Foundation Problem

evol200

Well I have a serious issue in regards to my rental property and the foundation in the corner of the house is collapsing. Its noticable inside the house particularly in the Master bathroom and Master bedroom. I'll try and download some pics. Where the toilet is situated there is a noticable square around the toilet and it constantly being filled in with caulking. That section is collapsing, luckily there is no leaks & everything still works. On the opposite side of the toilet there is a square shape crack on the wall, underneath it, the foundation is crumbling away.

In the Master Bedroom there is a crack in the bottom corner of the window running down. On the opposite side of that wall there is also a crack running in the same direction. Plus. In the same room right in front of this window there is a crack in the foundation, there is a 1/2 inch ridge to this crack, it runs all the way into the opposite corner of this room and fades in the other room.

Attached Images

      

evol200

If anyone can offer some tips on a short term solution or long term solution, by all means please advise. I've had this property for over two years. It's a good rental, but my partner mismanaged the Claim for this problem and we ended up shorting ourselves in the outcome, by several thousand dollars, from whom we purchased this property from. Any and all advise welcome. I dont want to lose this property, the thought has entered my mind of just walking away from this place literally, I dont want to do that.
Thanks in advance.

Termite

You need a foundation repair specialty company. Yes, those are some pretty severe settlement problems, and it will take a professional to stabilize the foundation.

In the interim, you might take a hard look at how stormwater is managed on the property. Most of the time, foundation problems like you're having are caused by water. Is the grade sloping away from the house? Do the gutters discharge at least 3' away from the house? Does the sump pump discharge away from the house? All things to look at to keep it from getting worse.

buletbob

I have done a few foundation repairs in my time. this is not a DYI project. What I did was to have my engineer come out to the property and survey the damage, and and almost all the time had to hire a soil testing company to come out and test the soil where the foundation cracks are.
what the company will do is to see if the soil that the foundation footing was installed on met the Lb per square foot criteria that the soil needed to be at for the footing. That would be the smartest thing to do first. this way they will tell you if the soil is good or not and how far down you until you do find good soil. the most common repair here where I'm from is the Helicoil approach. I;ll see if I could post a picture so you can understand.

yes.itsconcrete

both 'mite & bob have the right ideas,,, walking away's easy but for fact the problems will follow you.

so, 1st, soils engineer; 2nd, depending on his report, underpinning w/spread footer/grade beam; 3rd, ramjack or acme screw,,, now get back to bed

evol200

Cool, thanks for the info.
I'll do my best to find a company to handle this. I'm asuming this repair will cost around $16,000, correct me if I'm wrong. I live in Phoenix Az. I'll just have to continue the patch work and save up some dough. Maybe theres a way I can reopen this civil matter and go about my way. It was a company that we bought this property from, all this is a result of illegal additions to this house. All we got from it was $3,000. I'm gonna look into it, wth i got nothing to lose.

Termite

Hard to say how much it will cost, but $16000 is probably in the right range.

evol200

I'm really noticing that this problem is only isolated to that area of the house. Particularly, the 3 ft in width by 6 ft in length ( that goes along the exterior wall. ) Would it be possible, To just tear out this small section of foundation, repack the ground correctly and repour concrete? Because, I dont see any other problems with the foundation through-out the house.

Daniel Holzman

How can you possibly estimate the cost at $16,000 without any kind of professional evaluation? At this moment, you have no idea what the cause of the problem is, let alone a solution. You don't even know if the "illegal addition" was built on a foundation. I second all the previous comments, you need to hire a professional engineer or foundation specialist to evaluate the damage, determine the cause, and recommend a solution.

By the way, the technique previously described as "helicoil" is more likely helical anchors. A helicoil is an insert used when a bolt thread goes bad. A helical anchor is a specialized type of foundation support that is screwed into the ground outside the foundation, and has a bracket designed to support a beam. It might be appropriate for your site, it might be totally useless, you need a professional who knows the common techniques local to your area.

evol200

ok, I'll get a professional opinion. Then take it from there.
thanx for the additional information.

buletbob

yes your correct with the term helical anchor. just a slang term I use with my subs. I would first get a soil test performed, your foundation specialist would need it anyway. This is always my first step when take on jobs of this type. then I consult with my engineer with the soil results to come up with a repair technique. BOB.