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sorry for my english. I was looking to buy a house. I saw some in my hometown, which is very affordable. but on a picture of the house they are selling I found on the net troubled me. no pillar/column, just hollowblocks and some steel bars.enter image description here kindly look at the pic.

I found it in this site https://fiestacommunitiesblog.wordpress.com/tag/fiesta-communities/

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    $\begingroup$ Consult an engineer or hire one, in where i live, we have to get the building inspected before we close the contract, asking random people on the web is not a reliable option. $\endgroup$
    – user14407
    Jun 24, 2019 at 9:33
  • $\begingroup$ yes I understand. this house was designed and approved by the company's own engineers. I just thought, that when you build a house, on all corners of it, there should be a pillar, to support the house, but on this one it doesn't have $\endgroup$
    – pia
    Jun 24, 2019 at 9:43
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    $\begingroup$ If the walls are strong enough no special pillar will be necessary. If you're worried, get an opinion from an engineer who's not employed by people who will make money when the house is sold. $\endgroup$
    – TimWescott
    Jun 24, 2019 at 15:13

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As @SamFarjamirad states it's best to consult a knowledgeable construction engineer where you live, or in your region, because such people would know the building codes & construction practices for your region. A column or pillar for a two storey house may not be necessary if the load bearing walls are designed & built properly. This may include internal load bearing wall, inside the house. The other thing to be wary of is the quality of the foundations for the load bearing walls. Also, if the house to be renovated later all load bearing walls must not be removed or altered.

It looks like the steel is being threaded through the hollow block in the external walls. This would be done to increase the flexibility of the house during earthquakes and should a typhoon/cyclone/hurricane affect the house. Internal load bearing walls should also have such steel reinforcement.

If designed and built correctly such steel reinforced walls should not collapse. They might crack during extreme natural events but they should not fall and collapse the house.

Looking at the picture you included, some things that I found strange were:

  • Looking at the bricks surrounding the doorway, the bricks on the left side of the doorway vary in width and they are not aligned vertically very well, so there are gaps of varying sizes between the bricks and the door frame. It would be better if the bricks were uniform in size and vertically aligned.
  • It might be the way the picture has been taken but the bricks at the top of the window holes in the left of picture look like they may be sagging. They should be horizontal and supported by a solid lintel.
  • I'm used to seeing bricks laid in an interlocking pattern where the bricks that are laid above one layer are slightly offset. This may not be possible if the walls are threaded with steel reinforcing. Ask a local engineer about this. In the picture, the bricks are laid vertically on top of one another.
  • I looked at the website you provided a link to and the second picture showed what appear to be how the roofing iron was attached to the house. Just laying the roofing iron on the walls as shown I consider to be a primitive form of construction.
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    $\begingroup$ A steel plate lintel for the windows and doors would be too small to see in that photo. The days of big stone, wood, or concrete beams are long gone. FWIW the UK doesn't have severe hurricanes or earthquakes, but no domestic houses would be built in the UK with special "pillars" - just bricks or blocks as in the picture. $\endgroup$
    – alephzero
    Jun 24, 2019 at 19:43
  • $\begingroup$ Thank you everyone, most especially @Fred $\endgroup$
    – pia
    Jun 25, 2019 at 0:56

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