TOPIC: What To Do If You're Askew ... Or

Lean on me, when you're not strong,

And I'll be your friend, I'll help you carry on.

On pre-drywall inspections it is very important to make sure that load transference is properly done.  Once on such an inspection I noticed that a major support column transferring a huge upper-level load was not resting on the steel beam below.  It was missing by 20"!  That is huge.  Had I not done a pre-drywall inspection that would never have been noticed.  And I should say, it had not been noticed by the supervisor before I pointed it out.

I didn't have to notice this leaning column.  Before I even saw it, I heard a voice (Bill Withers's voice actually) calling to me.  It said,

Sometimes in our lives we all have pain,

We all have sorrow, but if we are wise

We know that there's always tomorrow.

I turned and saw a lonely, leaning beam.  It was asked to carry a huge load and having a difficult time doing it!  It was leaning badly, and you can see was not even inside the framed wall it was intended to be inside of.

Not only was it leaning to the left, it was leaning the other way as well!

This is a serious structural flaw.  A column needs to be plumb.  It needed repair.

So I answered and sang:

If there is a load you have to bear

That you can't carry,

I'm right up the road, I'll share your load,

If you just call me.

And, of course, the problem got pointed out.  Sometime later the floor slab was being removed so the column could be righted.  It's a beautiful thing.

Then I could sing:

Lean on me, when you're not strong,

And I'll be your friend,

I'll help you carry on.

Well, you know the old saying, "When column ain't happy, ain't nobody happy."  Or something like that.

My recommendation:  When your clients are building new construction, get a home inspector for the pre-drywall phase.  You, your clients and the house will be happy you did!  Without one, you might just find that the structure withers...  so to speak.

You can't always get what you want, but if you try, sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need!

I am not sure what is going on in the 1st photo but the 2nd one you can see the leaning post so well.


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In the first photo, the post is leaning to the left and would be about 4" outside the drywall.  In the second, in addition to leaning toward the camera, it is leaning to the right.

Good call.

Easy call Jarrod!

The photo said it all.