All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Smith

Paul, I would stay away due to the age of the home and that the brick is the foundation. I have seen rock foundations on older homes but they are solid. If I had to guess you would have to jack the house a little to remove the brick and rebuild a portion of the foundation. I’m not a specialist in this area but this seems like a money pit unless you can get it for a great price with a contractor’s quote to fix it. An engineer would probably not like a repair if it has bowed unless this is typical for your area.

Johnny Khoury This is a standard home inspection comment. They put that in to let you know there is an issue there and should be further inspected by someone whom specializes in this area and get the liability off of them. If it is a straight vertical crack something is pushing on the outside. Research the outside area and make sure the downspouts and grade is away from the house. One way to monitor this crack is to caulk the crack and monitor, this makes it easier to see if the wall is moving. Without pictures it’s hard to tell if it is something new or old since it is right at the border line. A fix is to install steel beams into the floor and anchor them to the floor joists and fix the outside conditions.

Should put a vent or piping for fresh air and exhaust air to escape. You can also insulate the pipes with a wrap or heated tape if your concerned about freezing. Some insulate the tank also with a insulated wrap.

If he is making you money and less headaches I think he is worth it. 75k in Cleveland is a high salary but seems it helps you achieve other business goals. Just think if you lost him do to a conversation about his salary. Will your friends and family help run around trying to finish projects, doubt it.

Erin, Easiest way is to put the column and anchor it to the top of the concrete but your comments indicated that you can not do that. Breaking the concrete out will not be hard just labor intensive. You could cut or break out a small piece to excavate for placing the support beam and patch around it. This looks like a after thought and could be demo and patch with some plywood and siding that matches. I would personally demo this portion so you won’t have to worry about it but that is just my opinion and my skill sets. When you demo things you never now what you will find. Would guess around 500-800 dollars to demo and replace if you do it yourself.

@Kenneth Swartzundefined. I didn’t realize your area and that you are in the Richmond.  I haven’t been to any meet ups in the area but I think there are two organizations. Private message me if you have any questions or would like to discuss or meetup. 

Brady, sounds like he doesn’t feel you are serious and doesn’t want to do the estimate for free and have you turn and go with another contractor. I would not pay a deposit but would tell him that you would pay $100 or whatever you feel comfortable with for a estimate to show you are serious about the project. If he has been in business for 30+ years It is not about the money but about his time and what that is worth. He is seeing if your serious and being out of state doesn’t help the situation from his point of view also.

Kenneth Swartz I would pay off your student loans only since you stated that it would be paid off by this year. Would be in a better position to have no student loan and that money for investing than worrying about the paying the loan. Just my two cents.

Edgar, As you keep getting quotes for your projects you will start to realize the average cost of items. Wouldn’t hurt to shadow a general contractor and go on bids with them to get more under your belt. If you hire a solid contractor on your projects you should ask some questions about how they price items. A good contractor would be able to give you a range of rehab costs for all the major items. Good luck. Jonathan

Contractors do their pricing differently but if you ask for the breakout then it shouldn’t be an issue for the contractor. They might be worried that you are price shopping. With the elevated price, if his references check out and does solid work, I don’t see an issue with the pricing. I think if you meet with them again to make them aware that your are really looking at their price but would like to see a breakout on materials and labor before you decide.