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Earlier this year, I bought a house. It's brick construction on stone foundation, build date 1904. It's shifted and settled as much as it ever will, thank goodness. However, it has a wood frame two story sun room addition. I don't know the date it was built, the only clues I have are that it has concrete block foundation and wood counterweight windows so it's younger than the house but not particularly young. Each sun room has ten windows. When I bought the house, the windows were nailed, caulked, and/or painted shut. After freeing them, I discovered that the sun room windows are badly out of square to the point where some of them will not open. The sun rooms are 12 feet by 8 feet, with the long end mated to the house. Using a line level, I measured no drop along the 8 foot (front to rear). I measured a 2 inch drop along the 12 foot (left to right). The two corners of the sun room foundation have cracks, and there is one crack in the center. The crack on the low corner shows evidence of compressional strain. I pulled the beadboard away from the back wall because that is the wall where the windows are out of square. The sill support has collapsed but the studs are solid. I'm out of my depth here. I'm pretty handy; I installed a new furnace, rewired the basement, replumbed the house, and have framed out new rooms before but I've never done foundation work and I have no idea where to start or even what is going on. Help. Pictures: "High" corner interior, showing how the sill has dropped on the back wall compared to the side wall  Back wall, showing how the sill has dropped away from the frames  One of the window sills, showing the shift. The sill has cracked and split, and to the right you can see the parting bead has pulled over 1/4" away from its original track  Back corner window, showing how it is no longer square with its frame and sill  A side window which fits properly  Foundation crack on the high side  Foundation crack in the back center  Foundation crack on the low side, rear  Foundation crack on the low side, side showing compressional strain 
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May 16, 2014 18:48
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| # ? May 5, 2024 11:46 |
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Do you live in a place that has winter? That is you get ground heave? Dunno what todo about fixing the existing damage but if its from ground heave you wanna prevent it from happening again after you've fixed it.
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May 17, 2014 06:40
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Need more pics from the outside. Get lasers and laser levels. Find the low, sunken area(s). Dig down. Jack them up. Research outfits like RamJack. See how they do it then decide if its a DIY job.
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May 18, 2014 18:09
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Cheesewhiz posted:Need more pics from the outside. Get lasers and laser levels. Find the low, sunken area(s). Dig down. Jack them up. Research outfits like RamJack. See how they do it then decide if its a DIY job. I have zero experience with foundations so it will definitely not be full DIY. How much does foundation jacking cost?
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May 18, 2014 21:53
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I can't really say this without see it for real, or a lot more pictures........ But from what you posted that looks like something you just tear down and rebuild to save yourself agony and expense. Unless there are a lot of good things to be saved (like a new roof, flooring, etc). Otherwise all you have is an old sinking box full of windows that need to be replaced.
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May 18, 2014 22:24
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Stultus Maximus posted:I have zero experience with foundations so it will definitely not be full DIY. Mud jacking can vary wildly in price based on location, and may not fix your problem, especially if your house is built on Bentonite clay or some other unstable substrate.
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May 18, 2014 23:11
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Noeland posted:Mud jacking can vary wildly in price based on location, and may not fix your problem, especially if your house is built on Bentonite clay or some other unstable substrate. It's loess derived soil, silty clay loam in the top meter or so, clay loam beneath it.
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May 18, 2014 23:31
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| # ? May 5, 2024 11:46 |
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Well, my problem just became a much different problem. I pulled a chunk of the cement block that was spalling off and discovered that it wasn't cement block nor foundation. What looks like cement block foundation is just half inch facing over wood. I have no idea how these walls are constructed now, though I'm betting the foundation is stone based on how lumpy it looks through the plaster and paint from the inside. Good news: foundation not actually sinking. Bad news: termites? Rot? Gonna have to pull off the interior and probably exterior walls anyway. Boo.
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May 22, 2014 01:37
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