Hello everyone,

This is a 3 storied brick building with 2 units on each floor. I am on the first floor. I hired a contractor to remove about 7 feet of a load bearing wall after a structural engineers approval. The engineer's instructions were to support it with 3 LVL's 11 7/8" - 15' long with 4 LSLS studs on each end and W/EPC66 Cap and block solid under posts.

The work was done per specs laid out. However today i got a call from the neighbor upstairs stating they have a crack about 3 feet long on their floor tiles and a crack about the same size on the wall directly above the wall i had removed. I've been googling regarding this but am finding conflicting information. Some hadnt consulted with a structural engineer and hadnt done things right and then some other places talked about some settling that took place after the work was done.

I am a bit nervous as to what might be causing this. Any help would be greatly appreciated (i am scheduling to have the engineer come in and take a look but he is out of town for the weekend and cant reach him until monday).

Thank you in advance for your insights here.

 

Welcome to the forums! Do you own the building? Did the contractor build support walls on either side of the beam replacement area during construction?

 

No i'm renting which makes it tougher because the unit owners above are getting really agitated.

Yes the contractor did build support walls on either side of the wall before knocking it down.

 

You took on quite a liability in modifying a building that you don't own. I wish I had better information for you, but it would only increase your liability. I would make peace with the owners and try to come to an amicable solution. You may be reinstalling their tile and refinishing their walls before it is over.

 

Oops sorry i mis-wrote (have no idea why i wrote that - maybe because i'm a bit stressed right now) but i do own the unit. I just dont own the building (there are other unit owners in the building including the neighbor upstairs where the damage is)

Yes at the very least i am going to fix the wall and floors for them - no question about that.

What my question is and what i'm more concerned about is whether this is just a settling issue that others might have seen in their load bearing wall removal projects or is this more likely a bigger structural issue that work wasnt done right.

 

I'd suggest you get the opinion of a second structural engineer but not one recommended by the first one because he might just send you to a buddy. If the second engineer finds fault with the original design then it is time to start asking the first engineer about what kind of insurance he has.

 

1/4" of movement in the floor above will cause cracking in the tile floor. That's not much. I agree with Ray, to get an independent analysis of the job and methodology, with a written report. I still question the liability issue since you don't own the building. Any modification you make puts you liable for other's in the building and for the integrity of the building itself. Is the owner of the building involved at all?

 

Thanks Ray2047 & Chandler for your responses i will definitely get a second opinion.

Chandler - When you say -- 1/4" of movement in the floor above will cause cracking in the tile floor. That's not much -- Do you mean that this could be considered within normal range to have a 1/4" movement ?

This is a condo building so no one really owns the building. All the unit owners collectively have a share in maintaining the common areas outside of thier own units. We have an elected board in the condo association and i presented my plans to them (along with the structural engineers drawings) and got approval to go ahead with this before i applied for a permit with the town.

 

What I am saying is that virtually ANY movement above will cause cracking in the rooms' above tile floors. 1/4" was just a minimal amount.
Having all the information makes a big difference. First "renting", then more "owners", and now a condo, so things are changing with each post. I hope you realize this. If you got the blessing of the HOA, then so be it. I'd just have that independent "look see" done to verify or negate the methods used.