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Leann C

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Need A Foundation Expert for our Old House

by Leann C » Wed Mar 14, 2007 8:01 pm

We live in a 1920's bungalow in the Highlands and we've begun to notice that the house seems to be settling or sinking....so much so that we're starting to see stress cracks in walls and the hardwood floors are doing some odd things.

We know that the cause is probably water getting to the foundation....so new gutters etc. are on the way. However, we think we're probably going to need to get the place propped back up (if that's even possible).

Has anyone else ever encountered this? Any recommendations on a good foundation person? This is a whole new area for us.

Thanks!
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Steve Shade

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foundation

by Steve Shade » Thu Mar 15, 2007 8:31 am

Leann C wrote:We live in a 1920's bungalow in the Highlands and we've begun to notice that the house seems to be settling or sinking....so much so that we're starting to see stress cracks in walls and the hardwood floors are doing some odd things.

We know that the cause is probably water getting to the foundation....so new gutters etc. are on the way. However, we think we're probably going to need to get the place propped back up (if that's even possible).

Has anyone else ever encountered this? Any recommendations on a good foundation person? This is a whole new area for us.

Thanks!


It can be done and probably should be. It will only get worse. Two companies that I know of are Olshan and Dwyer. Both should be in the phone book. This is expensive. Have a stiff drink before they give you the estimate. Do NOT get this fixed on the cheap. There is no cheap way.

It is possible that the sill plate (the wood on top of the foundation) is collapsed due to water or termite damage. This can be repaired and much less expensive.





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Robin Garr

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Re: Need A Foundation Expert for our Old House

by Robin Garr » Wed Apr 18, 2007 9:10 am

Leann C wrote:Any recommendations on a good foundation person? This is a whole new area for us.


Leann, can you tell us if you ever found an expert? We've been having some unrelated work done on our 95-year-old house in Crescent Hill and are starting to notice some similar cracks and such here. I'd like to think it's nuthin' to worry about, but if you found an expert who seemed trustworthy, I wouldn't mind hearing about it!
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Leann C

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by Leann C » Wed Apr 18, 2007 5:03 pm

Thanks to the helpful suggestions of fellow forumite Jay M., we contacted United Dynamics, Inc. and a consultant named Eric Mindzenberger took a look at our house.

Turns out that things are not as bad as we were imagining and he was honest enough to recommend fixes that we could do ourselves. Here is his contact info in case anyone else is having similar issues:

Eric Minzenberger
United Dynamics, Inc.
(812) 282-2222
ericm@udipdi.com
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TP Lowe

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by TP Lowe » Wed Apr 18, 2007 10:12 pm

I had a lot of settling and leaking problems at my old house on Top Hill. A good part of it was solved by moving the water well away from the house with underground black plastic pipe to get it into the yard. I did use B-Dry to seal up the basement, and those two actions seemed to resolve the leaks and settling. Not inexpensive, but problem fixed ...

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