Structural Engineer in Kenosha? Inspection Report Advice

[Evelyn V.]

Hi, I am under contract for my first property and just had an inspection done last week. The inspector recommended we get a structural engineer in as the first and second stories have noticeable sag, with "handyman columns" present below the affected area in the basement. Would anyone happen to know someone who is able to service Kenosha in a short time frame? Everyone I've called or left messages for is either in Milwaukee or Chicago, not sure if there's someone who is closer. 

Images below for reference as well, has anyone seen these columns before or has any advice on how to handle? 

Thanks. 

[Marcus Auerbach]

Your agent should have pointed these out. These support posts are adjustable and are ment for temporaty support during construction. The pictures don't show the bottom very well and I can't tell if they are actually sitting on footings (a larger block of concrete in the ground) or just on the concrete floor, which is the second issue.

A structural engineer will tell you that they need to be replaced by permanent fixed length support collumns. If there are no footings, you have to cut the floor, dig a hole and pour conecrte foundations. (Even though in these old buildings the floor is sometimes so thick that and made of "blue" concrete that is would probably hold without footings, but nobody can guarntee that).

But that alone will not correct the sag. It took the house decades to settle. In order to correct the sag, you have to slowly and incrementally lift the the low points (usually in the middle). Slowly means over months, maybe a year to give the house a chance to adjust and conform to the new support. You will probably still end up with a lot of cracks in the walls and ceilings. Its probably better to only adjust to the point where the sag is acceptable - the more you lift, the more will crack. 

Contractors don't like doing this type of jobs, because the outcome is uncertain and they may get blamed for collateral damages. So bottom line: save your money on a structurla engineer. Unless the house is in a high value neighborhood (like Milwaukee North Shore) it is probably not worth the effort.

I am generally on team "don't let an inspectin report freak you out", but this is what we call generelly a house with "bad bones". Stay away. Better to spend a little more and buy a quality propery.