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Aug ' l l 99 04:30p Paul Fuj awa En6 i neer s 2 19 _200 _4040 P.1 Tuesday, August 9,19Q9 Structural Inspection 524 North St Joseph Street South Bend, IN On August 5, 1999, I inspected the house at 524 North St. Joseph Street in South Bend and made the following observations. Only items which were visible on this inspection trip can be addressed in this report Additional hidden damage in a Structure is possible. OBSERVATIONS: 1. The brick foundation around the front porch has significant settlement The brick near the middle of the porch has settled 2%4". This settlement has been previously repaired by packing mortar in the gaps Ie8 by the wttlemerrt. The deck of the porch had been rebuilt with a paired concrete slab. This concrete slab has a crack and there is approximately I/4" of differential settlement at this crack 2 Some deterioration was noted in the plywood; soffit of the porch roof. It cannot be determined without opening the soffit the extent of this deterioration. 3. Deterioration and settlement in the brick foundation wall at the northwest comer of the building was noted The mortar joints have deteriorated and the bricks have loosened and settled 4. The foundation wall at the south side of the building has bowed outwards. Becmw the first floor joist do not bear on this wall, the floor framing was not able to restrain the lateral movement of the wall. The wood stud south wall of the house no longer bears proMly on this foundation wall. S. Doorjambs aro uneven on the first floor near the middle of the house. The vertical differential movement between the sides of these door jambs is approximately 1" ova a 30" width. The floor framing under this location is visible in the basement. The floor joists in this 4ea rest on wood beams which in turn bear on a brick chimney near the anter of the house. This chimney is plumb but is settling straight down. Heng the Rood beams and woad floor joist are moving downward with the chimney. See item 6. 6. The joists of the first floor are T/"xl'/," at 20" o c. These joists are in fair condition with some dry rot evident These joists bear on the exterior brick foundation walls an interior brick foundation wall and on several wood beams. Twu beams are triple 7i/i"x 1'/4", and ane beaus is a 6'x6". The triple 7V -A -x 1'/4" beams bear on interior foundation walls and an the middle chimney. No settlement is . evident in the interior foundation walls. The chimney is plumb but is settling straight dawn as noted in item 5. Because of this, the Brood beams and the floor join which bear an them are uneven. ANALYSIS: Items 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6 are all evidence of very bad sail conditions under this house. The settlement of nearby housm does not appear as bad It is possible that poor soil woos removed from under the neighboring houses; that the foundation of this house is shallower, or that this housc.is in a particularly bad location. It is possible that this settlement will condrrue in the future. Farther imrmtigation of the soil 922 East Wayne / Suite 200 / South Bend, IN 46617 / (219) 288-4640