Foundation Repair Help


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Old 09-18-18, 12:01 AM
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Foundation Repair Help

Hello all,

I have a corner to my home that has a crack in the foundation. It looks like it is starting to tilt and sink. Trying to figure out the best way to repair this.

I have had two companies come out to give me estimates, all in the thousands of dollars range. My question is if I am able to do it myself or have a company come in and do it.

I would like to bring the foundation back up again so it is level, then pour self leveling concrete over to finish it up. But I don't know if raising the corner or just stopping the movement all together is the right course of action. My main concern is having that corner sink further causing the beams holding the roof up to crack and fall down.

I am happy to provide more photos if needed. Any help is making the decision is much appreciated!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/88d2tLGtzxPLZ6nF8
 
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Old 09-18-18, 02:55 AM
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Welcome to the forums!
The biggest diy problem would be raising that corner and then giving more support under it to keep it level. That is often done with mud jacking. How did the pros propose to fix it?
 
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Old 09-18-18, 04:46 AM
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There is a problem with your footer. Either there is no footer or it was done improperly or over soft soil. So, I would say lifting the wood structure above and inserting a shim or pouring a leveling compound would only be temporary as the lack of support under the slab/footer still exists. You might have luck jacking up that corner of the building, removing the broken concrete corner, excavate to hard virgin ground, then pour a new footer in that area.

Or, a mud jacking company could do it relatively easy. Mud jacking will fill any void underneath that corner. If the problem is poor soil quality mud jacking might displace the soft soil under the corner and provide the support needed for a permenant repair.
 
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Old 09-18-18, 04:53 AM
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First, where are you?

In my opinion...... this is NOT a DIY project. If it was just a simple corner piece of concrete that bear no weight, maybe it would be a DIY project. But IMHO, there is more to this than just throwing a little dirt & concrete under there.

First, for whatever reason, there is no support under ground. in other words, there is no solid base to support the weight.
Second, if you have had multiple quotes from professionals, & the cost is in the thousands, that tells me there is a bigger issue than just top soil moving & a broken corner of concrete.

I had to deal with this very issue in 2016. The whole end of my home was about 4 inches lower at the worst spot which was, like yours, on a corner. Cost: $8000.
In short, what they did was dug down about 18 - 24 inches, in about 12 - 15 spots (I cant remember) & used hydraulic jacks to push pilings down to solid/hard ground/soil/foundation/earth. At that point, they used specially made blocks specifically designed for this task, to jack up the concrete foundation until level.

I hope this helps......
 
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Old 09-18-18, 11:46 PM
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I am located in Tucson, Arizona. I believe that corner of the house cracked like that due to poor Irrigation in the backyard. When it rained my backyard filled up with water and set for a few days. I have since fixed that problem by installing a French drain in the backyard to have it properly irrigated out and away from the foundation. I also plan to install gutters to help reduce the amount of Rainwater that collects. The house was built in 1970, so I don't know what kind of construction parameters were used back then.

a company named ramjack came by and looked at it, I believe their package deals or somewhere around $6,000 yes, but they never ended up sending me an official quote. I had Arizona Foundation Solutions come in and they seemed to specialize in helical Piers. So the guy wanted to sell me on a helical Pier. The issue I had with that, was that he only wanted to install a single Pier to support the corner and stop it from moving. The two package deals he offered was a set length for the pier and each additional length after that was a ridiculous cost if I needed to go further to hit Bedrock. Or I could get an unlimited length helical Pier for a ridiculous cost. Again that solution was not leveling that corner out, it was only adding a support to keep it from further sinking.

neither company was interested in getting to the root problem for why that could have happened in the first place. I have a couple of friends who are in the construction industry and they all pointed first and foremost to look at where water May collect when it rains. After hearing that question I immediately put two and two together that the water collecting in the backyard must be moving under the foundation towards that corner, as bad as the slope of the lot anyways.

it has been suggested to me that I can raise that corner of the house with some Jacks and a support beam to lift that corner up only an inch to an inch and a quarter, to take the weight off of that broken slab. Then I could dig down under it and see if there is a void under it that I would need to fill then pack in some concrete and make a wider footer, then Jack up that little corner so it is level again.

apologies if my grammar seems off, I am out walking my dog and using voice to text.
 
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Old 09-19-18, 12:43 AM
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It may also may be worth noting that right against the broken piece is a stump from a stupid bean pod tree. When I bought the house these stupid trees were all over the place, some of the pressed right up to the foundation. Very possible this tree also played a role in the foundation cracking....
 
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Old 09-19-18, 02:35 AM
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I suppose you could raise/support that corner of the house then break out and remove the concrete and foundation block. Where is the frost line in your location? That's how deep you'd may have to excavate.
 
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Old 09-19-18, 04:24 AM
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Yes, a tree can cause the damage shown. The roots push their way through the soil. When the tree is gone the roots eventually decompose leaving voids.

Since this is a structural issue you also need to consider the resale value of your home. When you go to sell the house an inspector may spot the repair. If it was done DIY it might be viewed as a red flag.
 
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Old 09-19-18, 04:57 AM
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If you're suspicious of what the foundation people has to say, you could have a structural engineer come over & take a look at your situation & he can tell you what you need, then get 2 more estimates from foundation people. A structural engineer wont have anything to gain by lieing to you or beefing things up.
If you dont want to go to that expense, just get 2 more quotes from foundation companies & go from there.
 
 

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