# Arrgh, nice footing placement, eh?



## BuiltByMAC (Mar 11, 2006)

Normally I don't get into ripping on other people's work but this defect stares at me every time I drive up into the subdivision I'm working in.

I'm not sure if the inspector's been back out to the house for framing final but as you can see, they haven't slowed down in building the house. I just hope that it doesn't get covered by backfill/bark-o-mulch before final inspection happens.

Not much of a point to this thread other than commiserating with fellow pros about some of the hacks out there...and this is on a $600K house in an upscale neighborhood.

It's just a little more noteworthy than the 6 footings on a double decker deck up the road half a mile - 6x6 posts sitting on *8" diameter* sonotubes on 2x2x8" pads sitting *on top* of 4' of backfill.

I just gotta shake my head sometimes at what people will build and inspectors will pass - meanwhile he(inspector) jumps me because my graspable handrail didn't extend beyond the first riser, merely started at it. I don't mind making the change and will continue to build future handrails to code but damn, let's catch the problems that will kill people, shall we?

Mac


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## painterman (Feb 5, 2005)

Love that stone work


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## RobertCDF (Aug 18, 2005)

No they dont like to complain about the truly dangerous ones... But if you screw up the handrail you are a HACK!. 

BTW everyone I have done a deck for prefers a FLAT 2x6 as apposed to the vertical 2x6 with the groove or the rounded that I install to pass inspection.


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## finehomes (Feb 4, 2007)

Mac,

I have one that looks like that right in my back yard. Big covered roof over a concrete patio. Builder is a neighbor of mine three doors down....so not only do I get to look at that ugly post every day....but I get to socialize with the guy that does that kind of work all the time. I've poured footings like that before and then realized they were in the wrong place......BUT.... if you care about your reputation....you yank them about and redo it. I don't mind if the post is slightly off center....but DAMN!!!!!! Have these people never heard of pithagerus???? 


Sam


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## Cole (Aug 27, 2004)

finehomes said:


> I've poured footings like that before and then realized they were in the wrong place......BUT.... if you care about your reputation....you yank them about and redo it.


I could not agree more, yank that damn thing out and redo.


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## firemike (Dec 11, 2005)

Sad part is, the other one is not that close to center either... How bad do you have to be to be that far off on only two piers?


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## Bone Saw (Feb 13, 2006)

love the HUCQ's at the post/beam conections


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## 3926 (Dec 7, 2005)

That mess should of never been passed.
An easy fix would be to put a new beam in underneath then move the post over 6" 
The post should be under the beam not butting into it.:no:


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## Chris G (May 17, 2006)

If your vision is that bad, you should be using larger sonotubes, like maybe 48" or so. Then you can dig like a drunk, and you should land pretty close.


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## Joe Carola (Jun 15, 2004)

We all make mistakes that have to be fixed. This obviously has to be fixed and ripped out.The guy who framed this should have never put the post base and post in. He should have sat the deck on a temporary post and whoever the builder is has to rip out the footing and put a new one in. If this passes inspection, then we all know what that says about the inspector.


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## BuiltByMAC (Mar 11, 2006)

cranbrook2 said:


> That mess should of never been passed.
> An easy fix would be to put a new beam in underneath then move the post over 6"
> The post should be under the beam not butting into it.:no:


I've actually done that before - what I think they did was run the posts up to support the roof beams, by hanging the beam between the posts you eliminate a potential pivot point. B U T, I make damn sure the footings' in the right spot to support the loads!




Chris G said:


> If your vision is that bad, you should be using larger sonotubes, like maybe 48" or so. Then you can dig like a drunk, and you should land pretty close.


That just kills me - it's a huge sonotube too! Plenty o' concrete for the load if only the load weren't just waiting to chip off the edge!



firemike said:


> Sad part is, the other one is not that close to center either... How bad do you have to be to be that far off on only two piers?


Yup, I saw that too. I mean really, pull your measurements off the stem walls (they poured footings right at rough framing), square up and pour the things!

Mac


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## theworx (Dec 20, 2005)

As Maxwell Smart would say "missed by that much"!!! Guy must have one of those new rubber tape measures (my boss has one and his measurements are never accurate)!!! So, this actually passed inspection???


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## Joe Carola (Jun 15, 2004)

I just noticed that those 6x6's go from the footing all the way up to the girder that supports the rafters and the small girder in between the two posts are on hangers. That's probably why they put the posts in. Still, the footing has to be changed, and if it did pass inspection....time to question the inspector....


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## JustaFramer (Jan 21, 2005)

big deal all the the form carps have to do is dig down to the base epoxy dowel and add on.


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## RYANINMICHIGAN (Dec 9, 2005)

JustaFramer said:


> big deal all the the form carps have to do is dig down to the base epoxy dowel and add on.



Thats not the point. The point is my 2 yeart old son could come then closer then that. Why such a big tube also?


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## mickeyco (May 13, 2006)

I just want to know why you're taking pictures of my work.


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## Kent Whitten (Mar 24, 2006)

> big deal all the the form carps have to do is dig down to the base epoxy dowel and add on.


that's what I've seen too is pin the sides, pour around it....even though it's hack, it's by no means the only one I've seen. I ran into these all the time framing. My old boss was nuts about the post being directly in the middle. He said if it wasn't then the pad would eventually tilt, which is prolly true.

Taking it out would be the correct way, but I doubt that will be done.


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## reveivl (May 29, 2005)

I guess that it's such a big sono because there is going to be some matching masonry to the walls wrapped/set whatever on it? Otherwise, why the big tube? If I'm correct on that, man is it ever going to look worse later...


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## BuiltByMAC (Mar 11, 2006)

JustaFramer said:


> big deal all the the form carps have to do is dig down to the base epoxy dowel and add on.


It's not a big deal IF it gets fixed. That post has been sitting on that footing for the past couple of months - no one's in a hurry to fix it.

My original post *wasn't* "OMG, there's no way this can be fixed!"

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I don't know which inspection that would fall under (structural framing, final inspection) so I don't know if it's passed yet. Obviously footings/foundation has passed but that might have been before the post was installed on the footing.

I'm assuming they're rocking the posts (tar paper covering the left one) but don't know about the footing. The sonotube might have been spec'ed that large because it was supporting both porch and roof loads, which still begs the question, "why did the framers think that post was fine hanging off the edge?"

Mac


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## blackdoggie (Sep 6, 2007)

It really looks like the cops need to be setting up DUI and drug screen checkpoints at construction sites. I mean how the hell could you be off that much???:no: The guy measuring must be either A.Blind B. Drunk/on drugs or C. Just plain stupid.


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