some settling, displacement and bowing of the wall above.

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#124

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

I posted this a while back but recently disappeared from the page. In short, the wall to the left is bowing very badly. Working in that garage would be a dance with the devil. #fails

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#125

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

A foundation made of rock and an old chimney made of un-reinforced masonry brick. A collapse just waiting to happen.

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#126

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

This was underneath a 1920's home in East Los Angeles. A black widow's paradise. There was some pretty bad wood rot from an ongoing leak and the property was not seismically retrofitted.

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#127

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Occasionally, we go out to a property before we do the work for a 'discovery period" where it is known what is happening but we must find it and expose it for repairs. That was the case with this massive foundation crack. The stucco on the outside was fine, but once it was removed, we found our problem. And for those who I know are going to ask, the crawlspace was inaccessible due to asbestos and minimal working space, that's why it was done from the exterior!

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#128

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

The owner attempted to shore it up with this tin siding sheet and it didn't do much...

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#129

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

This was a retaining wall that was leaning roughly 20%. About anything under 10% can be fixed in most cases, but something like this would need to be replaced.

As you can see at the bottom, the concrete walkway is beginning to displace and sink near the footing of the wall. This causes the weight from above to choose a side to put it's weight down onto. Since there is dirt on the other side, of course the wall starts leaning in, causing this potential wall collapse over the walkway.

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#130

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

This is the result of an overgrown oak tree that was way too close the structure. It ended up breaking through the wall and foundation of the garage.

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#131

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Not sure if you can see this one that well but the piece of wood on the left is horizontal. It's suppose to be upright and attached to that support beam. The floor was sinking a good foot.

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#132

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

The result of slab jacking 6 inches.

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#133

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

When water seeps into a hole for so long it starts to take advantage

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#134

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

I guess you could say it was...pier pressure.

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#135

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Yes, that might cause a few issues.

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#136

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

A railroad-tie retaining wall that was simply not holding up. Efforts were made to "retrofit" the wall but it was only months, if not weeks from failing.

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#137

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

You can't really see it much in the photo, but the wall to the left is completely bowing inward. It was not bolted and the concrete foundation was sinking in.

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#138

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

This photo doesn't do it justice but that wooden support girder is tilting a good 2 inches toward the slope. The post it's resting on is leaning outward and sinking back. Replacing that post and re-securing the connections is the way to go. No imminent danger, but that deck could have fallen over time.

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#139

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Also posted this about a month ago but was randomly deleted last week and thought I would share it again. This is an exposed, exterior footing on an old 1910 property in LA. The house is basically tilting downward, away from the rest of the property. Displacement with a crack like this is a big problem.

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#140

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Don't let the paint fool you, those stones are as unstable as the 1940's stock market. I will be sure to share some undated photos when the job is completed!

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#141

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

In addition to the knee-high rubble piles, DIY post like this one never suffice for earthquake protection.

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#142

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Though the I-beam on the left seems stable, all that is holding up that right side is that little car jack. It seems to be holding up fine but..for how long?

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#143

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Here, you can see how badly decayed this wood member is. The bolts are rusting and pretty close to ripping away from the wood.

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#144

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Those two bolts in the middle-left of the screen are the only thing securing the walkway/stairs to the bottom structure.

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#145

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Luckily the concrete at the top of the stair set is doweled together, but that doesn't make the situation any safer.

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#146

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Same property as the above photo, except this one was in the garage.

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#147

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

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djstolle avatar
AbbyNormal
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Looks like the front fork and handlebars of a bicycle embedded in the wall.

#148

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

This is a retaining wall that has a very odd crack going straight through the center of the masonry blocks. it seems nature has won this battle against man.

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#149

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Large horizontal crack in the foundation. It goes all the way through to the crawlspace area...

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#150

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

At first glance it just looks like some cracking stucco, but further evaluation shows the entire porch is basically cracked in half and sloping a few inches to the exterior...

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#151

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

At least the plants are healthy and safe.

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#152

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

There's almost too much to explain...

The stairs are crumbling to bits, the wall to the right is, well, not doing so well and it's sinking.

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#153

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

The wall is being pushed out from the weight of the home. This is commonly referred to as surcharge. Surcharge is basically when the vertical pressure or load of the property over the ground surface causes the earth to be pushed outwards. This has caused the flat-work around the home to bubble and come up. The tree roots don't help.

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#154

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

This was a home in the hills of Hollywood that was unfortunately at the top of a landslide. The foundation of the home couldn't take the tension that was being created while the hillside went down. This caused the framing/sub-flooring to almost completely collapse.

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#155

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Here's another picture of the landslide home in the Hollywood hills. This one gives you a good perspective on the effect the landslide had on the home. Almost all of the post/piers weren't braced and this caused the leaning that you're seeing.

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#156

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Chicken wire, tin siding, rocks, bricks and burnt wood... I guess the devil needs a home too.

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#157

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

These are just some very odd concrete support pillars.

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#158

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Yikes! Yeah, that's gonna need some work.

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#159

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Eagle Rock hillside has some sketchy stairs and retaining walls.

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#160

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

A lot of buildings in the 1994 Northridge earthquake simply collapsed, crushing cars and whatever else was unfortunate enough to be caught underneath.

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#161

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

I know I wouldn't want to live in a unit that had this as one of the main supports.

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#162

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

We'll be demoing that whole side of framing and jacking up the stair way. The retrofit will consist of many steel columns and new below-grade beams with steel reinforcement.

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#163

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Here it was further up the hill and on the side of the property. This can also be caused by water saturation and poor drainage.

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#164

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

The floors in this house were slowly sloping away from the center of the home. The owners had to rip open the carpet and call us out for an evaluation of the slab. Not much to evaluate...we'll be replacing the entire slab.

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#165

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Watch your step..

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#166

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

A steel stud used as a post for girder support. Structurally, it could probably hold up fairly well compared to the post behind it, but it's definitely not code.
+

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#167

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

House jacking can sometimes cause other issues...

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#168

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

"Sir, there is a large hole in the foundation wall. What do we do?"

"Let's just take some slabs of concrete and fill it up... nobody will notice"

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#169

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

This is a "retaining wall" in the back yard of a Los Angeles property we inspected. We're in contract to replace it completely.

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#170

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

The portion of the wall to the left of your screen is a complete mess... and that's an understatement. Made up of stone, mortar and concrete slabs from who knows when.

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#171

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Here's the massive oak tree that is attacking this man's home. Unfortunately for him, oak trees such as the one above are protected by the city and can't be removed/trimmed.

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puknosh avatar
Kimberly Puchniarz
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And this is what is wrong in all of California! Some random tree is more important than its citizens! We have chemicals sprayed over our entire skies killing trees, people, animals, etc., but they're concerned over ONE flippin' tree somewhere. Don't believe it, research is easily provable. Don't use google, use DuckDuckGo for the facts!!

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#172

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

The cripple wall to the left can't breath!

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#173

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Not the craziest thing I've posted, but needs addressing none the less.

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#174

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

This is that same yard from the top. Another shot of the brick retaining wall that is evidently failing.

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#175

Weird-Things-Structural-Inspections

Another backyard that is full of non-permitted walls. Also, a massive tripping hazard.

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