Posi joist - This install feels rubbish, thoughts?

[boxrick]

On 04/08/2025 at 12:15, SteeVeeDee said:

 

Who's house is this? His or yours? 

You've hired someone patently unqualified for the job so you need to, at last, start thinking clearly and realistically.

Was the structural engineer from him or you? If so ask him/her if the know a lawyer. 

Otherwise you could possibly contact the RICS or CIOB.

I'm sorry this has happened to you but its horribly common.

Do not let this person continue works but do so within your legal obligations.

My guess would be that they will not have the correct health and safety policies, insurance, etc. There may be pincer movements you can do that arent't straight ahead. 

 

So some progress today. I've been working with a consultant who has been helping me with air tightness, MVHR and such. When this nonsense started we came up with a plan between us and the help from the kind people here.

 

Today the consultant travelled to up to site and we got the steels / posis down with the help of a couple of joiners. I had a big site tidy up, we gently sent him on his way and now things can move forwards.

 

Cheers for the help guys.

 

Site secure, all his stuff safely ready to take away, I'm all insured up and I'll take on this principle contractor role myself...

 

 

[boxrick]

And the bottom of many of the posis

 

[bmj1]

Well done.

 

I'd suggest you spend the next few weeks really focussed on how you can get the roof on while the weather is good.

 

Make haste while the sun is shining and all that.

 

A cold wet site isn't much fun...

[Kelvin]

Well done. It’s not easy but it’s the right decision. 

[LSB]

well done, that was a hard thing to do, but you did it and it will be worth it in the long run

 

[saveasteading]

Well done and enjoy being Principal Contractor. 

We are here for you.

[boxrick]

Cheers for the help everyone... got people lined up. Joiners are on site now fixing up / measuring. Brickies and welders coming next week. Should have things fixed up in no time hopefully.

[SteamyTea]

Well one advantage of doing it yourself is you don't have to think up excused.

Keep posting the interesting bits up.

[saveasteading]

22 hours ago, boxrick said:

Brickies and welders coming next week. 

Re the steel beam. What are they welding? Do you have the removed bit to put that back on? 

I don't see a padstone for under it.

[boxrick]

44 minutes ago, saveasteading said:

Re the steel beam. What are they welding? Do you have the removed bit to put that back on? 

I don't see a padstone for under it.

I went out and bought 750mm of fresh steel the same size. Gonna chop it off and extend out as far as we need then take the end off.

I have also had to take over everything, so toilet, H&S stuff, I have secured the site properly now, got acros so we can drop a wall, bought step ladders and cleaned everything up. The old builder has also taken all his stuff off site now. 

These padstones will need resetting to the correct positions, but we are going to raise these beams up a little bit and have come up with a plan from Pasquill. The joiners have found loads of bits such as the wallplate etc 50mm out the posijoist centres were also wider than the max 600 in many places.

So basically we need a reset, gone back to basics. Measured everything and starting fresh from the previous disaster. Just throwing trades some day rates right now to get this all sorted. 

One of the supporting walls for these valleys was just floating without any return on it. Only held in position by some cavity ties to the outside skin. Gonna drop this and re-build it and join the cavities and add the return in. 





Then loads of blockwork is still crap, gonna get the new brickies to repoint all this rubbish.

The joiners have made me a so we have a nice dry area, taken down the crap posis and valleys. Measured everything and we have just got the ladders up so the bricklayer and finish up all the gable ends on Monday.



 

 

Edited Saturday at 19:25 by boxrick

[Annker]

Read a bit of this thread earlier in the week.

Good to read you got that builder out the gate.

 

Work at this stage can be rescued relatively easy.

In this situation it's not essential that elements and connections look pretty, just need to be structurally sound and perform.

 

In contrast bad work done at fitout stage can be much harder to rectified, and may forever look like a dog dinner

You caught it in time, and have every opportunity to deliver a fine looking project now.

 

[bmj1]

Well done, really, well done !

 

As per @Annker, this all looks relatively doable, and as you say, biting the bullet on day rate to fix it up is the way to go, until you can get back to fixed price works.

 

You've now caught further structural issues - and I stand by my post above - if he couldn't get this right at this stage - no doubt his finishes would have been similarly awful.

 

Good luck with the next stage

[MortarThePoint]

I've always defined Stress as Pressure without Control. Well done, you've taken control and soon this will be behind you. Sort everything now as it wears on you otherwise, but it looks like that's your plan. Cut corners compound, so you're right to be taking things back.

 

In the first picture from last night (unreturned wall), the lintel over the exterior door looks to have less than 150mm bearing. You're probably already on it, but do check. It would be another example in your catalogue of evidence if needed.

 

Strange collection of block types in that wall too. Good to hear you're taking it down.

Edited Sunday at 07:42 by MortarThePoint

[boxrick]

2 hours ago, MortarThePoint said:

I've always defined Stress as Pressure without Control. Well done, you've taken control and soon this will be behind you. Sort everything now as it wears on you otherwise, but it looks like that's your plan. Cut corners compound, so you're right to be taking things back.

 

In the first picture from last night (unreturned wall), the lintel over the exterior door looks to have less than 150mm bearing. You're probably already on it, but do check. It would be another example in your catalogue of evidence if needed.

 

Strange collection of block types in that wall too. Good to hear you're taking it down.

 

Sadly much of this build is a mixture of old and new. Knowing what I know now, should have just knocked down the entire building and started fresh.

 

This is an old section of wall.

 

Here is the lintels I bought, that particular one is 3.3m for a 3m gap so should have 150mm on either side but will measure and check. 

 

Edited Sunday at 10:21 by boxrick

[MortarThePoint]

10 minutes ago, boxrick said:

This is an old section of wall.

I know very little about renovating, but careful since if you replace the wall the U-Value may need to improve which couldn't be achieved in just the cavity. I guess you'd need insulated plasterboard. BCO may not be fussed though since the wall area is so small, but may be worth getting a verbal confirmation first

Edited Sunday at 10:31 by MortarThePoint

[saveasteading]

Re the first photo. Thd padstone looks good but the old wall it is half sitting on looks slender.

If you look in the cavity can you see wall ties holding the skins together so it acts as one wall?

And I think the ends need tying together. These perhaps 

 

 

[MortarThePoint]

I don't know what the correct method for bearing a sloped beam on a pad stone is. I can imagine welding or bolting a steel 'wedge' under the end of the beam, but would be interested to know what the answer is. Has the SE now provided a detail drawing?

[MikeSharp01]

If you have a sloped base you have transformed the loading from all directly down to somewhat (mostly in this instance) down and somewhat (not much - but still some) along the beam in the direction of the slope. So if you load the beam it will somewhat want to slide down the slope and push the wall / support the other end - beware....

[saveasteading]

19 hours ago, boxrick said:

then take the end off.

If you mmean, cut square to length then thats ok. If an angle maybe not. When the geometry becomes apparent, please ask here before cutting the end off. It ceases to be a beam if you take the top or bottom flange off, but some angle will probably be OK.

 

The welder should also add the horizontal bearing plate discussed above.

[Dunc]

Wow! You seem to have dealt with a very very difficult situation calmly and extremely rapidly! Chapeau!

Puts my stresses over having to get my window fitters back for a day's worth of snagging into a stark perspective - which is very helpful for me. So thank you, and best of luck! 

[Iceverge]

9 hours ago, boxrick said:

Knowing what I know now, should have just knocked down the entire building and started fresh.

 

 

PREACH!!!

 

I'm going to have this tattooed on my forehead.

[Nickfromwales]

7 hours ago, saveasteading said:

If you mmean, cut square to length then thats ok. If an angle maybe not. When the geometry becomes apparent, please ask here before cutting the end off. It ceases to be a beam if you take the top or bottom flange off, but some angle will probably be OK.

 

The welder should also add the horizontal bearing plate discussed above.

It's now all in hand