You can get away with a sloppy handshake but with a carelessly built house? Not so much. Eventually, its qualities will deteriorate to the point when the only thing holding it together is pure luck. And you better call in the construction engineers before that runs out, too.
Alpha Structural, Inc. presents itself as the only company in Los Angeles County licensed to engineer and build any type of foundation or hillside repair. For its 25th birthday, the organization has decided to share some of the craziest structural construction fails they've found over the years, making many internet users question the sanity of some contractors. "Besides having a stellar reputation, we're called out to inspect and propose solutions to many structural issues," a spokesperson of Alpha Structural, In. told Bored Panda. "Specializing in advanced hillside foundation repair methods we mainly are called to inspect when there are issues such as sloping floors, failed retaining walls, etc."
"A very common engineering fail we see is mid-century hillside homes that are sinking. They were often built with shallow footings that are prone to sink over time. Additionally, there is a lot of expansive soil in Los Angeles which, due to its high clay content, expands and contracts. This leads to corners or sides of a home that sink."
Since the company has already inspected tens of thousands of properties, it's hard to catch its engineers off guard. "I would say we're more likely to be surprised by what's under the home than the structure itself! Although, while we are not alarmist in any way, every once in a while we will come across a structure that we are surprised is still standing."
According to Alpha Structural, Inc., everyone living in the area can take measures to make their building a safe place. "We always recommend earthquake retrofitting your home," they added. "It's no surprise seismic activity is prevalent in Los Angeles, so taking the time to retrofit your home is key. Also, most foundation problems are caused because of no drainage, or poor drainage around the home. The most cost-effective solution to preserve your foundation is to make sure your yard slopes away from the structure and that your gutters and downspouts are cleaned and route the water away.
However, it's easy to get carried away. "People tend to overreact when it comes to their home. Things such as hairline cracks and minor sticking of doors can cause quite a panic in most homeowners. Plenty of information about our services can be found on our website!"
Continue scrolling to check out what epic fails these guys find daily and upvote your favorite entries!
More info: alphastructural.com | Facebook
#81
Here's the real damage. A rotating concrete foundation with a complete absence of re-bar (reinforcement steel). Not only is the concrete rotating; it's sinking, cracked on both ends and could easily cause the house to fall at any time.
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13points
#83
This is a ridiculous spalling issue. It's as if they threw in small pieces of re-bar while the concrete was hardening.
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13points
#84
If you open up a wall and the concrete crumbles out like this...you might have some foundation issues.
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13points
#85
An obvious issue. The foundation and existing wall failing and sliding down the hillside.
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13points
#86
Here, you can see both sides of the property have collapsed and crushed the cars below.
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13points
#87
This is a look at an 1885 home in Los Angeles. The "posts" are 2x8s with little to no concrete pier to rest on. The brick foundation is crumbling and falling apart more and more every year and needs to be entirely replaced. It's lasted this long, but it wont last for much longer.
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12points
#89
Seems as if it did more damage than not. Those walls are coming out for sure.
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12points
#91
A deteriorating river rock foundation in Pasadena. There's a bunch of those out there and almost all of them need work!
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11points
#96
Being serious, this is a bad slope issues, mainly due to poor drainage and downspouts pouring right out near the base of the foundation. Caused a lot of wood rot and joists to start bowing.
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11points
#98
This is my favorite of today's post. This is a brick foundation that completely toppled over in the night. We were called out to do emergency shoring (Support lumber) to keep the house from collapsing down. We're adding brand new concrete foundations to both side's of the home. CLOSE CALL!
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11points
#99
That bolt/screw you see is supposed to be holding down the framing into concrete. The concrete foundation has eroded almost completely.
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11points
#100
There were about 7 of these DIY posts under the home. The owners were wondering why the property was sloping so much. This is why!
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11points