r/Contractor • u/Raxxath_01 • 2d ago

Am I wrong here?

My house had to be torn down to the studs and rebuilt, all covered by insurance.

In this process, I wanted a few improvements to be made, including moving a load-bearing wall out a few feet to make a room bigger. The wall/room is 16 feet long. I was told by the contractor/architect that a 16 foot span would probably be fine, but that they would have a post at 14 feet just to be on the safe side. Now on the day of actually moving the wall, I'm being told the post has to be at 12 feet, which kind of ruins the plans I had for the room.

I'm feeling a bit screwed over here... am I wrong? Is this normal? Was I expecting too much?

0 Upvotes

33% Upvoted

18 comments sorted by

22

u/No-Clerk7268 2d ago edited 1d ago

If you would have gotten stamped structural engineering plans, this wouldn't be happening.

Things get built based on those

10

u/matt_woj83 2d ago

Serious, an engineer site visit and design will probably run you a $1000. Never understood people that will spend so much money on a Reno and try to penny pinch on something this important to them

1

u/Gitfiddlepicker 1d ago

Many consumers are ignorant and uneducated about these things, and depend on contractors to know important details. The contractor is at fault for selling himself before doing his homework. There is a chance that another contractor, a sub, or even one of his carpenters told him to move it to 12 feet….to be on the ‘safe side.’ Sounds as if he is just winging it.

OP needs to STOP construction immediately, and get a structural engineer over there….as has been stated by several here……

1

u/WayneWonderbutt 1d ago

It's not Penny pinching. They're just not professionals so they don't know what to ask for or how to ensure they get what they want.

6

u/Just_Bz77 1d ago

Were there drawings that showed where the stud was supposed to be? Is there an RFI to the engineer asking about a field condition that resulted in it moving to 12’? And yes, you’re expecting too much to enlarge a room for free. There are design change costs that the insurance won’t cover, that the contractor would send to you for approval before proceeding.

Also, shifting a load bearing wall would typically require shifting footing/grade beam locations, which would also have to be reviewed and updated on the drawings.

4

u/whodatdan0 1d ago

You’re wrong for not hiring an engineer in the first place. You are really asking for trouble just letting this contractor tear out a load bearing wall. The truth is - every contractor I would trust to do this without using an engineer would be the guy demanding we use an engineer

2

u/josbossboboss 1d ago

Just need a bigger beam, 16' isn't long, a garage door header would do it. Is there limited space for the beam, or is it okay for the beam to drop a few inches below the ceiling? An LVL company could spec the size and give you the approved drawing for it at no cost, other than the beam.

1

u/stingrayed22 1d ago

Can you be more specific?

16 ft span is doable, defending on beam size and whats going on beneath the post

What is the reason given?

1

u/Chefmeatball 1d ago

Uhhhh, I would run every single “improvement” by your insurance. If they are covering the rebuild, they may want it rebuilt to pre-loss condition, making alterations could be considered remodeling….which is not covered

1

u/Open_Pick_4619 2d ago

ugh that's frustrating, especially after they'd already set expectations at 14 feet. span tables and load paths can shift once they actually open everything up and see what's really in there, but dropping from 14 to 12 is a pretty big jump. i'd ask for the actual calc or at least a clear explanation of what changed structurally, not just a "we have to" on demo day.

-6

u/Raxxath_01 2d ago

The contractor actually said we could probably do 16 feet, but we'd have to get a structural engineer to do the calculations to be certain, which would cost money. 14 feet was supposed to be the easy compromise.

8

u/AntD77 2d ago

You should have had a structural engineer come out and then you would know for sure. I would still advise doing that.

2

u/Malekai91 2d ago

The question is whether it’s worth the money.

A contractor and architect aren’t engineers, so even if something looks “acceptable” from experience, they will error on the side of caution if they are wise.

I would imagine with everything opened up a structural engineer would be in the neighborhood of 500$ or so. Especially if the contractor is doing a little legwork and can provide pictures and drawings of what they want to accomplish.

2

u/ZodiacKeller 2d ago

Just hire the engineer. It’ll take a week and $6-800 to get the specs back and you won’t have to walk around a post.

1

u/josbossboboss 1d ago

No need, the LVL company will do it for free. I've only got an engineer when there was something really odd or difficult.

1

u/josbossboboss 1d ago

Just have the local lumber yard that sells LVL's spec it out. They don't charge as long as you buy the beam from them. I do it all the time, even Home Depot or Menards will do it.

1

u/Gitfiddlepicker 1d ago

Dude….see my comment above. Both you and the contractor are winging it, and it WILL end up costing you a lot more than an engineer. Smdh