Foundation problems

Abbey222 · 10-27-2012, 04:58 PM

I had my house leveled in November 2010. It is pier and beam. Then had all the cracks repaired in the house. After about 10 months the leveling failed couldn't lock the front door cracks all over the house and the brick veneer(which goes about a third of the way up in front of the house) began to pull away from the house. Where holes were dug to place the piers on the outside of the house,I had to consistently fill sinkholes every time it rained. The tiles fell off the front of the porch. The company came back out and readjusted the foundation. But the brick was still bowing with a gap between the house and the brick. They said it would go back into place. Now, 10 months later the same thing has happened-failed again with additional cracks nails head poking out in two areas, humps in two rooms and the brick veneer had sunk worse with a larger gap, more sinkholes. They came back out and readjusted again. There was nothing wrong with the brick veneer before I initially had the house leveled. As a matter of fact the inside now looks worse than prior to having all this work done. The company is not taking any responsibility for the brick sagging and bowing saying that it is on a seperate footing. I am not sure this is true. They also said that the cracks can be due to normal movement. I have lived here for 20 years and understand the normal cracking but all this is over and above what I consider normal. They did do some patching on the brick but now the attached brick planter is not level and the veneer is not straight. After one week a crack on the bedroom ceiling is getting bigger and the baseboards have seperation lines. this has been a two year nightmare! The company also said that the brick was cosmetic ane woluld not take any responsibility for any damage. Inside as well. Should the brick have come loose from the house? If the brick is on a seperate footing should this have been taken into consideration from the beginning? What would cause the foundation work to fail twice?

GBrackins · 10-27-2012, 05:18 PM

it could be the piers are overloaded for the size of the footing and your soil bearing capacity, or it could be some other structural members are overloaded/overstressed.

I would recommend bring in a structural engineer/professional engineer to evaluate your existing home, foundation and soils. they can determine the cause and prepare a proper course of action to remediate the problem(s).

I know sometimes people don't like spending money on engineers because all you get is some paper with lines and numbers on it. but with this your builder knows exactly what needs to be done to fix the problems, not just do what they've always done under similar circumstances (no slap at builders).

I'm sure you'll get more suggestions .....

Good luck!

tony.g · 10-27-2012, 06:52 PM

If the house is on piers and beams, is it plausible, as the builder claims, that the brick veneer is on a separate foundation? I would think that unlikely.

This seems like a complete mess from start to finish and, as Gary says, you would be better getting an SE to make recommendations, rather than persevering with those cowboys.

TheCamper · 10-27-2012, 07:39 PM

It is time to get the professional engineer in. He can determine if your problem is design or workmanship. What about contacting the engineer or architect that did the initial design for the foundation repair? (that is assuming a design professional specified the foundation repair/reconstruction.) Also, as far as the brick veneer being on a separate foundation, wasn't the brick addressed in the repair design? You need the professional. good luck.

Abbey222 · 10-27-2012, 09:07 PM

I did ask about the current issue with the brick- if that should have been addessed the first time and why it was not. The answer was that they did not know why and that the crew chief for the initial job was let go. The person that did the foundation design no longer works for the foundation company either. I asked if they would have done things differently if this had been addressed and the answer was probably.

GBrackins · 10-27-2012, 09:14 PM

Abbey,

you do not want their people doing the design, you want yours ...... the person protecting you should be employed by you