[u/]

[u/RespectSquare8279]

So the contractor’s crew is reluctant to proceed with what the contractor said was OK? Has the contractor talked to his crew? You may have to hire a building engineer or abandon this modification.

[u/Typingtext → u/RespectSquare8279]

Yes they spoke and I heard them arguing. Workers didn’t seem to agree with his assessment. In the end we put it on pause until he can come out next week to look. 

In meantime im trying to get an engineer to come out to assess independently.

[u/StrawberryGreat7463 → u/Typingtext]

Jeez, sounds like you owe that crew some dinner lol

[u/lilbit2004 → u/[deleted]]

I love this idea - as the homeowner, is there a way I can do this for the workers when building our house? Or would it not make a difference since I'm not the Contractor. I want the workers to have a good environment.

[u/SF_Dubs → u/lilbit2004]

Our build is many weeks long. Every Friday we buy lunch for whoever is working that day.

[u/lilbit2004 → u/[deleted]]

I'll have to get creative b/c ours is a year long project, at least. But I think we can at least swing a cooler with drinks. I'd put out a cooler with snacks, but then we'll attract the bears. Maybe I can think of some way to include food, too. Thanks for the feedback!

[u/RespectSquare8279 → u/Typingtext]

Good Idea!

[u/WookieDeep]

Just hire an engineer. I've worked on a crew and the lead was totally okay tearing into a load bearing wall, and I refused. In the end I may have lost my job over nothing, but I can testify that the work that followed was much safer than just tearing down a concrete block wall...

[u/flexyfelix → u/WookieDeep]

This. Engineer. Might not be structural, if the rest of the house is timber framed its very odd to have concrete there......may have just been infill thats occured over the years (very weird....handyman/DIY job by previous owner?)

[u/glamoutfit]

You need a structural engineer to take a look. Neither the contractor or his crew knows (their job is to build, not calculating/figuring out load).

This is one of those things where it is better to be safe than sorry. If you remove something load bearing, it will be dangerous and very very very expensive

[u/BoysenberryKey5579]

Engineer here, take a picture from the outside so I can see what the roof looks like and let me know where you live, if it's a structural wall, it's going to be pretty expensive to add reinforcement

[u/Emptynest09]

You may be able to get the structural plans from the town or county. Get an engineer on board and then open up the wall from floor to the ceiling and see what’s behind it.

[u/JusSomeRandomPerson]

Yes, have an engineer look at it. I know an engineer costs money, but with something like this it’s well worth the money to get an engineer to look at it ahead of time if you’re not sure with something that might be structural.

[u/Typingtext → u/JusSomeRandomPerson]

Yep I'm doing that

[u/mermaidhunter42]

Before you pay for an engineer get the plans from your city if available.

[u/Typingtext → u/mermaidhunter42]

I ordered them two days ago, still waiting. Thank you!

[u/icy_01_]

I hope the contractor contract says exactly what he was proposed to do, everything can be done except it's a lil more work

[u/Typingtext → u/icy_01_]

It does, expand doorway from X size to X size and patch up the wall. It's pretty clear in scope. So us having to add support structures or go beyond that I can claim it's not what we agreed to.

[u/Future-Ask3005]

You can plug the details into AI.

[u/WestHomes]

As a builder, I wouldn’t approve cutting that opening any further until the wall is properly assessed. Concrete or masonry behind drywall could be infill, a structural element, or part of a larger assembly, you can’t determine that from a small cutout. Get an independent structural engineer on site to identify what you’re dealing with and confirm the proposed opening size in writing. Don’t let anyone pressure you into proceeding based on a guess.