Foundation leveling.

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HeatsTwice

HeatsTwice

Minister of Fire
Jan 7, 2008
592
Santa Rosa, California
I've got a house whose foundation has settled: +3/1" at the front to -2.5" to the back. Its taken 50 years for such settling to occur.

The floors of the house are supported by 4x4 wood posts on cement footings which have not settled at the same rate. Thus the center of the interior floors slope to the foundation (mostly in the back of the house).

I'm getting quotes for a fix - ranging from installation of push piles around the foundation which are deeply implanted piles which will hoist the foundation up by 2.5 inches where necessary, and then "smart jack" installation to replace the center floor posts. Total cost $60K. Smart jacks are just adjustable screw jacks.

I'm thinking that -2.5" from front to back isn't that bad so I am opting for only installation of the smart jacks on the existing cement footings to bring the centers of the house down accordingly - in order to cut cost. Then in another 50 years, I will adjust them again - or as needed.

Any thoughts? I'm not selling the place, just renting it out again at a higher rate after major renovation which will include substantial flooring tile throughout.
 
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If the adjustable screw jacks meet code, I'm for that.
 
gzecc said:
If the adjustable screw jacks meet code, I'm for that.
Click to expand...

Yea the contractor wants $16K to replace 19 posts with the screw jacks - along with the cement footings. But the existing footings haven't moved in 50 years, so in my opinion, there would be no need to replace them - just put in the jacks and be done with it.
 
I'm all for lowering the center of the house vs raising the exterior. Makes much more financial sense.
 
HeatsTwice said:
Yea the contractor wants $16K to replace 19 posts with the screw jacks - along with the cement footings. But the existing footings haven't moved in 50 years, so in my opinion, there would be no need to replace them - just put in the jacks and be done with it.
Click to expand...
Is he replacing the footings for code reasons? If not, keep them. How deep are they?
 
I have a similar foundation style and have replaced posts with screw jacks. An easy job. What's not easy is getting your floor flat this way. It has been pushed up for decades and won't fall down as easily as you think. Consider that due to interior walls you will also be trying to change the level of your ceilings.

Lastly. Maybe your house was built like this and never settled at all. Your carpenter made compromises and perhaps cut some wall studs longer to accommodate the bad foundation job.
 
>What's not easy is getting your floor flat this way. It has been pushed up for decades and won't fall down as easily as you think.

Yea that's what I figure also. What I'd like is to use the "smart Jacks" to get it level, have it settle in, and then do the renovation. The problem in my mind is, how long to wait between the two
 
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The smart jack is just a screw jack. Don't pay much for the name.

http://commercial.foundationsupportworks.com/products/crawlspace-supports.html

You may never get the floor to be flat or level by use of the screw jacks. Beams may be bowed up with enough memory to stay there. If you try to lower a high spot you'll be simply removing the support from beneath and waiting for it to fall, forever. The screw jack will be loose and your project on hold forever. What people do in this case is strip the subfloor and cut down the beams. Tighten the screw jacks to prevent bouncing and perhaps settlement over the next decades.
 
Highbeam said:
The smart jack is just a screw jack. Don't pay much for the name.

http://commercial.foundationsupportworks.com/products/crawlspace-supports.html

You may never get the floor to be flat or level by use of the screw jacks. Beams may be bowed up with enough memory to stay there. If you try to lower a high spot you'll be simply removing the support from beneath and waiting for it to fall, forever. The screw jack will be loose and your project on hold forever. What people do in this case is strip the subfloor and cut down the beams. Tighten the screw jacks to prevent bouncing and perhaps settlement over the next decades.
Click to expand...

Man, whats worse: push piling the foundation up, or praying the screw jack lowered floors settle?

Push pile = $40K
Screw Jack = far less.
 
HeatsTwice said:
Man, whats worse: push piling the foundation up, or praying the screw jack lowered floors settle?

Push pile = $40K
Screw Jack = far less.
Click to expand...

And if you jack the foundation up who's to say that the floor will level out? It might just level up the perimeter and make the hump higher.
 
Yea, lots of good news here. :)

It seems like gravity always wins. So I will probably go for screw jacks and wait for physics to take over.

Maybe I should rent a bunch of water beds and grand pianos an put them in every room after I install the screw jacks.
 
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HeatsTwice said:
Yea, lots of good news here. :)

It seems like gravity always wins. So I will probably go for screw jacks and wait for physics to take over.

Maybe I should rent a bunch of water beds and grand pianos an put them in every room after I install the screw jacks.
Click to expand...

What is the total span length that the soon to be screw jacks are in the middle of?
 
HeatsTwice said:
Yea, lots of good news here. :)

It seems like gravity always wins. So I will probably go for screw jacks and wait for physics to take over.

Maybe I should rent a bunch of water beds and grand pianos an put them in every room after I install the screw jacks.
Click to expand...

Using screw jacks to unload an arched beam really isn't using screw jacks at all. You are just removing support and hoping for settlement. Beams are pretty strong. Sometimes, especially in the olden days, the beams were way oversized. Once arched they really don't want to unarch.

I would do as you propose and try removing support from the high spots by using the screw jacks as a way to slowly remove support. Then go up onto the floor and jump up and down. If the floor didn't sag then wait a week. Then go check the tightness of the screw jack.
 

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brian89gp said:
What is the total span length that the soon to be screw jacks are in the middle of?
Click to expand...

Here is a picture of the house outline. The cracks shown are those in dry wall (not the foundation). The numbers are in inches of settle across the perimeter. The numbers in reverse video are where the foundation guys want to insert screw jacks. Blurry pictures show some of the shots from under the house. Flash light is pointed at piers which are offset.


FoundationDrift..jpg
IMG_4175.compressed.jpg
IMG_4178.compressed.jpg
IMG_4181.compressed.jpg
 
gzecc said:
Is he replacing the footings for code reasons? If not, keep them. How deep are they?
Click to expand...

I don't know but they are not what seem to have sunk/moved, just the foundation.
 
HeatsTwice said:
I don't know but they are not what seem to have sunk/moved, just the foundation.
Click to expand...
What do you define as the "foundation" the wood or the cement ?
 
I am calling the foundation the cement perimeter - not the footings/pier/4x4 post components.
 
based on what I can see in the pics, beam sizing, joist spacing, the floor will likely settle down. However also based on what I see you will never get tile laid on that surface which will be structurally sound.
 
ironpony said:
based on what I can see in the pics, beam sizing, joist spacing, the floor will likely settle down. However also based on what I see you will never get tile laid on that surface which will be structurally sound.
Click to expand...

If you meant "structurally unsound", I think I agree.

Thanks very much for the encouraging words.

I would ordinarily just sell the place and negotiate with the buyer on these issues. But the place has appreciate 500% in the past 30 years which is better than all my other investments. So I want to hold on to it for another 10. By that time it will be time to tear the place down and start over.
 
Those beams look long and not oversized at all. I feel much better about your odds of getting settlement after seeing them. Holy crap, I thought my floor system was sparse!

Is that just dirt on the floor or is it some sort of puffy insulation product?
 
HeatsTwice said:
Yea, lots of good news here. :)

It seems like gravity always wins. So I will probably go for screw jacks and wait for physics to take over.

Maybe I should rent a bunch of water beds and grand pianos an put them in every room after I install the screw jacks.
Click to expand...

Or get a big safe and fill it with guns. :)
 
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