Apartment Repair

APARTMENT BUILDING REPAIR - DEKALB COUNTY, GA

Contractor - Smith Bailey Associates, Snellville, GA

This is an apartment building that caught fire in one apartment. We were called to evaluate repairs to the fire damage, and it was obvious that the building had some very serious issues. In the photo on the left, you can see where the floor joists were improperly spliced. This was done as a "repair" to extensive termite damage and rot. On the right, you can see the rot in the floor, and the wall (which is load bearing) is not supported at all.

Dekalb County condemned the building, and required the owner to make repairs before the tenants could move back in. The initial cause of the problem was excessive moisture in the crawl space. It was inadequately ventilated when it was constructed, and making matters worse, over time the crawl space vents were covered. The moisture was so bad that standing water was in the crawl space.

When you get a lot of moisture in a crawl space, the wood gets moist and starts to rot. This presents termites with a very tasty meal, and they start to infest everything. The structure gets weak, and begins to fail.

We did several steps to solve the problem. First off, untreated wood should NEVER be in direct contact with masonry or concrete. It gives the termites a convenient and hidden path. So, we recommended metal termite shields be placed under wood members. To further control moisture, we had polyethylene laid down on the soil. This is a good idea for any crawl space, it keeps moisture down and makes access easier for future repairs (you can slide across the plastic instead of crawling on your stomach). We recommended sistering the rotted wood with treated pine, and installing steel jacks on concrete foundations to add further support.

Here is a picture of the work in progress. "Nasty" is the adjective that comes to mind.

Here we are as the repairs are getting complete - the moisture is down significantly, and it actually is quite comfortable in the crawl space now. If you look in the upper left corner, you can see a couple joists that hang on another joist without hangers - that's original construction and not up to code. The problem with major repair projects is deciding when to stop. Otherwise, you can find yourself replacing the entire building.

You can see just how wet it is in this crawl space. Look at the mud in the lower left corner.

Part of our repair design included a ventilation fan to keep the moisture down. We also added a sump pump.

The sump pump is in, the floor has been strengthened with new treated pine timbers. All that is left is for the contractor to take out his stuff.