K H Davis Engineering Consultants Ltd

When we purchased our 1920s home, we knew right away that we would alter the layout to make it a little more open concept. We took special care to ensure that the walls were not load bearing when we opened them up before removing them altogether. However, after removing these particular walls, we noticed that the joists seemed to bow and the floors were soft - especially in a part where they had been notched for ventilation ducts (original to the design and build of the house). While certain that we did everything 'according to the rules', we wanted an expert opinion.

After speaking with several firms, we chose to meet with Ken Davis because they specialized in residential buildings, were located in our area, and VERY familiar with our style of home. Ken came to our house, looked at the joists in question and explained to us the reason for the deflection: our joists were overspanned for the width of our house and while the walls we removed were not load-bearing, they were what he called 'load-sharing'. He was also very thorough in examining other parts of the home, and we are so glad he did because he identified the same problem of the joists being overspanned for the ground floor and improper support for the 2nd floor bathroom (done by the previous owners).

Furthermore, Ken was very friendly, professional and gave great attention to detail. His report was very clear and outlined everything (down to the screws to buy!) that was required to fix the deficiencies.

Now our floors are very solid and we have the peace of mind that our big investment in tiles and other flooring won't be damaged by deflection in our joists. We both agree that this was some of the best $500 we spent on this renovation!