Gateway to Hell

4 years ago

We’ve been in the house for a few months. Its a 1970s 2 floor colonial with crawlspace under house and slab under garage.

I went down there to crawl around and see whats going on when I saw two things I am unfamiliar with.

1—is this big hole in the wall below fireplace, where a metal duct cap was lovingly shoved into the wall. This is surrounded by, what appears to be fragments of broken chimney liner on floor. One of the previous owners had the whole chimney rebricked and mortared when it fell away from the house in a storm. I would think this is some sort of ash dump, but the fireplace upstairs doesnt have a hole in the base. Any ideas would be appreciated.

2—- is this floor joist that looks like something bad happened to it? Is it rot? Is it termite damage? Its not on the inspection report. Any help would be great.

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Comments (5)

tozmo1
4 years ago
I'd post this on diychatroom.com

More construction types there.
rwiegand
4 years ago
That joist looks seriously compromised. Are the others nearby sound? (poke around with an ice pick looking for soft spots). Does the floor above sag or move?

I'd get a termite inspection and, at the very least. look at sistering the joist, assuming its condition is unique. A carpenter could tell you more about whether the structure needs additional shoring up.

An ash door in a crawl space would be...odd. Not sure what' going on, it looks like whoever did the work left their trash behind. Get a mason to look at if if you're concerned, but it looks messy, not alarming, from the pictire.

The joist looks alarming.
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R Towner
Original Author
4 years ago
Thanks for the comments. We had a complete inspection with termite, dirt report, etc in Jan. Of course nothing like this was in report or on inspector’s alert list. i went down again and looked around, there doesnt seem like anything holey, shifting or sagging. i just happened to crawl under this while checking out the filthy sub-chimney area. We have bug and somekind of framer guy coming out to give second opinions.
tozmo1
4 years ago
Keep us posted on their opinions.
toxcrusadr
4 years ago
As a wood guy (not a construction guy) that joist looks to be possibly a knot in the board, or at least a spot where the grain changed drastically, and it cracked. The cracks extending to the left look like "ring shake" which is when the wood growth rings inside the board separate.

If there aren't termites or ongoing water damage (and it sounds like not), you should be able to sister some new wood alongside.