RAYMOND G. MAKARA P.E.

CONSULTING ENGINEER
STRUCTURAL - FOUNDATIONS - INSPECTIONS

140 GARWOOD DRIVE CANFIELD, OHIO 44406

330-774-8815 (CELL) 330-533-1079 (HOME)
November 23, 2020

Keller Williams Chervenic Realty

Attn: Holly Ritchie (hollyritchie@kw.com)

Re: Structural Inspection of Basement Walls

5698 Lamplighter Dr., Liberty, Ohio

The following is written to report on the structural inspection that was conducted on November
19, 2020. The property is being purchased and concerns have been raised about possible
foundation problems with the basement walls due to bowing and cracking in the walls. The
structure is a large one-story, single-family residence of typical wood frame construction with a
full-height basement under a portion of the living space. A portion of the home is also only
underlain with a crawl space with a concrete floor with another portion having a concrete slab-
on-grade floor. The full-height walls are constructed of 11 courses of 8" hollow concrete block
yielding a height of 7' -0" from the basement slab to the wood sill plate. The level of the
basement floor is about 5' -6" below the adjacent grade. The roofs on the home are low slope
rafters on bearing walls and laminated wood beams so that many ceilings are sloping. The
overall floor plan of the home is non-orthogonal with varying plan angles to the intersecting
walls.

Upon inspecting the basement, it was found that the basement walls facing the exterior have been
professionally waterproofed. In this process, a narrow strip of the floor slab is removed in front
of the walls, the area excavated and backfilled with a porous material, such as gravel. Typically,
perforated pipe is placed in the excavation adjacent to the footing and collected into a sump.
There is a sump with an electric pump in the basement that is operating. Before the concrete
floor was repaired, a short height of fiberglass board was attached to the interior face of the wall
along the bottom of the wall and the surface covered with a hard cement plaster. This is done to
collect and divert any drainage that comes through the wall into the underfloor drainage system.
The excavated area then had a new concrete floor poured. Such a system is usually installed due
to excessive seepage at the base of the masonry walls and the system provides a relief to the
hollow concrete block from having its cores fill with water. My inspection found that the
drainage system appears to be functioning as the basement is dry. It appears that the system was
installed quite some time ago.

Most of the full-height basement walls are covered with wood furring and paneling making it
impossible to actually inspect the masonry. However, an area at the furnace room with a hallway
leading to it is exposed and a couple of problems were noted. In the furnace room, there is a 16' -
8" long wall that has an extreme bow and sweep to it. Using a laser level, it was found that the
wall is bowed inward about 1½". The sweep along the top of the wall is so severe that a metal
heating duct along the top of the wall has kinked due to movement. Most concerning, however,
is that there is a significant offset between the base course of block locked in place by the
concrete floor and the course above it which has shifted inward about½" to¾". As the wall has
had the plaster covering installed, it is not possible to get an accurate measurement but it is
significant.

It must be noted that the property has numerous large trees overhanging the home and there is
much tree debris on the roof and in the gutters. This has obviously been a long-term issue on this
property and was most likely the reason that the waterproofing was installed. I would have
recommended the capping of the gutters with guards to prevent clogging and overflowing to the
adjacent ground. In fact, there is a portion at the top of the basement wall in the hallway where
there is a horizontal crack at the first course. Such a crack is typically caused by frost heave.
Inspecting the exterior of the house here found that the level of the ground is at the same level as
the crack. When the gutters overflow, the ground becomes saturated and during heavy cold
periods, it will freeze and exert localized pressure, causing such cracks to occur.

It is my opinion that the severely bowed basement wall in the furnace room needs major
remediation. The damage to this wall is so extensive and the movement so drastic, I would
recommend replacing this length of wall. This will involve removing some of the wood deck
adjacent to the wall and excavating the wall down to the footing. The wood framing will need to
be shored temporarily so that the masonry wall can be removed down to the level of the footing.
It most likely will be possible to re-use the first course of block on the footing but it may be
necessary fill the cores solid. A new block wall can then be constructed using new block to the
level of the sill plate. The wood sill plate must be properly attached to the masonry with anchor
bolts or mudsill anchors. Serious consideration should also be given to the removal of the large
tree adjacent to the comer of this basement as the tree does exert significant pressure on the wall.
It is also possible that the excavation will destroy the root system for the tree.

If there are any further questions, please feel free to contact me.
RAYMOND G. MAKARA P.E. CONSULTING ENGINEER
STRUCTURAL - FOUNDATIONS - INSPECTIONS

140 GARWOOD DRIVE CANFIELD, OHIO 44406

330-774-8815 (CELL) 330-533-1079 (HOME)
November 23, 2020

Keller Williams Chervenic Realty

Attn: Holly Ritchie (hollyritchie@kw.com)

Re: Structural Inspection of Basement Walls

5698 Lamplighter Dr., Liberty, Ohio

RECEIPT

Professional fee for structural inspection and report ........................................ $150.00

Paid in Full on November 19, 2020

Thank you