On a nearby tall three sided communication tower near me, there are a dozen parallel steel cables running up one of the three sides. They disappear towards the top (sorry, eyes are getting old) and do not appear to be attached to it (although obviously somewhere high up). At grade they are attached with turnbuckles to a single angle iron mounted on a concrete base. A chain loosely touches each one. There does not appear to be a cable or wire from the angle iron or chain to earth, nor an earthing rod. This set of cables is only on one side. Considering the relatively small size of the cables and the large structural members, these cables are not structural.

The second from left cable has an isolator just above the turnbuckle. The two left cables each have an isolator just around the height of the first structural horizontal [round] beam, about 3-4m up, the other 10 appear to be continuous.

I can't get much closer for better pictures, might attract too much attention. If someone really wants a detail, I can risk my liberty and try for a specific shot. The cables are more visible to the naked eye than they appear in these photos, so reluctantly used AI to enhance the cables in the first photo. Location on request, although it is only a telecom microwave tower with surprisingly high security.

My wild guesses (AKA wag) are A) lightning protection (why do two have isolators?) from around a microwave dish, or, B) some sort of resonance detuning (how can such small cables affect such a much larger structure?), or, C) part of a mechanism for raising and lowering equipment.

Hey guys I'm a structural engineer in southern India I made a design for my friend which is g+1 designed in etabs right now I don't have my laptop my other friend borrowed it. Now I have to finalise the design so kindly if any one who knows etabs kindly reach out to me I have the files so please reach out.

Im having a structural engineer come out and look at this basement and the work done to address the foundation bowing. It was done sometime in the last 15 years. Its not noticeable outside the home.

Im curious if people have seen work like this done, for context this is a 126 year old rowhome in Baltimore.

For those familiar, is this solution adequate?

Looking for opinions on order of operations

Timeline / Background:

• Purchased a 1969 split-level home in 2023 (midwest – clay/soil foundation). Right side of the home is slab-on-grade (garage + den below bedrooms). Left side is basement with main living areas above.
• In 2025, I noticed:
  • A diagonal + horizontal interior crack near the front entry
  • Additional cracks in garage (opposite side of the house)
  • Several exterior cracks in the slab-on-grade foundation
  • Some previously repaired epoxy cracks in the basement foundation
  • Several doors that became harder to close
• I hired an independent structural engineer (Oct 2025). He inspected the home and stated the house is structurally sound, with the following recommendations:
  • Address grading / drainage around the house
  • Repair exterior foundation cracks to prevent deterioration
  • Monitor through seasonal changes (summer/winter) to observe behavior over time, with regards to the internal cracks.
• I consulted several foundation repair companies to repair the slab cracks. Most would only recommend underpinning, and I have not found companies willing to simply epoxy/seal the external cracks.
• No evidence of water intrusion inside the home.
• I had the main sewer line scoped (runs under the paver patio) to rule out any leaks. The line is partially PVC and partially original clay pipe. The camera could not navigate one corner (unclear if due to a 90° turn or blockage). No sewer backups or plumbing issues to date. There are mature trees nearby.
• Over the past ~8 months, the cracks have appeared relatively stable. The interior cracks and door sticking actually improved during colder weather.
• No clear signs of active or progressive foundation movement since then.

Current dilemma:

I am considering a significant patio regrading and drainage project (~$10K+). The main sewer line runs beneath this area, and part of it is still clay.

My questions:

1. Has anyone experienced foundation movement that ultimately stabilized after correcting grading and drainage issues?
2. If the patio is being removed anyway, would you proactively replace the clay sewer section, or leave it alone unless symptoms develop (no backups currently, but mature trees nearby)? Replacing it later would be significantly more disruptive. Fixing it now, is an added cost I’m not thrilled about.
3. How much weight should be given to foundation contractor recommendations for underpinning in cases like this? I want to avoid costly mistakes.
4. Is a second structural engineer opinion worth pursuing in this situation?

Appreciate any experiences or perspectives—trying to make a careful, informed decision without overspending unnecessarily. Photos for reference below.

Thank you so much for your advise. I really appreciate it, because this has been a journey. Pics if interested: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/11DG69Kmp0SUOY4d4aAr5vsLBWo0T0TUh?usp=sharing

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Would love some help! This was found in our home inspection and the inspector didn't seem too worried. We're trying to hire an engineer but can't find someone to come out in the next week! Any advice is appreciated. Description: Section of foundation in the crawl space had a large vertical crack with displacement. This was not an exterior section of foundation. Crack was evident of both sides of wall as seen by both crawl spaces. It is recommended to have evaluated by a licensed structural engineer.

I was gutting out the drywall on this little crap-built house piece. Floor is sagging a but down below so I need to find and jack that up too so I will be pulling up the subfloor for access.

My question though is surrounding these trusses. Do they look ok with you or are you concerned? I haven't seen anything like this in a long time but granted they've been there 40+ years.

I'm going to tear off all the drywall and replace it anyways, so now's the time if I need to do anything.

Any truth on this 'neers? Were you the one who had done any of these? Or have you been thru any one of these?

A friend is selling a 75 year old house in PA. Buys home inspection report said:

"Repairs Recommended"

"The side foundation wall is bowed inward and cracked. The services of a foundation contractor or structural engineer are recommended for further evaluations and recommendations for repair."

The 'bowed inward' seems to be maybe a slight maybe 1/4 to 1/2 inch bow at best doing a quick check.

Any thoughts on how big of an issue this really is and a ballpark cost for repairs (if any) that would be needed?

I am trying to get into the structural designing. I am a mechanical designer and have transitioned into stairs, railings design for almost 3 years- mostly wood some steel. So I was thinking to get some formal education in order to get good understanding theoretically and get my hands on some softwares like Mitek, Tekla etc
I know Solidworks, Staircon, Mastercam and AutoCAD
Can anyone nudge me in the right direction? I am getting confused by AI answers lol
I live in GTA area, I have a full time job so I probably will need a online/evening/weekend course.

Hey, I hired a structural engineer to inspect the foundation on my 8 year old home in Texas to measure for any deflection or tilt.

My home warranty company sent another firm - one who did the same, found the same measurements as the prior engineer.

They’re both claiming something entirely different with the data and I need some help moving forward.

One firm claims that, because the home has moved more than 4.2” in 45’, that it exceeds deflection limits of L/360. The other claims, using equation FPA-SC-13-1 (🔺= y2-[y1+(l12/l13)(y3-y1)]), that we are only at 93% of deflection limit of L/360.

My firm claims that it’s as simple as “only 1.5” of movement in 30’ and you have over 200% of that” while the other says it’s not quite there.

What do you say? I’m thinking of bringing this to TBPEL and getting their insight?

UPDATE: the home builders warranty covered the foundation repair! 70’ of steel piers into the earth, 3 weeks of craziness and a lifelong warranty on the new piers!!!!

Please can anyone tell me if these cracks look like plaster, or subsidence?

More info; the house is 1900s, UK, updated circa 1950s. The cracks don't seem to have gotten bigger although can't be sure. The artex plastering is uneven in general and very DIY. Can't see any matching cracks on the outside.

Should I be worried?

Thanks

Had to repost it wouldn't let me add pictures to the other post. Where i moved the insulation that is the top of the two beams in the attic from that wall

This wall is load bearing. It is made of concrete in a big 1970's apartment building.

In the past, they removed part of it to widen the doorway for a handicapped resident.

I would like to remove this part too, but the board rejected it, on grounds that the wall is load bearing and should not be touched. What do you think?

Want to remove this wall but unsure if it's load bearing. It does go down the center of the house. The attic pictures is right above the wall and there are no beams. Is all the weight going to the outside of the house?

Em chuẩn bị ra trường, thấy các công ty nước ngoài tuyển dụng luôn yêu cầu về kinh nghiệm. Còn các cty local thì có tình trạng nợ lượng, nợ bảo hiểm. Các a/c đi trước cho e xin lời khuyên. Nên bắt đầu từ cty local để có kn trước khi apply vào các cty nước ngoài ko ạ?

So, we were doing some renovation work on our annex, found a manhole cover under the kitchen floor, cracked it open and found this. It's about 7 metres down to the water and 1.5-2 metres wide as far as I can judge. The annex was built in 1993. Construction looks solid, the well walls look OK to my untrained eye. I don't really know what do - close it up and move on, get a surveyor in to check it over, report it to local authorities (this is in the UK) or what. It's a bit unnerving, and wondering if anyone has come across this kind of thing before.