Hi, were building a new house and there is a octagonian screened…

Question

Hi, we're building a new house and there is a octagonian screened in porch on
the back, two things have happened, 1) when they poured the basement, where it
comes to the porch, they poured the basement wall straight across instead of
pushing the wall in to allow for the back three angles, so now in order to keep
the porch the way it's supposed be those back three angles are over the
basement. They have put supports in the basement to allow for this. The plan is
to paint the wood part with a waterproof stuff like the stuff put on under a
shower and maybe use a rubber membrane and to slope it some, so any water wants
to drain away from the house. Also to put the seem of thin bricks, tile,
whatever lite covering we use, it's seam runs with the seam between the wood and
concrete to allow for expansion and contraction. I'll send pictures. I just want
know if this looks ok , the way we've done it?

2) The ground is very sandy here , so when I say sand , I just mean the dirt
around the house, not sand we brought in special. This same porch , before the
concrete pad was poured , sand was put inside the block perimeter wall, when the
sand was put in, it also got inside the concrete block holes, some were filled
up with sand. So the concrete guys packs the sand, and the pad gets poured and
it blows out the seams where the angles come together, there's no rebar to tie
the seams together , I'am told that's normal for this area, by the way there are
no codes here, only how far u can build from a property line. So the concrete
man wants to build a reg concrete wall, no blocks, right up next to the block
wall, he's wanting to go up, 15, 18 , inches or something like that, I think it
needs to go up all the way or up to we're the pad starts. Looks wise , I think
it will be fine, it will just look like a thicker wall is all. My father in law
thinks it needs torn out and start over. I'll send pictures. What do u think
about the fix?

StructuralEng · Accepted Answer

StructuralEng :

Hello

StructuralEng :

I can help

StructuralEng :

Please give me a few minutes to read your question completely and I’ll let you
know if I need additional information.

Before we get started I’d like to point out that a Professional Engineer’s
standard of care typically includes a site visit to assess field conditions and
get an overall understanding of the structure. This can obviously not be
accomplished through the internet. The information provided here is meant for
informational purposes only (general sizing and budgeting) and is based on the
information provided by you. Only vertical gravity loads will be considered, no
lateral loads or analysis is looked at (this can be a big part of the design
that will need to be considered). The information should be verified by a
professional engineer who can visit the site to ensure that potentially
important information has not been overlooked or omitted.

StructuralEng :

This appears to be a very detailed and involed question. Can I read through this
and get back to you in a couple hours?

Customer: how do I send pictures
StructuralEng :

sORRY FOR THE DELAY. i DIDN'T GET NOTICE THAT YOU HAD RESPONDED.

StructuralEng :

yOU CAN UPLOAD PICTURES HERE WITH THE PAPER CLIP ICON OR YOU CAN UPLOAD TO
MEDIAFIRE.COM AND POST THE url HERE FOR ME.

StructuralEng :

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StructuralEng :

Thank you. Let me check them out

StructuralEng :

I'm here. I'm just reading the question and looking at the pictures.

StructuralEng :

The whole idea behind the concrete wall is simply to encase the block to not
allow it to move, correct?

StructuralEng :

That would work, but the concrete wall will need to be properly reinforced.

StructuralEng :

To me, the construction is unacceptable and I would demand they rip it out and
build it correctly on their own dime.

StructuralEng :

To have a wall pulling itself apart before the building is even able to be
occupied is completely unacceptable.

StructuralEng :

At an absolute minimum, there should be ladder reinforcement in the joints

StructuralEng :

There should really be bond beam rings all the way around at some vertical
spacing.

Customer: Your right, the wall would be just to contain the block wall , so with
the proper reinforcement this would work? Should this wall go all the way up to
the top of the pad? The blocks were laid by a different guy than the concrete
guy, so it gets a little complicated. The block guy thought he was going to get
to lay the brick for the house , but he's not. But even the concrete guy said
that the reinforcement wasn't the normal way around here. The concrete man was
kind of acting like some of it was my fault , for putting the sand in the
blocks. Could that be a cause? So I don't really know who going to pay, but I've
got a feeling I'll be paying, even if he pays for this. He's yet to do some of
the porches and driveway and even though he's already given a price, there's
little extras that have already come up and there will be more. If this will
work and not be a problem 10, 20, 30, years down the road , it will be ok with
me.
Customer: What about the part of the porch that goes over the basement, does
this look ok? Needless to say there's been some communication problems between
the builder and concrete man. I'll take some of the blame myself, but there's
some things I don't know the questions much less the answers.
StructuralEng : Normal for an area can't be an excuse for shoddy workmanship.
The sand inside the entire octagon could do that given the way it's constructed,
but it should if it were built properly. No reinforcing is common almost
everywhere in the country for a CMU wall with a running bond. When you have a
vertical seam that runs the full height of the wall, it's going to be a problem
StructuralEng : the concrete wall will work as long as it's properly designed
and reinforced as a tension ring. It should come all the way up to the top of
the CMU.
StructuralEng : the sand inside the cells of the actual block almost certainly
didn't contribute to that problem.
StructuralEng : And the concrete will need to completely encase the octagon, not
just on the outside.
StructuralEng : That may be another reason to redo the wall (possibly with
concrete). That would allow you to get the wall inside the basement and solve
item 1 without major problems.
StructuralEng : I wouldn't want outside space over living space. There are too
many things that can go wrong with the waterproofing and it's asking for
trouble. Architects spend a great deal of time coming up with waterproofing
details for unique conditions on every job. I wouldn't trust this to someone
else (myself included) to give you a lifetime solution against water
infiltration
Customer: What does CMU stand for? What do mean by saying not just on the
outside how would u do something on the inside without tearing the block wall
out? Could the block wall be tore out and still save the pad on top? And the
part over the house, are u saying build a concrete wall in the basement?
StructuralEng : Concrete Masonry Unit
StructuralEng : I meant the outside of the basement. It should completely
enclose the box so you get a tension ring
StructuralEng : Yes, the block wall can be replaced without losing the concrete
pad. It will just need to be shored during demo and rebuild.
StructuralEng : I will be unavailable for most of the weekend. If you could rate
my answer, I would appreciate it. I'll be happy to answer additional questions
on the topic.
Customer: Thank u, i really think this is such a good service you provide .
Customer: Thank u
Customer: Kevin

Hi, were building a new house and there is a octagonian screened…

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