crawl space repair

merrymagicroad

Hi, I have a house with a crawlspace (12" deep). The floors are substantially dropping at the outer edges. The portion of the house that has a crawl space is roughly 20'x20' and the 2 far walls(front and back) do not appear to be sagging. Originally we thought the footings to be sagging but upon further inspection (cutting a hole in the floor) we found the floor joists to be substantially damaged. Being that there are a few load bearing walls in the house we are wondering what our options are as far as replacing the damaged joists. The house is a single family ranch and based on what we've seen (3 joists in the middle of the sag) we feel that a majority of the joists for the crawl spaced area may need to be replaced. We are wondering what our options are/hoping we have some? Any advice would be much appreciated.

joecaption

Got some pictures?
Any signs of insect or fungus causing this damage?

merrymagicroad

Certainly no fungus, and we didnt see any insects or that we could tell that they were there. And my son is sending me the pics right now...it'll be a moment... thanks!

merrymagicroad

None of them? I see one over here with an x, but the rest of them I see on this end. Are you seeing none of them on your end?

joecaption

Nope, just boxes.

merrymagicroad

Sending 2 attachments, I think.

Attached Images

  

merrymagicroad

joecaption

Oh boy where do we start and be polite, Hmm.
Got a real mess there.
What's your buget to fix this?

merrymagicroad

This house is going to cost me more than it is worth multiple times over, I think. I had a guy out yesterday for an estimate...he hasn't given me numbers yet, but it'd be cheaper to bury me than to fix this house. I am a factory girl with expensive medical issues...I don't have a budget or a savings to speak of. What ideas do you have going, over there?

joecaption

You've got some major very expencive to fix issues going on.
It would be more then even an advanced DIY should be doing.
Might want to add your location to your profile so it's easyer to see. Once in a while someone on here lives near by and would take a look at what you have going on.

Most from what I can see was caused from the house just being built to close to the ground, possible poor grading, failing foundation, no vaper barrier, no pressure treated lumber.
Very common issues in old houses.
It would be interesting to hear what this guy comes back with.
This not not a job for some small time local handy man.

merrymagicroad

Thanks, Joe..your list of what the causes look to be made me feel somehow better. I bought this house in the winter, and when the snow melted, I saw the house sitting inside a swirl of grass and mud. That was my first project with this property, to fix the grading and divert the "waterfalls" that filled the driveway that came fom the neighbors' higher elevated properties. It was reassuring to me that the dirt in the crawl space fell through the hand like dry sand, not like the hard frozen concrete-like clay out in the yard. What will be really interesting is what the insurance adjuster will have to say. Thank you for being so patient about waiting for the pics..my computer is being crazy slow tonight, and for your most helpful response.

I thought I had put in my location...been in alot of windows today. Milwaukee, Wisconsin

TheCamper

I think Joe has hit the major causes of the problem, I just want to add that when you speak to your contractors about the repair you may wish to talk to them about remediation of the problem; you are likely removing all of the sub-floor, that may present a good opportunity to take care of the problem; e.g. maybe dig down to the extent readily achievable to create a deeper crawl space, install a vapor barrier, concrete slab, and ventilate the crawlspace. Your local contractor will know the problems that typically occur in your area. I would think that you will also want to determine how deep the foundation is and determine its structural integrity. A good contractor can perform the repair but the remediation plan may need an architect or engineer. Good Luck.

merrymagicroad

Both of you are responding with words that speak true and solid. Thank you very much.

joecaption

You can forget about any insuance company doing anything. These are all lack of maintaince and poor design problums.

747

I"m surprised being in a cold weather climate like Milwaukee your crawlspace is so shallow. I"m in Illinois a one story ranch like you. Mine is like 4 1/2 feet deep. I'm sorry to say Joe is correct. Major repair. Those floor joist are going to need replacing plus the sill. I actually have a little step ladder setup to get into my crawlspace when i pull up the trap door.