| Subject | Date Asked |
|
| foundation heaving | 11/21/2009 |
Q: my home is seven years old,stucco and brick,I have recently noticed some changes such as lateral ...
A: Stan, Foundation heaving is often caused by the foundation not being installed below the frost ...
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| Foundation Repair or Replace | 11/17/2009 |
Q: My problem is our city has made everyone concrete their drains from the downspouts (new water system ...
A: James, I think you were able to answer your own question. Just remember your roof is a huge ...
|
| Floor Sloping | 11/16/2009 |
Q: I have a brownstone (Built 1910) in the new york city area. The building is 4 story, masonry ...
A: Sam, With the movement and settlement you are experiencing, the multitude of repair errors and ...
|
| cement block wall structural improvement | 11/15/2009 |
Q: Is there a problem with filling a cement block wall with concrete and rebar to gain structural ...
A: ciss, The only real problem you'll get filling a block wall the way you described would be all ...
|
| Leaking Foundation wall | 11/13/2009 |
Q: we have just got tons of rain in the past month or so and it has either caused or highlighted a ...
A: Matt, Assuming this is a solid poured concrete wall there's a few steps you should take before ...
|
| sinking concrete floor | 11/13/2009 |
Q: We enclosed a carport into a garage and over the years from water problems the floor is cracking and ...
A: Gloria, First repair the cause of the structure sinking...and it's probably faulty drain ...
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| Crawl Space mold | 11/13/2009 |
Q: I hope that you can answer my question regarding a walk in crawl space. I live in South Alabama near ...
A: Bryan, There are now arguments for and against venting crawl spaces. There is merit to both ...
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| home foundation repair | 11/3/2009 |
Q: i know that you can't give estimates about the cost of repairing a foundation due to many factors ...
A: Ginger, My first question to your engineer would be how do you know how many feet deep the ...
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| sinking foundation | 10/30/2009 |
Q: We live in Michigan near the lake. Our home, built in the 1950's, is definitely sinking. We also ...
A: Effie, The only way to know how deep the piers will go until termination is to obtain a soil ...
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| Foundation Repair | 10/29/2009 |
Q: We’d appreciate your help with probable foundation damage. Our one-story East Texas home was ...
A: Rick, I lived in South Texas for 10 years and never heard of your Prairie crayfish. In ...
|
| basement water issue | 10/28/2009 |
Q: Jim I have a 60 yr old home in the Cleveland area with a full basement. I have foundation drains, a ...
A: Dennis, It's almost a promise that the draintile is clogged or damaged. I would suggest that ...
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| seeping basement walls | 10/23/2009 |
Q: Jim, We have recently purchased (and have been remodeling) a house built in the 1960's. It has a ...
A: Julie, Very simply...you need to correct the top level of soil to make the water run away from ...
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| Enclosed carport has a leaking foundation wall... | 10/22/2009 |
Q: I purchased a home that had an attached carport enclosed by the previous owner. Unfortunately, the ...
A: Angie, Rather than staring over try this first. Install a narrow perimeter drain system that ...
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| Any way to remove Drylok? | 10/20/2009 |
Q: Jim Actually my problem is 2 fold. I bought a house (Rochester, NY)where the basement walls were ...
A: George, I have never, ever had to remove Drylock from a wall except in 4" bands when ...
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| New Foundation Stabilization Sloping Lot | 10/17/2009 |
Q: I am planning a new home on a sloping hillside lot. The soil base is clay over shale. Some homes ...
A: David, Planning to build on a slope known to have slip/ failure problems would be extremely ...
|
| bad concrete | 10/17/2009 |
Q: we have a house that is all concrete 2 stories high and attic even soffit is concrete age not sure ...
A: Tim, You'll need a structural engineer in there to do some physical testing of the concrete ...
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| 1901 school basment cement water. | 10/15/2009 |
Q: we are turning this building into a huge house.it is in the middle of a water table farmland it a ...
A: dewayne, You've already got a coating on the surface so adding anything else over it ...
|
| re-setting concrete block | 10/14/2009 |
Q: I am managing the basement wall repairs for my fiancee's home. I have laid out the 4" I-Beam ...
A: Matt, If you don't know the answers to the questions you asked me ...this repair is far to ...
|
| wet basement | 10/13/2009 |
Q: I am asking for my neighbor who has water problems in his basement. He is already out around ...
A: Ricky, Bringing water into a channel at floor level isn't a great idea. A lot of water is left ...
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| Repairing and waterproofing beach sand foundations | 10/12/2009 |
Q: I have a 1938 bungalow with a poured foundation that is made with cement, beach sand and what looks ...
A: Nancy, The crumbling concrete from your walls may be a result of imperfect mixing when the ...
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| waterproofing between new slab and existing foundation | 10/11/2009 |
Q: When a new concrete slab or driveway is being poured tight up against an existing house foundation ...
A: Joseph, You need an expansion strip between the new slab and the old to prevent damage from ...
|
| Foundation Failure | 10/7/2009 |
Q: We currently have a contract on a house where the inspector says there's a foundation failure. If ...
A: Debbie, The price is an average cost per pier, installed. If you go beyond a pre-set depth ...
|
| Basement issues | 10/6/2009 |
Q: My home was built in 1935 and has a very thin basement floor. The floor is BADLY raised in the ...
A: Verona, The problem IS the water build up under the floor. The floor will need to be removed ...
|
| cold room leak | 10/6/2009 |
Q: I have a leaky cold room. The two vents at the top of the block walls were leaking. One we sealed ...
A: Cathy, You can either seek out a penetrating concrete sealer to spray on your bricks, or you ...
|
| digging beyond the footer to lay drain tile lower? | 10/1/2009 |
Q: Jim, I am a contractor in central Wyoming and we handle pretty much anything from the sill plate ...
A: Brent, Removal of soil along the perimeter and below the footing is a recipe for ...
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| leveling our house | 9/30/2009 |
Q: The more we look into options for leveling our home, the more confused we become. We live in ...
A: Heather, Before you go much further you should probably invest in some soil borings. This ...
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| Cracks in Poured Wall | 9/29/2009 |
Q: I'm attaching photos of cracks we've recently noticed on the west facing wall of our 2 story home in ...
A: Andy, Send additional crack pictures to my address on my website @ ...
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| repairing fieldstone on face of front porch | 9/28/2009 |
Q: I had some fieldstone bricks fall off the face of my front porch and dont know how to repair it. ...
A: Suzanne, The easiest approach to this problem as a homeowner would be to go into a Lowes or ...
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| Basement Foundation? What foundation? | 9/26/2009 |
Q: What would you do about a house that was built in the late 30's or early 40's in the Colorado ...
A: Jean, Having never run into this before I can only throw out an idea for you to consider. I ...
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| Foundation Walls | 9/23/2009 |
Q: I recently made an offer on a home and later found out through the inspection and structural ...
A: Rebecca, The anchor system you are considering is a questionable choice for stabilizing a ...
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| Repairing internal piers | 9/23/2009 |
Q: I was recently told that repairing internal piers is "serious" foundation repair. Should I be ...
A: Gillian, Internal piers are generally installed in slab homes where load bearing walls need ...
|
| pouring one corner of a basement | 9/23/2009 |
Q: I live on Owen Sound, Ontario, in an old farm house about 100 years old. It is on a block foundation ...
A: Cameron, Yes, you can! The trick will be to find and locate the best points to install ...
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| basement & crawl spaces | 9/22/2009 |
Q: just bought a home that has a partial basement & 2 crawl spaces. The partial has a trough cut around ...
A: Deryl, The best waterproofing for removing dampness and moisture is done from the OUTSIDE. ...
|
| Foundation Drainage | 9/21/2009 |
Q: I just purchased a home in an area of WV that does not enforce the WV Building Code (which ...
A: Jeromy, With all the things that have been done in a substandard manner on your home you ...
|
| Water on basement floor | 9/17/2009 |
Q: My husband and I bought a home about 6 months ago from an older couple. The house had some gutter ...
A: Allison, One step at a time. You know the grading is causing the water to accumulate around ...
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| house pilings | 9/16/2009 |
Q: we are currently interested in buying a house that was built in 1902. There was a previous contract ...
A: Rob, Really old houses often settle due to old support beams sagging and cracking. Old wood ...
|
| cracks above and below window | 9/12/2009 |
Q: Jim, I am about buying a house. During the inspection, we found that there are two 6 to 8 inches ...
A: Frank, It does sound like settlement. Shine a flashlight across other window or door openings ...
|
| Preventing basement flooding on a hillside home | 9/11/2009 |
Q: You have an excellent website! I am hoping you can help me with our problem. I have scanned through ...
A: Pia, This is one situation where a picture would really help me help you. One thing you really ...
|
| Settling Foundation | 9/10/2009 |
Q: .. I am in need of foundation repairs. I live in Ronceverte, WV. The foundation is settling on our ...
A: Dreama, I have no idea what size your house is so I can't ballpark closer than ...
|
| Uneven slab | 9/9/2009 |
Q: I have a house that was built in the 1960's in New Jersey. It is a ranch style home on a concrete ...
A: Aimee, You'll need to pull up your carpeting to see what is happening to the floor. Chances ...
|
| foundation leaking water into basement | 9/8/2009 |
Q: We purchased our home 2 years ago and since have noticed water problems in the basement garage. the ...
A: Steve, Almost every home built in the Cleveland, Ohio region only has a one year warranty ...
|
| Parging on new foundation | 9/3/2009 |
Q: we had our century home raised to build a new foundation in December 2008. When should we do the ...
A: Lucille, I've never heard of anyone waiting over a year to parge their foundation, but as ...
|
| rock wall basement | 8/31/2009 |
Q: Part of our basement has rock walls and moisture is coming through them . How do I get the mortal ...
A: Iris, Water infiltration is most likely causing your mortar to fail. The first plan of action ...
|
| Brick siding pulling away from wall | 8/27/2009 |
Q: Mr. Hise: The brick siding above my garage door is pulling a away from the wall on one side of the ...
A: Wendy, I have no contacts in your area. I would suggest looking up a local masonry contractor ...
|
| Wall anchors for a sheared and bowing concrete block wall | 8/26/2009 |
Q: I have a sheared and bowing concrete block wall in my garage (underneath a 1 story house). The ...
A: Mark, It sounds to me like you were talking to a salesman instead of an owner or structural ...
|
| Slab sinking | 8/25/2009 |
Q: I have a 32 yr old ranch house on a slab foundation in So NM. The house has had a couple additions ...
A: Rob, In my experience in Cleveland, Ohio concrete slabs can be raised and stabilized most of the ...
|
| sloping floors and cracks in walls | 8/22/2009 |
Q: I live in the West Oak Lane section of Philadelphia. I purchased this house three years ago. While I ...
A: Cheryl, I suspect you've got a few problems going on there that were covered up before you ...
|
| concrete patch missing in foundation | 8/20/2009 |
Q: We are trying to figure out if a patch of concrete missing in our foundation is cosmetic or ...
A: Kelli, When a chunk of concrete has broken away from under a supporting steel beam there is ...
|
| vertical/horizontal crack in basement wall | 7/14/2009 |
Q: Recently (four months ago) bought a house originally built in 1949. At that time, there were no ...
A: Marianne, There's a strong likelihood that water and snow has run off the patio and down ...
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| steel beam foundation repair | 7/13/2009 |
Q: my house is 100 years old ,soil tyre iam not sure ,and foundation is block .I want to reinfore bowed ...
A: Mike, I've seen 4" beams sometimes bend with that much pressure on them. You may want to ...
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| Crack in basement floor | 7/13/2009 |
Q: Me and my wife have been looking for a house for 3 or 4 months now and we are only 25 and 24 years ...
A: Steve, Run away from that house, don't walk. Serious problems are on the horizon and they ...
|
| Exterior French Drain Repairs | 7/12/2009 |
Q: I have two exterior french drains that are built into a cement encased stairwell that leads into the ...
A: Joseph, It sounds like the drains are blocked or broken. I would suggest you call in a ...
|
| basement floor | 7/6/2009 |
Q: Coming from Littleton Co. My moms basement floor has a gap all the way around the perimeter where ...
A: Kevin, Usually concrete shrinks in a basement somewhat to create a gap around the perimeter. ...
|
| Basement Odor | 7/4/2009 |
Q: I live in the Somerset NJ area, in a 30 year old house. I’m living in this house now a little over ...
A: Heather, My best guess regarding the odor problem would be that the foam material which was ...
|
| Concrete Slab sagging | 7/2/2009 |
Q: We recently purchased a single level home built on concrete slab. It is a Charles Goodman house ...
A: Jane, Slabjacking has worked well in 90% of all the job I've been involved with. Around 10% ...
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| Interior drains | 7/2/2009 |
Q: Jim I discovered that the interior drain in my basement isn't working. I had it cleaned out ...
A: Sharon, To replace the draintile which has settled will cost about the same as installing a ...
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| foundation problems | 7/1/2009 |
Q: We live in Brenham, Texas and built a house in 2002 on sandy clay. We have beams and extra steel ...
A: Gwen, I suspect that your foundation has been built so strong that it didn't crack as the ...
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| Crack in Foundation | 6/29/2009 |
Q: I have a solid concrete foundation, and when we moved in, about a year ago. The home inspector ...
A: Andrew, From now on when an inspector tells you to keep an eye on something...keep an eye on ...
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| swollen basement floor | 6/29/2009 |
Q: I'm in the process of buying a home that has been vacant for at least one year. upon my inspection I ...
A: Langston, Get someone in there with a lazer level to take elevation readings inside and ...
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| Sump Crock | 6/26/2009 |
Q: I live in mid-Michigan and my house is approximately 50 years old. I have a walk out basement; I ...
A: Katrina, A crock without a pump inside will fill with water and not be pumped ...
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| stone foundation repair | 6/22/2009 |
Q: I started pointing up the exposed section of the foundation wall and it went so well I decided to ...
A: Hugh, 50 gallons isn't even the size of a small pre-fab pond! If you're going to build one do ...
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| stone foundation repair | 6/22/2009 |
Q: I started pointing up the exposed section of the foundation wall and it went so well I decided to ...
A: Hugh, I would rent a 4000 psi pressure washer to do most of the cleaning of the stones. You can ...
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| porous brick ? | 6/22/2009 |
Q: It appears that whenever it rains the exterior brick on my house look wet, even after the the ...
A: William, All masonry products are porous until they are sealed. I'd suggest to have a ...
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| crack in new foundation wall | 6/20/2009 |
Q: The foundation for our new home was poured 8 days ago. It is a 5 foot wall, back filled to 4.5 feet. ...
A: Cathy, Although I wouldn't be too happy starting a new house this way, unless the same walls ...
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| crumbling foundation wall | 6/18/2009 |
Q: the house i recently purchased is over 100 years old and after closer inspection i see that one of ...
A: Mike, The I beam is attached to the floor joists with wood blocking. You simply extend the ...
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| Cost estimate for helical pier support | 6/16/2009 |
Q: I have a garage that is 22' x 22'. One corner is pulled down, sagging 5" along one axis and 2" along ...
A: Robert, Expect to pay $1,000 - $1,250 for push piers and $1,200-$1,450 for helical piers. ...
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| rock foundation | 6/15/2009 |
Q: Recently purchased an old home New Castle, Henry County, KY about 40 minutes northeast of ...
A: Bob, The best method of repair is actually replacement of the foundation with a new footing ...
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| crumbling top of concrete slab | 6/14/2009 |
Q: We live in the foothills of the Catskill Mtns. in New York State. We put our singlewide mobile home ...
A: Katherine, It sounds to me like there was no quality control involved with the concrete ...
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| Track in bricks | 6/12/2009 |
Q: I have a new full brick home built in 2006. About eighteen months ago I noticed cracking above the ...
A: CW, Helical piers installed properly DO NOT CAUSE FURTHER STRUCTURAL DAMAGE. There may be ...
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| leaky basement | 6/12/2009 |
Q: I own a home on an acreage in extreme northeast kansas. We have all sorts of basement-leak issues. ...
A: Lynn, For the basement wall height problem you can install window wells. These metal or ...
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| Helical piers and push piers | 6/11/2009 |
Q: I was reading one of your earlier posts regarding the cost of helical piers. You figured a good ...
A: John, Pier prices in Cleveland, Ohio start at around $1,200.00- $1,300.00 dollars now. New ...
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| horizontal hairline crack, is it a problem? | 6/9/2009 |
Q: Our house was built in 1997. We moved in in 2002. I discovered a horizontal crack of about 5-6 feet ...
A: Arlene, A horizontal crack in your basement concrete block wall indicates extreme ...
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| High water content | 6/8/2009 |
Q: I just got my house graded better but water is still entering the sump pump continuously. I was ...
A: Sash, The only way I know of to lower a water table in a specific area is to install a drywell ...
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| swimming pool | 6/7/2009 |
Q: My daughter bought a house with a swimming pool and she wants to close it but is very expensive. The ...
A: Ligia, You didn't mention what type of pool construction we're dealing with so I can't be ...
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| tunneling under slab-on-grade foundation | 6/6/2009 |
Q: Jim, I am considering having a plumbing leak repaired by tunneling under my slab-on-grade ...
A: Tom, Generally sandy soil doesn't settle much. It already is. I would worry about dying from a ...
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| Concrete Block Movement | 5/18/2009 |
Q: When I bought my house, the basement was leaking so I had B-Dry come in and fix it. Good to go. ...
A: Mary, I think for $7,000 you should be able to find a contractor to rebuild the entire wall, ...
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| Lakehouse settling | 5/17/2009 |
Q: Just purchased a lakefront home that is 70 years old. The lakeside of the foundation has sunk about ...
A: Chad, There's no promises to be had on whether or not your foundation will stay put or continue ...
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| foundation in basement | 5/16/2009 |
Q: Last year my basement flooded due to a large amount of rain. $20000.00 plus later I had new carpet, ...
A: Melissa, I assume you have an interior water control system because you have have sump ...
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| foundation walls moving | 5/16/2009 |
Q: I have a client who's foundation walls move outward in the summer when the ground dries up how can i ...
A: Jim, You should stabilize your walls from moving with carbon fiber grids installed vertically ...
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| Cinderblock falling in | 5/14/2009 |
Q: I have a second residence within 54 ft of a dam controled lake. At 36" it is possible to hit water. ...
A: Jim, It's likely that the sand has filtered through your stone backfill and clog the draintiles. ...
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| cracked footers in crawlspace | 5/13/2009 |
Q: we are planning on purchasing a house in norther North Dakota. The house was built in 1967 and has ...
A: Andrew, We had a problem similar to this in Cleveland, Ohio a few years ago. We decided to ...
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| abrupt foundation settling | 5/13/2009 |
Q: Our 1960s Michigan, 3br, 1-bath, concrete slab (no basement) home started settling over the last 1.5 ...
A: Rod, The best smoking gun I've ever seen was a scenario similar to yours. It was a slab house ...
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| water drainage problem | 5/13/2009 |
Q: .We are getting water in garages,some of the streets and driveways are cracking, crumbling and ...
A: Paul, This one is easy...Visit this site and review the product information! Super inexpensive ...
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| Stabililzing old crawl space hand dug into "cellar" | 5/12/2009 |
Q: I'm looking for advice on how to stabilize the dirt ledges between the original crawl space ...
A: Wendy, Gunnite would be the perfect solution to your problem. With very little preparation ...
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| Raised Ranch damp walls | 5/7/2009 |
Q: I have a 30 year old raised Ranch I bought 2 years ago there is 2 rooms downstairs I am planning on ...
A: Eric, The drainage around the walls on the outside has failed. You need outside waterproofing ...
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| Exterior wall water runoff | 5/7/2009 |
Q: Jim, I have a home where the slope of the roof runs East to West and the existing gutters and ...
A: Paul, There is a great do-it-yourself drainage product that's perfect for your problem and ...
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| Cracks on foundation Walls and Carbon Fiber Strips | 5/5/2009 |
Q: My apologies for the long message, but this story has a lot of details which are important. I have a ...
A: Yvette, A one year warranty is standard on block wall rebuilds unfortunately. Carbon ...
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| Rain water into house | 5/4/2009 |
Q: If you look at the house, Where the outside wall meets the foundation, the yard is about 6-7 inches ...
A: Barbara, You may want to try installing a French drain around that area. This is a method of ...
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| Wet Foundation | 5/3/2009 |
Q: I live in a semi-attach home which is about 6 years old. The problem I am having is in the front of ...
A: Igor, With this additional information I now surmise that water is building up under the floor. ...
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| Wet Foundation | 5/3/2009 |
Q: I live in a semi-attach home which is about 6 years old. The problem I am having is in the front of ...
A: Igor, The drainage system you've installed probably routes water through the wall on its way to ...
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| uneven floors due to sinkhole repair | 5/1/2009 |
Q: A few years ago we pulled up vinyl flooring in our kitchen and had porcelain tile installed. Our ...
A: Caryn, I stand by my answer. Get LAZER LEVEL readings throughout your home...for reference ...
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| uneven floors due to sinkhole repair | 5/1/2009 |
Q: A few years ago we pulled up vinyl flooring in our kitchen and had porcelain tile installed. Our ...
A: Caryn, Yes, the new tile can hold together during all the foundation movement when the ...
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| Crack in foundation wall | 4/28/2009 |
Q: I live in kansas city and have a 1400 sq ft house (built 1955) with a crawl space. There has been ...
A: Jared, Don't let the water continue to come into your home! The long term result is never very ...
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| bowing cinder block basement wall | 4/25/2009 |
Q: I read Ed Eckley's answer to question posted 3/24/09. Ed suggested two options to replacing the ...
A: Bren, As long as the walls are not sheared or starting to shear at the second block up from the ...
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| leaning walls | 4/25/2009 |
Q: I am considering buying a Historic home in Lynchburg Va. The left wall is bowed out 4", and the ...
A: Jonathan, In the Cleveland Ohio region a wall rebuild goes for around $250.00 per foot. You ...
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| clay tile basement | 4/22/2009 |
Q: Had a house fire 3-2-09 The house was gutted,and fire was in basement. Took furnance and water ...
A: Shirley, The clay tiles could have been weakened by the heat. The only way to know for sure ...
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| foundation stabilization | 4/21/2009 |
Q: My 60 year old ranch home has some poured concrete basement wall cracks and has deflected inward ...
A: Pat, Your wall must be scarified ( paint ground off ) first for the Fortress Carbon fiber to ...
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| BASEMENT REPAIR EVALUATIONS | 4/20/2009 |
Q: Jim -- I live in California and have a very young son in the Parma area who is looking at smaller ...
A: Llyod, Yes, we can do that for your son. Usually we can see the property within 24 hours. I ...
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| Moist Basement | 4/14/2009 |
Q: I recently purchased a house that has a 15x15 room under the kitchen which is cinder block. I was ...
A: Nikki, Here's the Dry Loc website. As far as I know there's no special roller for the product. ...
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| french drain depth? | 4/13/2009 |
Q: I am looking to get a french drain installed in my basement (or do it myself if it's too much ...
A: Mark, It seems everyone in this business has come up with their own version of the correct ...
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| Are push piers the way to go? | 4/11/2009 |
Q: I've got a one-level brick rambler in Alexandria and have just been told that I need three push ...
A: Mitchell, You may want to get another company in to take a look for a couple of reasons. 1. ...
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| Garage settling, center post has a gap | 4/10/2009 |
Q: I have a 2 story colonial built in 1992, with an attached garage with a bedroom over it. The garage ...
A: Robert, You need to address the problem soon before there is more damage. With the settlement ...
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| Foundation Stabilization | 4/10/2009 |
Q: My wife and I are looking into buying a house in Denver, co I understand some of the houses we are ...
A: James, I've seen the bentonite used for surface soil modification but I've never even heard of ...
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| Horizontal crack in basement wall | 4/7/2009 |
Q: My husband and I recently bought a brick ranch style home built in 1955 (in Nashville). It is on a ...
A: Allison, You need to have a closer look at your wall. The cracking means you've got terrific ...
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| vapor barrier? | 4/4/2009 |
Q: We recently built a home in SC and moved in last June. During heavy rains we have noticed moisture ...
A: K, A vapor barrier is just that...a barrier for water vapor, not for rising water. If your ...
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| interior french drain | 4/3/2009 |
Q: I live in NC and my house is 30 years old. I have a bowed cinder block basement wall that has been ...
A: Ann, Please refer to my site for more information on waterproofing ...
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| Proposed foundation repair | 4/2/2009 |
Q: I have received a proposal to correct a cracked basement poured foundation wall using a Dead Man ...
A: Michael, Both systems will work for "Street Creep" and hydrostatic applications, however the ...
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| flooring/bouncing/etc | 4/2/2009 |
Q: We purchased this 5 year old house a little over 2 years ago and what I didn't notice at the time ...
A: Vickie, I worked on a project very similar to yours in Cleveland a while back with similar ...
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| cracks in basement wall and moisture problem | 3/31/2009 |
Q: basement wall is painted--what do i need to do before apply dry lok--will dry lock fix cracks and ...
A: Cindy, I am not a Drylock expert. You'll need to contact them for the wall prep information ...
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| bowing/cracked walls | 3/31/2009 |
Q: I have 2 walls ctacked and bowing along with some shearing. A 3rd wall is cracking. I understand ...
A: Bob, An inside system is not a requirement unless you have water under the floor, in which case ...
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| Deteriorating Mortar | 3/30/2009 |
Q: I have a 42 yr. old cinder block home, about on hour east of Cincinnati,Ohio. The soil is rich, but ...
A: Jeff, It sounds like you have very high humidity levels in your home. Most likely the issues ...
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| efflorescence | 3/29/2009 |
Q: I read your answer on someone's moisture problem on their concrete garage floor. I have the same ...
A: Rachel, I would first disconnect the downspouts near the garage and run the water from any ...
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| cinder block foundation cracking/leaking | 3/29/2009 |
Q: We just moved into our home a couple months ago and after a recent heavy rain noticed so leaking on ...
A: Jason, First and foremost be sure that the grading is taking water away from the foundation, ...
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| cracks in basement wall and moisture problem | 3/28/2009 |
Q: basement wall is painted--what do i need to do before apply dry lok--will dry lock fix cracks and ...
A: Cindy, Drylock is not promised to work very well on on painted walls. It is supposed to be ...
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| Foundation | 3/28/2009 |
Q: The foundation in my home is cracking but only in a few rooms. It seems to be just past the center ...
A: Shelley, I suspect the wall that runs down the length of your home...in the center of the ...
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| bowed/cracked basement wall | 3/24/2009 |
Q: wall 21'6" x 6'6". horizontal crack with steps. approx. 2.5" out of plumb. cinder block. age 70+ ?. ...
A: Brenton, If you want the wall straight...dig it up and push it back! Why replace blocks ...
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| bowed/cracked basement wall | 3/24/2009 |
Q: wall 21'6" x 6'6". horizontal crack with steps. approx. 2.5" out of plumb. cinder block. age 70+ ?. ...
A: Brenton, I've learned over the years that wall anchors are really best for solid poured ...
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| Brick shifting | 3/24/2009 |
Q: I live in north Texas and my house is on concrete slab, built in 1996. I noticed a few bricks on ...
A: Michael, No it's not normal. A house isn't supposed to fall apart after a few years. If you ...
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| Settlement of Interior Concrete Slab | 3/22/2009 |
Q: The house is located in Maryland. Not sure the soil condition. The original home was built in ...
A: Kim, I would suggest you retain the services of a structural engineer. It sounds like the ...
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| Water under basement slab | 3/21/2009 |
Q: I am in the process of finishing my basement and I was checking to see if there was a trap in the ...
A: Chris, I can only see future problems with that kind of water accumulation. You should look ...
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| foundation settling | 3/21/2009 |
Q: We are having severe problems with foundation settling. We are in northern Indiana, our ranch style ...
A: Melanie, For the interior concrete floor problem contact a few companies who do " ...
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| Porch bricks | 3/18/2009 |
Q: I live in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. My house sits on a concrete slab. The front porch, however, ...
A: Eric, Thanks for the picture. It was very helpful. Your porch footing has settled...probably ...
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| Filling of lift void | 3/17/2009 |
Q: I am going to have my foundation leveled by using steel piers. The contractor said that the estimate ...
A: Michael, Filling of the lift void is strictly cosmetic. It provides no real benefit regard ...
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| detached garage separating from foundation on hillside | 3/15/2009 |
Q: Jim, My garage wall has separated from the foundation by about 5 inches due to a landscape project ...
A: Justine, Yes, helical piers are the best method for stabilization in this case. The piers ...
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| Steel reinforcement for basement?? | 3/14/2009 |
Q: I was wondering the same thing about a prospective house . Weather or not to consider using steel ...
A: May, Steel reinforcing ( rod and grout ) repair often runs 60-75% of wall replacement costs. It ...
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| Basement Wall Cracking | 3/9/2009 |
Q: I have a basement and adjacent crawlspace. The walls are all block and the floors are both cement. ...
A: Steve, For your problem I would consider having carbon fiber installed. It is the least ...
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| Window Well Drainage | 3/8/2009 |
Q: We live in Park Ridge, IL. Our ranch house has seven window wells with drains to the drain tiles ...
A: Michael, Look in the phone book under" plumbing or drain cleaning " for this type of ...
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| Water in Basement | 3/8/2009 |
Q: I have water in my basement.I saw in come in along the floor through molding and also up through a ...
A: Ike, An interior water control system such as a B-dry system will remove water from below the ...
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| Monolithic foundation cracks | 3/4/2009 |
Q: I live in El Paso Tx. I have a monolithic slab that has several cracks, some evident in the garage ...
A: David, Since you say there was engineered and compacted fill beneath your slab my thought is ...
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| new pillars under house | 3/2/2009 |
Q: I am thinking about buying a house. The realtor told me that there had been a water problem and the ...
A: Lin, You can easily spend your profits repairing and stabilizing a failing foundation. Just the ...
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| efflorescence from cement work | 3/1/2009 |
Q: I had water seeping through the lower section of my basement wall. To make a long story short a ...
A: John, You'll probably have to remove all the paint and then put a good quality concrete sealer ...
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| whether cracking in my basement foundation wall is progressive or has stabilized | 2/28/2009 |
Q: LOCATION AND CONFIGURATION: WE live in Cambridge, MA in the "Marsh Historic District," so named ...
A: Paul, The danger of leaving your foundation in this condition is that there is a possibility ...
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| Cinder block foundation bowing and leaking | 2/28/2009 |
Q: I live in a 1950's era Cape Cod home in Aurora, IL. It has a cinder block basement, which I now ...
A: Laurel, The outside draintile is most likely defective in a home this old, allowing water to ...
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| sloping floors | 2/27/2009 |
Q: Our home is only 1 year and 3 months old. We have many sloping floors because they didn't put girder ...
A: Cheri, There's no crystal ball to look at what a foundation is going to do or not do on a ...
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| bowing and cracked basement walls. | 2/23/2009 |
Q: I am curious as to an average price to fix a bowing and cracked basement wall. We are going to look ...
A: Jessica, There's a lot more information I would need to know before giving you an estimate ...
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| Cracks | 2/18/2009 |
Q: Thqnk you for taking the time to answer my question, My mom and dad live in a house in Regina ...
A: Lindsey, A structural engineer would be your best bet at this point. Although he will cost ...
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| What type of expert do I hire to help with stabilization issues? | 2/18/2009 |
Q: We own a small 1920's bungalow in Massachusetts. We have a stone foundation and have had some water ...
A: Caitlin, I would suggest you contact a local structural engineer for his recommendation for ...
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| Elevated foundation crack | 2/18/2009 |
Q: My house is 5 years old, new construction with no crawl space or basement. It is elevated 2 feet ...
A: Mike, The house sounds indeed like it is settling. Get a structural engineer in there to take a ...
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| Leaking basement glass block window | 2/14/2009 |
Q: I ALSO CAN'T TYPE = My house is 55 years old, not 5. My home is brick, 55 years old. For 8 years, ...
A: Joan, Is the upper corner the corner at the top? Assuming this is the case you've most likely ...
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| House sinking AND raising | 2/13/2009 |
Q: My house was built around '97 on flat land in NE Arkansas. In the fall when temps get around 30 the ...
A: David, It sounds like you are sitting on some very unstable ground. It would be best to employ ...
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| Settlement Problems | 2/11/2009 |
Q: I live in Huntington WV. We live in a rancher with a crawl space about 2ft or 3 ft. The house is ...
A: Jaime, Try putting some bottle jacks under the support beams which are failing. On the ground ...
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| sagging floor, foundation cracks, sloped lot, chimney shifting | 2/11/2009 |
Q: My house is about 45 years old in Massachusetts. We have a sloped lot pitching down from the street ...
A: Joy, Since you are seeing a multitude of issues I think you should enlist the services of a ...
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| Flexing Floors | 2/11/2009 |
Q: I just purchased a House built in 1962 and after getting Furniture etc, moved in have noticed the ...
A: Don, Lay down a 2' x 8' treated board on the ground perpendicular to the joists, get a few ...
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| Cracked and Bowed In Block Foundation | 2/10/2009 |
Q: Recently purchased a single family residence in LI/NY with a bowed in and cracked block foundation ...
A: Steve, Once the adjustable posts are in place evenly tighten all the posts which are against ...
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| Water-Proofing Foundation Wall | 2/9/2009 |
Q: I have a one-story house in Houston, Texas built in 1952 on a slab foundation. The house originally ...
A: Sergio, You can apply Densicrete yourself if you can find it. Most concrete sealers will do ...
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| Water-Proofing Foundation Wall | 2/9/2009 |
Q: I have a one-story house in Houston, Texas built in 1952 on a slab foundation. The house originally ...
A: Sergio, For sealing concrete you can use a product called Densicrete. It penetrates, hardens ...
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| Cracks in basement block walls | 2/9/2009 |
Q: I have horizontal cracks in the grout in the top course of concrete block in my 1990 ranch house ...
A: Carl, Indeed it sounds like a freeze break. We're seeing a lot of this activity in Cleveland, ...
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| Cracked and Bowed In Block Foundation | 2/8/2009 |
Q: Recently purchased a single family residence in LI/NY with a bowed in and cracked block foundation ...
A: Steve, You've got the right answer! Excavation is best to relieve the hydrostatic pressure. ...
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| Water seeping in bilco doors | 2/8/2009 |
Q: I live in Northeastern PA and my home was built in 1975. I have a problem with the bilco door ...
A: Marta, Since you've already worked on the outside drainage and it isn't working I'd suggest ...
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| slab foundation settling unevenly | 2/6/2009 |
Q: 1990 frame home on slab with brick veneer, 1.5 stories,about 2100 sq feet on first floor, about ...
A: Brian, A structural engineer is the guy you want to call first. He'll give you the straight ...
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| Foundation Piers settling | 2/6/2009 |
Q: I have a settling issue that probably involves jacking up around 2 or 3 piers and re-leveling the ...
A: Ken, Piers run in the $1200.00-$1500.00 range depending on the type and the depth of ...
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| Repair of foundation leak | 2/5/2009 |
Q: I'd appreciate your advice on what materials and methods you would recommend to permanently plug and ...
A: Chris, Go to this site and order the do-it-yourself kit for sealing cracks. Epoxy is for ...
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| cracking in sheetrock/drywall in new home | 2/4/2009 |
Q: We entered into builder's contract to build a new home; the house is one month to completion. In ...
A: Shelly, You've really already answered your own question. This house seems to have everything ...
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| shale stone ledge foundation help | 2/2/2009 |
Q: Working in a 1920's home in CT with a portion built directly on some kind of heavily layered shale ...
A: Paul, I don't know of a bonding agent for wet rock. The whole idea is to encapsulate the rock ...
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| shale stone ledge foundation help | 2/1/2009 |
Q: Working in a 1920's home in CT with a portion built directly on some kind of heavily layered shale ...
A: Paul, Gunite and shotcrete generally have a steel mesh cage that supports the mixture. Normally ...
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| shale stone ledge foundation help | 2/1/2009 |
Q: Working in a 1920's home in CT with a portion built directly on some kind of heavily layered shale ...
A: Paul, This sounds like expansive shale. It's a hard surface to seal off...so how about ...
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| sill seal fix | 2/1/2009 |
Q: Jim First,I am not sure if the builder installed a sill seal (it doesn't appear so). I have spent ...
A: Dave, I have to imagine the framing for your home is sitting on some kind of plate, but if you ...
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| mudjacking | 1/30/2009 |
Q: We live in Regina,Saskatchewan, Canada and the soil around us is highly clay. Our 4 level split ...
A: Garth, The clay soils beneath your foundation most likely run deeper then the depth that ...
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| sinkhole/ recracking | 1/30/2009 |
Q: I live in Florida and last year we noticed some walls were separating from the ceiling. The ins. co. ...
A: Caryn, Give any information you have to your structural engineer. He's the one who can ...
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| sinkhole/ recracking | 1/29/2009 |
Q: I live in Florida and last year we noticed some walls were separating from the ceiling. The ins. co. ...
A: Caryn, My guess is you need a structural engineer out there to make a thorough examination of ...
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| foundation bow | 1/29/2009 |
Q: Jim hello- i have concern about my block wall in my split level tuck-under. Uncertain on the type of ...
A: James, Since you've made some corrections you may be able to wait a while to effect ...
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| basement flooding | 1/28/2009 |
Q: I am desperate for help! I am getting heavy doses of water through my cove joint in one corner of ...
A: j, Look in the phone book under the "waterproofing" category. My first choice would be B-Dry ...
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| Crumbling Foundation | 1/24/2009 |
Q: My house is almost 100 years old. I don't know when the foundation was done. Now the walls are ...
A: Sofie, What are your walls made of? Are they wet? Are there any cracks or are they breaking ...
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| Foundation Repair | 1/24/2009 |
Q: Foundation repair Question I have been doing some research on repairing my basement. I live in a ...
A: Al, Everyone you talk to is an expert lately? Well, that not a surprise. A wall bowed 2" or so ...
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| Basement Efflorescence | 1/23/2009 |
Q: I have a basement which is made of concrete blocks. I went down yesterday and noticed that the ...
A: Geoff, If you correct the grading issue you may not need to do anything with waterproofing or ...
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| Basement Efflorescence | 1/21/2009 |
Q: I have a basement which is made of concrete blocks. I went down yesterday and noticed that the ...
A: Geoff, The bubbling of the painted wall is water in the wall trying to leach out alkaline ...
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| My basement is turning to dust! | 1/20/2009 |
Q: Why would basement walls start falling apart and turn to dust? Is there a remedy for 50 year old ...
A: Penny, This is likely a problem of an improper concrete mix that is finally starting to show ...
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| water spring at foundation level | 1/15/2009 |
Q: We are excavating on clay soil site where we want to put a five storey building.Alredy we have ...
A: Wilson, You need a Geotechnical engineer in there to evaluate the site conditions before you ...
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| cracks in drywall after foundation leveled | 1/14/2009 |
Q: i moved in 2005, 50 year old home, has 1000 sq ft original foundation, owner added 500 sq ft at rear ...
A: Shirley, The drought has most likely caused all your problems. The age of the structure is ...
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| Teleposts sinking | 1/14/2009 |
Q: I have a 1400 square floor Bi-Level home about three years old. We noticed the back two teleposts ...
A: Mr. John, It sounds to me as though the interior footings under your teleposts were not ...
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| sinking foundation or normal?? | 1/13/2009 |
Q: We did a major kitchen renovation last winter to our 180 year old home. 2 rooms were combined into ...
A: Cindi, The only thing that changed was the additional added weight??? Why didn't the weather ...
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| Basement/Foundation floor and Exterior walls | 1/13/2009 |
Q: My home was built in Southeastern WI in 1935. We have a partially exposed basement. When we ...
A: Ellen, There has to be water under your floor swelling the clay. I would suggest you install ...
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| Water wicking up between foundation and footer | 1/12/2009 |
Q: I live in Southwest Ohio in a one story brick ranch on a slab that is 35 years old. We have been ...
A: Chris, You're going to need a way to remove the water from under your slab. The water table ...
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| Structural Integrity of Townhouse | 1/10/2009 |
Q: I am in the process of purchasing a 4 LEVEL, 1972 built, wood framed/brick-faced Townhouse in ...
A: JP, You've had two engineers in there to take a look...and they both don't seem to concerned. ...
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| block foundations | 1/10/2009 |
Q: i have a lot of flouresent white flaking on the inside of my cinder block foundation. is it possible ...
A: Dave, The white flaking on your interior walls is called efflorescence. It is caused by water ...
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| flooded foundation | 1/9/2009 |
Q: due to the amount of snow and rain in Washington i find myself with a flooded foundation, I have ...
A: Larry, First the flooding will cause a massive clean up headache. Everything will need to be ...
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| foundation sinking | 1/8/2009 |
Q: We built our house in 1981. In 1991 we had a section of foundation that was sinking due to a sink ...
A: Linda, If you are having HELICAL PIERS installed, chances are excellent that there will be no ...
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| basement leakage | 1/8/2009 |
Q: Jim, I brought a beautiful house with a basement in the pacific northwest and we have been having ...
A: Stephanie, For the hole to leak like that it has to fill with water...which means the ...
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| Stair step crack & bowing | 1/8/2009 |
Q: I put an offer in today on a house with some pretty big stair step cracks (with visible gaps) and ...
A: Andrea, I think with that much of a price spread you should be able to come out just fine. ...
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| Leaky block wall | 1/7/2009 |
Q: I live in a split ranch home that is about 30 years old. The foundation is concrete block. I have a ...
A: Dan, The first thing I'd check would be the downspout going into the ground. In Cleveland we ...
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| Stair step crack & bowing | 1/7/2009 |
Q: I put an offer in today on a house with some pretty big stair step cracks (with visible gaps) and ...
A: Andrea, This house will need waterproofing because failed draintile is the cause of your ...
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| frost damage to footers | 1/7/2009 |
Q: Our house is 2 years old with block walls. The footers were poured in November just before a cold ...
A: Ron, Yes I think it's possible you've got some footing damage. What caused the problem is harder ...
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| Water erosion under my concrete foundation that surrounds my in ground pool | 1/6/2009 |
Q: Background: I had my back yard leveled and new sod put down about three years ago. I noticed that ...
A: Art, Slabjacking around a pool area can be a problem. The relatively low PSI used to inject the ...
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| cove joint leakage? | 1/5/2009 |
Q: I'm really hoping you can help me. I've had a few foundation cracks that were supposedly fixed but ...
A: Lisa, Get an estimate from a few companies that do interior water control. Let them tell you ...
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| Floor sagging on half of house causing wall cracks everywhere | 1/4/2009 |
Q: I'm in urgent need of some advice. We just bought our home July 2008. It was built in 1937 so we ...
A: Cacharel, I suspect you've got several cracked support joists in the basement allowing ...
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| cove joint leakage? | 1/4/2009 |
Q: I'm really hoping you can help me. I've had a few foundation cracks that were supposedly fixed but ...
A: Lisa, I doesn't matter if you have draintile or not because by now it would have started to ...
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| no outside access to crawl space | 1/4/2009 |
Q: I have a pier and beam construction, built in the 1950's, our soil is mostly clay dirt here in West ...
A: Carl, This is what I'd probably do also if I wanted to gamble. Chances are nothing bad will ...
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| pier depth | 1/2/2009 |
Q: I'm building a 24'x24' small cabin in southern california on 10"-12" telephone pole piers encased in ...
A: Eric, It all sounds pretty good to me to, but the best way to know for sure is to have a soil ...
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| Vertical crack in block wall | 1/1/2009 |
Q: I live in East TN where there is clay soil. My home is approximately 15 years old. I have a ...
A: Sam, Check the basement closely to see if there are any more cracks. If not it's a good bet the ...
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| Vertical Cracks in Drywall over windows | 12/30/2008 |
Q: Long story - a 2 year old house in Tyrone, Georgia. The soil is Bethlehem (silt-sand), 2-story with ...
A: Mike, The cracks over a doorway are almost always settlement from a broken footing. Piering is ...
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| Vertical Cracks in Drywall over windows | 12/30/2008 |
Q: Long story - a 2 year old house in Tyrone, Georgia. The soil is Bethlehem (silt-sand), 2-story with ...
A: Mike, I didn't see your question here but I'll make a comment or two. I suspect you've got some ...
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| nail pops, steel beams/posts possibly shifting | 12/30/2008 |
Q: We live in a Chicago suburb. Our house is seven years old (been here since it was new) - a two ...
A: Stacey, To me this doesn't sound like anything normal. Loud crashes in the night with no ...
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| back of the house is sinking | 12/28/2008 |
Q: i want to buy a house it is a single family home the person who is selling the home said that it is ...
A: Rebecca, This type of stabilization requires piers. These usually run around $ 1,500 every ...
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| unlevel basement floor w/ wood post holding it up. | 12/28/2008 |
Q: i have an old house from the 30,s. i have noticed the main floor is unlevel and is getting worse. ...
A: Neil, Try going to Lowes or home Depot and buying adjustable metal pole jackposts. Measure the ...
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| need help please | 12/8/2008 |
Q: I have a brick 1936 home with a basement. upstairs, near the middle of home by chimmny floor dips ...
A: Lisa, You need to get three estimates from foundation repair companies in your area. (Someone ...
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| Drywall Buckling and Nail Pops in 25 Year Old Home | 12/8/2008 |
Q: I live in a house in Charlotte, NC that was built in 1983. It is built over an open air crawl space ...
A: Jason, Two thoughts come to mind. Often when a home has started to settle you will see this ...
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| Window well bottom deteriorated | 12/7/2008 |
Q: the bottom of the well has a drain with mostly dirt/some gravel.The lowest part of the galvanized ...
A: Jeff, We always replace them so this is just a guess. I would wait until the weather is a ...
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| sag and spring in condo floor | 12/7/2008 |
Q: I recently bought a 22-year-old condo on the second floor of a two story complex in San Diego, ...
A: Elizabeth, A general contractor will likely have the phone number of a Structural Engineer ...
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| sag and spring in condo floor | 12/6/2008 |
Q: I recently bought a 22-year-old condo on the second floor of a two story complex in San Diego, ...
A: Elizabeth, Yes, a Structural Engineer will be able to get right into the heart of the ...
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| sinking foundation | 12/3/2008 |
Q: I live in baltimore county maryland. The 40 year old kitchen addition to my house is sinking. I ...
A: Gayle, You need to have HELICAL PIERS installed to pass through the unstable strata below your ...
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| Steel Beams for Bracing Basement Walls | 12/2/2008 |
Q: My house is about 55 yrs. old with clay soil and block basement walls. I live in Menomonee ...
A: Jim, A home as old as yours is likely to start experiencing wall bowing now, if it hasn't ...
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| Leak in basement | 11/30/2008 |
Q: I live on Georgia and my townhouse is on a hill. There is a house attached to my left. My driveway ...
A: Edie, Water can travel a lot further than 5' through wicking and capillary action. Many times ...
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| water damaged floor support | 11/28/2008 |
Q: First, I want to say thank you for taking the time to read over my question. I guess part of my ...
A: Steven, Without seeing the extent of the damage I can only tell you what I would try. I would ...
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| Cracks in basement floor despite control cuts | 11/27/2008 |
Q: My wife and I just built a house in Windham, Maine. The foundation was poured right around ...
A: Nick, All concrete cracks to some degree during the curing process. The 48 hour rain could ...
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| is it moving | 11/26/2008 |
Q: i have lived in my house for ten yrs an over the years have noticed the cracks in the top of the ...
A: Emma, It sounds like the house is settling. You can call in a few foundation repair companies ...
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| sloping floors and how to support | 11/26/2008 |
Q: I own an old Victorian Italianate house, built 1874 of massive beams. Some floors are sloping ...
A: Melissa, You will want solid footings under the new posts...so dig your holes to see what's ...
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| How long should a quality foundation repair last | 11/25/2008 |
Q: In 1996 I repaired my poured foundation wall - all four sides. I removed the old backfill from 1969 ...
A: Bob, Repairs usually last as long as the quality of the repair. The experience of the repairman ...
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| Drainage Issues | 11/23/2008 |
Q: We have a big problem and are not sure where to go for help. During the fall, winter and spring ...
A: Lisa, An experienced landscaper should be able to help you with the problem. For drainage ...
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| basement walls bowed | 11/21/2008 |
Q: My basement walls are bowed in on both sides and slightly on the back wall. The walls have been ...
A: Tyler, The only way you can straighten your walls is to excavate on the outside to relieve the ...
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| Front Porch post sinking | 11/20/2008 |
Q: Our house is 4 years old and this is the 2nd time the front porch post has begun to sink. first ...
A: Rodger, The post is not supposed to sink...even the first time. Either the site was over ...
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| Foundation Crack and cracks in drywall | 11/18/2008 |
Q: We recently purchased a home that was built in 2005. On the side of the house, there is a 3 ft. ...
A: Mervette, Sometimes you'll need a soil boring and sometimes you don't. Soil borings will ...
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| Foundation Crack and cracks in drywall | 11/18/2008 |
Q: We recently purchased a home that was built in 2005. On the side of the house, there is a 3 ft. ...
A: Mervette, Most new homes do not settle to the extent that cracking shows up in the drywall ...
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| Cracks on an external wall. | 11/16/2008 |
Q: we have discovered cracks in our 15-year-old extension to our 40 year old bungalow. The most sever ...
A: Paul, In many cases the wall plate movement is more cosmetic than structural so it's usually a ...
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| Cracks on an external wall. | 11/16/2008 |
Q: we have discovered cracks in our 15-year-old extension to our 40 year old bungalow. The most sever ...
A: Paul, You may need a structural engineer on this one to be sure, but over the years I've seen a ...
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| home structure | 11/15/2008 |
Q: i was recently told that my home is out of plumb. can you explain just what that means and how can ...
A: Deb, Out of plumb means your home is not sitting square anymore. Part of the foundation sitting ...
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| carbon fiber vs. wall anchors | 11/14/2008 |
Q: I'm in the St. Louis area and am trying to make decisions regarding the right material to use on ...
A: Robert, When you have all the information it's an easy choice. Fortress Carbon fiber along ...
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| Broken drainage pipe in foundation | 11/11/2008 |
Q: This may be more of a plumbing question but here goes....We own a home in southern California. A ...
A: Paul, Even if you had all this work performed there should be no structural damage to your ...
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| severe cracks and bulges in solid concrete wall of basement | 11/9/2008 |
Q: My wife and I bought this house in 1992. Everything seem find up until a couple of years ago. The ...
A: Ray, You've got severe hydrostatic pressure pushing and cracking your walls. This is usually a ...
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| Basement Concrete Block Erosion | 11/7/2008 |
Q: My house is 60+ years old and has a concrete block foundation. There is an area where the house was ...
A: Ed, The block has been compromised by years of water infiltration. Concrete block will break down ...
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| floating foundation | 11/7/2008 |
Q: I just bought a house with a basement on a floating foundation. It 'floats' on a bed of very fine ...
A: JT, The doorway should be sitting on a footing that is frost level deep with a foundation on top ...
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| Basement red clay wall | 11/6/2008 |
Q: Jim, I read the issue on the red clay basement wall that you addressed on july 8, 2008. I have the ...
A: Bill, Your wall has already been badly compromised from years of water exposure. The only thing ...
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| Back hill foundation? | 11/4/2008 |
Q: we are interested in buying a home in San Diego CA that is listed as a contracters special and ...
A: Rob, One of the first things you'd need to look into is a soil boring testing of the site to ...
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| basement wall | 11/3/2008 |
Q: hey jim, recently i purchased home, it is almost 69 years old.cement from basement walls( ...
A: amarjit, Most likely the draintile has failed and is allowing the soil to swell from water ...
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| Foundation | 11/3/2008 |
Q: We are looking to buy a home that is only two years old but has a 44ft horizontal crack along the ...
A: Melanie, Unless you are absolutely sold on this home I'd say to pass on it. A two year old ...
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| Hollow sounding basement floor | 11/2/2008 |
Q: I live in Stephens City Va, 22655. I recently noticed a crack in our basement floor and a hollow ...
A: Paul, It sounds like you need some slabjacking or mudjacking to fill the voids before the floor ...
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| TH foundation | 10/23/2008 |
Q: I recently renovated the basement of my small brick TH in the City of Alexandria, VA. During the ...
A: Sandra, The beam was put there for a reason. Only a structural engineer can give you the ...
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| post foundations | 10/17/2008 |
Q: 10 years ago I built a octagonal gazebo style porch on my home in Columbus Ohio. It is built on 8 ...
A: Dan, At some depth below your gazebo the soil has a layer which is not strong enough to support ...
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| Foundation Settling | 10/16/2008 |
Q: I live in Greater Cleveland, Ohio with clay soils and a concrete block basement that is 43 ...
A: David, I live in the Cleveland area so I'd be happy to look at it for free. My guess is that ...
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| Concrete slab sagging | 10/13/2008 |
Q: Jim I live in New Mexico about 20 miles south of Albuquerqu and my house is a wood frame stucco ...
A: George, From what I've experienced over the years you've got a 90% chance that the mudjacking ...
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| Foundation piers | 10/7/2008 |
Q: In terms of future settling, is the weight of the house a factor to consider when choosing helical ...
A: Brad, A one story home on a slab is usually not a good candidate for push piers. There is ...
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| foundation leaks between slab & house | 10/5/2008 |
Q: Jim - I recently bought a Lustron home, which is a 1949 all metal home that and sits on a concrete ...
A: Diane, I would head to the nearest hardware store to discuss what they had available for your ...
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| Cracking / settling in poured concrete foundation | 10/4/2008 |
Q: Our 6-year-old poured concrete foundation (walkout basement) has some significant settling issues on ...
A: Brad, I highly recommend you get a few soil borings before proceeding. The information will ...
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| bowed foundation wall | 10/3/2008 |
Q: I had a small amount of water every other year coming over my I- beam. The wall the I-beam is on ...
A: Alysia, Assuming you have a cement block basement wall ( not a poured wall ) there are ...
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| 1935 Block Foundation with a humped Kitchen Floor | 10/2/2008 |
Q: My house has a concrete block foundation that had seemed to have sunk before we purchased it locate ...
A: Chris, Foundation settlement issues usually are a result of a soil related failure deep in the ...
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| Basement bowing | 10/1/2008 |
Q: My cinder block basement is bowing in at about the 4th row from the top. I was told to take 2x6 or ...
A: Tim, Nothing you've mentioned is really designed for structural wall stabilization. I suggest ...
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| Cracked perimeter beam of 1920's brick bungalow | 9/29/2008 |
Q: I've just renovated a 1000 sq. ft. brick bungalow in Houston, Texas. It sits on expansive clay soil ...
A: Karen, With the soil compromised from too much water the foundation is going to need some ...
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| Foundation problems, cracked walls, sloped floors | 9/23/2008 |
Q: I am considering buying a home that appears to have some major foundation issues. The home is built ...
A: Sian, You need the opinion of a Structural Engineer on site. Your potential home is settling ...
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| horizontal crack and bow in basement wall | 9/21/2008 |
Q: You answered several questions for me about this issue in the spring. Our basement was bowed about ...
A: Jane, This the best of all worlds in your situation with the wall having moved back and the ...
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| sink hole repair | 8/28/2008 |
Q: Jim, I am looking at a house (perfect size/perfect neighborhood) The realtor said they had to place ...
A: Carlos, Spend a few minutes with the engineer who made the report and have him explain what ...
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| Recent heavy rains/flooded basement/settled and cracked foundation | 8/28/2008 |
Q: We are located in a small town in North Georgia 1 hour north of Atlanta. I am not sure who to call ...
A: Marlon, Unfortunately it sounds like you have experienced some foundation settlement, ...
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| wicking concrete | 8/25/2008 |
Q: My bathroom is a step higher from the bedroom. In the five years I've lived here, this year I've ...
A: Jacqui, I suspect the leak expert missed the leak. It's probably a small one but enough to ...
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| negative slope | 8/25/2008 |
Q: We're buying our first home in Kentwood, MI and the inspection recommends correcting the negative ...
A: Alicia, The grading needs to be corrected by a landscaper who will be able to do whatever is ...
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| Piled Foundation | 8/25/2008 |
Q: Hoping I can get some advice..I am looking to build a brand new home in La Salle, Manitoba, Canada. ...
A: Elves, Why is he offering "Piles?" Usually this service is utilized when there are poor soils ...
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| Bowed basement wall and water entry | 8/21/2008 |
Q: I bought a 1940’s house near Des Moines, IA with a concrete block foundation 9 months ago. The ...
A: Nick, When you dig to the bottom of the footing be sure to dig in a bench or step all along the ...
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| Bowed basement wall and water entry | 8/21/2008 |
Q: I bought a 1940’s house near Des Moines, IA with a concrete block foundation 9 months ago. The ...
A: Nick, Your plan sounds good, but...since you're going to all this trouble, I'd take it a little ...
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| Foundation Repair and Stabilization | 8/20/2008 |
Q: I live in San Antonio, TX. I have received 2 estimates for foundation repair. Both state I need 28 ...
A: Michael, It looks like you need a structural or geotechnical engineer in there to sort ...
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| basement walls | 8/20/2008 |
Q: I live in northern Indiana and have clay soil. We get a good bit of rain. We are getting an ...
A: Sharon, You've got a lot of hydrostatic pressure on this wall. With the amount of ...
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| foundation? settling? | 8/18/2008 |
Q: I have a 2800 sq ft 2 story house in Houston (built in 1976). I removed several trees from the ...
A: Karen, Large trees will often cause settlement problems and once they're gone...it's usually ...
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| Water leaking through foundation | 8/17/2008 |
Q: Our window well collects water during heavy rains and the water leaks into the basement, soaking the ...
A: Petra, Your basement sits in a hole in the ground. The hole will fill with water if the ...
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| Dry ground shifting and causing problems in house | 8/15/2008 |
Q: Jim, I live in Stockton, California in a home that was built in 1983. One story home on cement slab. ...
A: Kathleen, You seem to be sitting on expansive clay, which will swell or shrink according to ...
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| Cracks in Masonry Veneer | 8/12/2008 |
Q: Jim, I have just purchased a home in Montgomery, AL, it was built in 1937 and has a masonry veneer. ...
A: Barrett, Piers test the soil strength as they are twisted in and are installed as deep as ...
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| Cracks in Masonry Veneer | 8/11/2008 |
Q: Jim, I have just purchased a home in Montgomery, AL, it was built in 1937 and has a masonry veneer. ...
A: Barrett, The soaker hose is a great idea, albeit a little late. The plastic soils are the ...
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| Carbon Fiber Straps | 8/11/2008 |
Q: I have a horizontal crack that I am considering stabilizing with the Fortress carbon fiber system. ...
A: Jim, The Fortress epoxy has been specially formulated, tested and proven to be exactly as ...
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| slab does not match up to frame of house | 8/11/2008 |
Q: We are having our home built in NC. When they poured the concrete for the slab and started framing ...
A: Tina, You are seeing some very poor workmanship in action here. Adding a slice of concrete will ...
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| seasonal settling | 8/10/2008 |
Q: 15 yr old House in upper SC(near Char NC) In the late part of summer cracks appear in BR wall corner ...
A: Jeff, It sounds like you'll be needing some slabjacking under the concrete slabs which are ...
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| foundation repair | 8/8/2008 |
Q: I live in Portland, Maine. My 1/2 story house was built in 1875. The subterranean foundation is ...
A: Anne, In some cases in our area we will install below floor drainage system such as B-dry. The ...
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| Potential problems after a foundation is repaired | 8/1/2008 |
Q: We are selling a house. The buyer's inspector found problems with the foundation. We have never ...
A: Rich, Now that I know there is no basement involved... Either your foundation has settled...or ...
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| Potential problems after a foundation is repaired | 8/1/2008 |
Q: We are selling a house. The buyer's inspector found problems with the foundation. We have never ...
A: Rich, If a structure was piered and lifted to stabilize the foundation, and the cosmetic ...
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| A fallen basement | 7/29/2008 |
Q: I am living in Maryland and I had a waterproofing company to install a sump pump. I came home to a ...
A: Dorothy, My guess is you have what's known as a "structural slab" foundation, where the ...
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| block basement wall | 7/29/2008 |
Q: Our basement wall is blistering. It seems like the concrete block is deteriating. There is no ...
A: Jean, Ongoing basement wall paint blistering means somehow, someway there is moisture in the ...
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| foundation problem | 7/28/2008 |
Q: I was just reading about a house in TExas built on clay with some foundation problems. This person ...
A: Gwen, Watering around the foundation helps maintain the moisture level in the soil. If you stop ...
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| cracks and breaks in block foundation | 7/27/2008 |
Q: I live in Sudbury,On.,Canada. I noticed some movement at the base of an exterior wall in my ...
A: Jim, Failed draintile and poor drainage often contribute to a basement wall shear problem such ...
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| Concrete wall stabilization methods | 7/27/2008 |
Q: Jim: I have a classic condition: clay soil, 26 yr.old frame house on poured concrete basement walls. ...
A: Vernon, Your tree is not a problem at this point in time. If it were my money being spent on ...
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| damp foudation bricks | 7/26/2008 |
Q: I have a 110 year old duplex in Toledo, Oh. Over the last 2-3 years I have noticed that the basement ...
A: Karin, My guess is you have a relatively high ground water table, and the draintile is not ...
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| offset cracks and moisture seepage. | 7/25/2008 |
Q: House built in Ocala, FL in June 2006. The "soil" is nothing but sand, and have not had any ...
A: Janice, Epoxy is considered a structural repair in many cases, but unless the reason for the ...
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| Crumbling Bricks | 7/23/2008 |
Q: I live in a row home built around 1920. There is a basement in the alley with an outdoor entrance ...
A: Chris, You really should have a structural engineer look at it, however, my first thought ...
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| Pier and Beam Foundation | 7/21/2008 |
Q: I purchased a 1950 Pier and Beam House 5 years ago. Half of the house is on pier and beam the garage ...
A: Ramona, I think someone dug the trench to pour a footing foundation to install jackposts to ...
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| Strange foundation material! | 7/20/2008 |
Q: I just returned from looking at a house built c. 1928 in Ypsilanti (by Ann Arbor), Michigan. The ...
A: Philip, Red clay block was a common building option way back then. There are lots of these ...
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| water in basement | 7/20/2008 |
Q: On a house built around 1975, in a neighborhood with a high water table, water comes in through ...
A: Tanya, The waterproofing sealers available work really well to seal water out. They will not ...
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| 1926 basement with bowing walls | 7/19/2008 |
Q: I live in Central Illinois. During the recent floods, I had sewage water backing up into the ...
A: Dena, This type of carbon fiber is an earlier version when carbon first became available for ...
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| Effloresence on wall and concrete slab | 7/19/2008 |
Q: I just bought a house in cerritos california, area use to be agriculture and dairy farms. There is ...
A: Hugo, Efflorescence is the alkaline materials being leached out of the concrete by moisture. ...
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| basement waterproofing | 7/19/2008 |
Q: I live in a raised ranch in upstate NY. We are having some difficulties with the paneling in our ...
A: Shelly, Your paneling needs to be taken down and cleaned properly of the mold or disposed ...
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| Horizontal Foundation cracks | 7/18/2008 |
Q: My wife and I are looking to purchase our first house. We found a nice one in a nice neighborhood, ...
A: Rudy, Digging up the yard and installing drains won't stop a wall that has already cracked. The ...
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| Half dug out crawl space back wall removal | 7/18/2008 |
Q: The back wall is around 36' long from the garage floor to the side. When you look at it from the ...
A: Ron, You will need a structural engineer on site for this one. There seems to be a lot of ...
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| 1926 basement with bowing walls | 7/18/2008 |
Q: I live in Central Illinois. During the recent floods, I had sewage water backing up into the ...
A: Dena, I have every type of wall stabilization product available with my company and years of ...
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| Foundation issues | 7/17/2008 |
Q: Jim Hise, I'm buying a new home in Houston, TX and it's in last stage (final phase ready for ...
A: Duke, It's a good thing you backed out on this one. Quality control seems to have not been an ...
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| Concrete wall crack | 7/16/2008 |
Q: We're looking at buying an 36-year-old concrete house built on a steep slope (it's in Hong Kong). ...
A: Adam, The structure is experiencing settlement and a stucco crack coating won't fix anything. ...
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| backfilling | 7/15/2008 |
Q: Hey Jim, I've got a question. I have finished a balcony off of the side of my 2 story house and at ...
A: Jerry, First consider an under floor draintile to carry away any potential water. Next a stone ...
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| Water seeping into house between concrete slab and sill plate | 7/15/2008 |
Q: Jim - We live in Tucson, AZ, in a Santa Fe style, single level home built in 1995. We are the 3rd ...
A: Mitch, Even a 1% grade toward your foundation is way too much. Most of your water runoff will ...
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| water in basement due to negative slope | 7/13/2008 |
Q: Our house was built in 1927. The driveway site right along the side of the house and slopes towards ...
A: Ann, If the driveway is concrete and not cracked to badly you can have it slabjacked. This ...
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| water in basement | 7/9/2008 |
Q: My husband and I recently bought a home in Greenwood, Indiana. We bought the home in February and ...
A: Adrianne, Water is going to flow through sandy soil until it hit stone or the water table. ...
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| basement crack and water leaking | 7/9/2008 |
Q: We have been living in our house (1965) for 3 years, and have been very lucky to have a fairly "dry" ...
A: Lisa, It's not likely an addition added above would cause your problem because the wall ...
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| cracks and water in basement | 7/8/2008 |
Q: Our house was built in the 50's. It has concrete block walls in the basment, and is in Pennsylvania. ...
A: Erica, Failed outside draintile most likely has caused most of your troubles. An interior ...
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| What will happen to our house after foundation repairs? | 7/7/2008 |
Q: We have only owned our 1950's home for 11 months now, and it has become obvious we have foundation ...
A: Christy, I hate to say it, but I agree with you. $4,500 doesn't usually go very far to fix ...
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| bowed basement wall | 7/4/2008 |
Q: I am currently in the process of buying a house in Cuyahoga Falls, OH (NE OH). The home was built ...
A: Heather, I am in the area. Contact me on Monday for a free estimate @ ...
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| Foundation and Slab Repair | 7/4/2008 |
Q: I am considering buying a house built in 1965 in Houston, TX. It is priced at quite a discount but ...
A: Brian, In my experience the mounds at the repair locations are not normal. Perhaps just a ...
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| basement walls | 7/4/2008 |
Q: I live in the Milwaukee Wi. area, recently we got hammered with a lot of rain, lots of flooding, the ...
A: Bob, You have to be a dealer to buy direct. I would suggest you look into alternate wall ...
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| Water in basement | 7/2/2008 |
Q: Our house was built in the mid 70's, brick ranch style home with a fully enclosed basement, which is ...
A: Melessia, If you plan to live in your home for a long time...yes, dig it up and waterproof ...
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| water in basement | 6/29/2008 |
Q: We have a split level home with a finished walk out basement. We've been in the house for 3 years, ...
A: Katie, It sounds to me like your downspouts are dumping all the water from your roof alongside ...
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| routing drain tile around/through footer | 6/28/2008 |
Q: I live in the Portland, OR area on a sloped property with a day basement in a 40-yr old house. ...
A: Jeff, The in floor drain system should have been backfilled with Riverstone instead of sand. ...
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| Best method to raise house with limestone block foundation? | 6/27/2008 |
Q: and thanks for answering my question. Here’s the background: my home is in an historic district in ...
A: Suzanne, One thought comes to mind...have the settled section lifted from the inside and ...
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| outside sump pump | 6/27/2008 |
Q: We have a ranch style home built in 1965 in southeast Iowa, poured concrete walkout basement ...
A: Steve, An outside pump would likely collect water from the immediate area it's installed in ...
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| foundation/brick repair | 6/23/2008 |
Q: The concrete blocks on which the brick walls of my house rest, are deteriorated. I'm replacing ...
A: Larry, I've seen others cut corners over the years to save money or labor or time. This almost ...
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| bowed basement wall | 6/20/2008 |
Q: I have an accepted offer on a home. During the home inspection, it was brought to my attention the ...
A: Erica, Steel beams on interior basement walls are usually not a big selling point. All the ...
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| water seeping along inside basement wall | 6/20/2008 |
Q: We live in a suburb of Milwaukee in a split level home (the basement sits down about 4 feet or so ...
A: Jan, The first thing that comes to mind is that you likely have a high water table. You will ...
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| bulging basement wall | 5/31/2008 |
Q: How do I know whether a wall can benefit from fortress carbon fiber reinforced polymer coating or ...
A: Terry, The type of wall construction and the severity of the cracking are the two most ...
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| Wall moving inward | 5/28/2008 |
Q: I live in a 35 year old house in Northwest Ohio. It is two story with a poured concrete basement ...
A: Nick, Adding dirt to correct the grading will help your situation greatly. Be sure that there ...
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| Wall moving inward | 5/27/2008 |
Q: I live in a 35 year old house in Northwest Ohio. It is two story with a poured concrete basement ...
A: Nick, The Wall anchor type of bracing generally requires that the anchor bolts be torqued to a ...
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| Water Beneath Basement | 5/27/2008 |
Q: Our house seems to be sitting on a spring. We have a sump pump in our basement that pumps out water ...
A: Lisa, Chances are good that there is a problem with the draintile which surrounds the perimeter ...
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| Basement Floor Heaving | 5/26/2008 |
Q: Finished basement has started to heave in center of room has parquet wood floor tiles that are ...
A: John, Water beneath the floor is swelling the soil and producing enough hydrostatic pressure to ...
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| Water coming in through walls and floor. | 5/26/2008 |
Q: Jim, Last year, my husband and I purchased a 75 year old home in a suburb of St. Louis, MO and ...
A: Jen, An undisclosed foundation problem/repair can be a legal issue. There's a reason full ...
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| use of torque anchor tiebacks | 5/26/2008 |
Q: Jim, I live in the Kansas City area and I've got a basement wall that appears to be moving ...
A: Bruce, No, this doesn't eliminate the Neckties. They are designed to hold the wall from moving ...
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| use of torque anchor tiebacks | 5/25/2008 |
Q: Jim, I live in the Kansas City area and I've got a basement wall that appears to be moving ...
A: Bruce, Almost all tie-back anchors are virtually the same now. $ 800.00 seems a little bit ...
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| Foundation Leak | 5/25/2008 |
Q: During heavy rains, we get water in our basement laundry room. I have pinpointed the problem to be ...
A: Scott, Dig down past the pipe so you can expose the wall around the pipe. Clean everything ...
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| Foundation Issues, is it worth the trouble | 5/23/2008 |
Q: I put a contract in on a 2 bedroom bungalow that has structural problems. The price is about 140K ...
A: Heather, You can expect the foundation work to run upwards of $40-50,000 easily. There's a ...
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| Repaired vertical crack in foundation | 5/21/2008 |
Q: We are looking to purchase a home in Park Ridge, IL. We placed an offer on a great house (we ...
A: Carolyn, Vertical cracks in cement or cinder block walls often means settlement. Look for a ...
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| old brick foundation failing? | 5/19/2008 |
Q: We've uncovered a really shocking problem with our foundation… First, here’s a little background. A ...
A: Thomas, Thank you for the in depth history on this problem. All things being equal I would ...
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| Cracks in walls | 5/18/2008 |
Q: Jim, We live in south Florida in a house that was built in 1957. The house is a single-story ...
A: Adam, Exactly right! A stick built house will show distress in areas not settling because of ...
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| Foundation Backfill | 5/16/2008 |
Q: First off thank you for answering the posts I have read, I have learned allot by reading. I have ...
A: Matt, The best material to backfill with is washed Riverstone, and the second best is #57 ...
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| Cracked and bowing basement walls | 5/14/2008 |
Q: Our house is 30+ years old in Overland Park, KS, suburb of Kansas City, MO. It is a split level ...
A: Scott, Neither steel beams nor fortress carbon fiber will stabilize settlement. It's not ...
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| crumbling concrete | 5/13/2008 |
Q: my retaining wall is crumbling. is there anything i can "paint" on to stop the crumbling or put on ...
A: Louise, There's a spray on product which penetrates, fills internal cracks and voids, ...
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| Cracked and bowing basement walls | 5/13/2008 |
Q: Our house is 30+ years old in Overland Park, KS, suburb of Kansas City, MO. It is a split level ...
A: Scott, Chances are good that the reason your wall broke is due to extreme hydrostatic ...
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| Bowed Basement Walls | 5/12/2008 |
Q: Dan from Bucyrus, Ohio. We purchased a 40 year old home last summer. The previous owner had the east ...
A: Dan, The failure of your wall is a progressive and exponential decline. Almost always the ...
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| sinkhole??? | 5/12/2008 |
Q: I purchased my home in January 2007, with prior engineer reports stating that there is no evidence ...
A: April, You will need to spend a few more dollars and hire YOUR OWN structural engineer, or ...
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| cracked foundation d/t soft ground | 5/10/2008 |
Q: My husband and I have been offered a home in foreclosure for an amazing deal. The problem is there ...
A: Gina, It likely is fixable...and probably will need some piers to correct the settlement issue. ...
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| drain holes punched through the basement walls | 5/9/2008 |
Q: We recently unearthed the exterior of our basement to find the source of a leak. We discovered that ...
A: Paul, It's an interesting way to address the water problem, but it's not mainstream by any ...
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| bowing basement walls | 5/8/2008 |
Q: Jim, I have two basement walls that are bowing, one about 2 1/4 inches and the other about 1 3/4 ...
A: Steve, I've worked with all these methods over the years. The Grip-tite system would be my ...
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| HPiers/piles | 5/8/2008 |
Q: Jim I live in Charlotte,NC-I have experienced settlement throughout the home 1500sf(built 1953) ...
A: Andy, Any company that installs piering makes good money doing it. It is in your best interest ...
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| Basement floor cracks and sinking. | 5/8/2008 |
Q: I am in the process of buying a home in Minneapolis, MN. The house was built in 1930 and I have a ...
A: Wendel, Your inspector was indeed correct. The floors dropped due to the support post ...
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| Bowing Basement Walls | 5/1/2008 |
Q: I have partial completion of work done on my home in Greensboro NC. French drains were being ...
A: Wendy, The bow in your wall is a 3+ on a scale of 1-10. If you were to excavate the wall now ...
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| Bowing Basement Walls | 5/1/2008 |
Q: I have partial completion of work done on my home in Greensboro NC. French drains were being ...
A: Wendy, Since the wall was already broken you needed to reinforce it. No matter what you do ...
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| outer wall needs draining? | 4/29/2008 |
Q: My house has been built on a piece of land significantly lower than its neighbours. To make things ...
A: Ian, The best method of repair of course is to excavate behind the wall and install draintile ...
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| cracks in floor slab | 4/26/2008 |
Q: Sir our house was built in 2000. it's a slab floor, wood frame house in central Florida. While ...
A: Tom, Either the floor has dropped or it heaved upward. If it heaved upward there was/is water ...
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| Egress well wall bowing | 4/25/2008 |
Q: After the snow melted (heaviest in many years in this part of the country) I just noticed that the ...
A: Jason, To push it back you'll need to get some adjustable screw jacks pushing against a 4x4 ...
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| Soil Nails. Grouted or Helical? | 4/23/2008 |
Q: I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. There is a 45-60 degree 30 foot long slope behind my house ...
A: Melvin, The cost would be the only factor I would consider because both methods perform very ...
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| cracks in cement | 4/23/2008 |
Q: This is regarding cracks in cement of basement and garage floors. This home is in Coventry RI. I am ...
A: Mary, The reason concrete slabs raise and crack like this is that there is/ was water ...
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| garage foundation | 4/22/2008 |
Q: I will be building a 24' square garage in upstate New York.The location is at the bottom of a hill ...
A: Ed, The Alaskan slab construction will save you money and effectively allows you to construct a ...
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| excavation | 4/21/2008 |
Q: We have a house on a slab, but would like to build an addidtion with a basement. One contractor ...
A: Gail, All the work will be done on the inside. If you are facing the new foundation Michigan ...
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| foundation settlement | 4/21/2008 |
Q: I own a home in which approximately 500 square ft were added i believe in the 70s. The foundation ...
A: Joe, The fireplace probably didn't drag down the entire addition because they usually have an ...
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| S Brackets and Star Anchors Leaning Walkout | 4/20/2008 |
Q: Jim, I'm considering purchasing a two-story brick home. It was built in 1842 and has a stacked ...
A: Rick, I've seen some of this stabilization technique used in old Cleveland brick buildings. It ...
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| Foundation wall leaning | 4/19/2008 |
Q: I recently purchased a house and have found a foundation wall problem that the inspector and I ...
A: Aaron, To straighten the wall you'll need to excavate and push it back if it doesn't go back ...
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| Drainage from holes in basement wall | 4/19/2008 |
Q: We bought a home located in central Wisconsin, four years ago. It is a TriLevel that was built in ...
A: Craig, Somebody drilled holes in your wall to let water out! Problem is...the lowest block ...
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| excavation | 4/18/2008 |
Q: We have a house on a slab, but would like to build an addidtion with a basement. One contractor ...
A: Gail, A Michigan wall is a wall that is constructed in a manner which doesn't undermine an ...
|
| void under sidewalk btw houses | 4/18/2008 |
Q: I'm looking to fill a void under a concrete sidewalk between 2 houses. The houses are about 10 feet ...
A: Rex, An easier methods of repair would be to have the sidewalk slabjacked. This method assures ...
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| horizontal crack and bow in basement wall | 4/18/2008 |
Q: We have a horizontal crack (1/8") in our block basement wall. The wall is bowed in 1/2". Block is ...
A: Jane, Try hard to get Fortress installed...reason being you can actually control the quality of ...
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| block basement wall bow | 4/17/2008 |
Q: I live in Wisconsin,15year old house,clay soil, and about 5 years ago I noticed a horizontal crack ...
A: Fred, Yes you can and probably should...however, once the wall has been compromised it should ...
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| horizontal crack and bow in basement wall | 4/17/2008 |
Q: We have a horizontal crack (1/8") in our block basement wall. The wall is bowed in 1/2". Block is ...
A: Jane, With either product the company doing the work should know they will need to install 2" ...
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| Small vertial crack on outside of foundation | 4/16/2008 |
Q: I have a center hall colonial in Nassau County Long Island NY built in 1929. It has a 1st/2nd and ...
A: Lino, You can patch the crack to seal it with some hydraulic cement or a good silicone caulking ...
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| vertical crack foundation | 4/13/2008 |
Q: Hey Jim, We are looking at buying a house that was built in 1963 it is ranch style 200sqft that was ...
A: Ray, From your illustration I now stand by my answer. The back section has broken off from the ...
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| vertical crack foundation | 4/12/2008 |
Q: Hey Jim, We are looking at buying a house that was built in 1963 it is ranch style 200sqft that was ...
A: Ray, It sounds like the foundation has broken across the entire length of the home. This will ...
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| Foundation Wrap or Tar ? | 4/12/2008 |
Q: I live in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. I have a backsplit home with a crawlspace beneath the ...
A: Debbie, Excavating the outside down to the footing is your first order of business. When you ...
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| water seepage | 4/11/2008 |
Q: my house was built in 1953. i live in illinois. i have water seeping thru my downstairs floor, only ...
A: Ken, Go to Home Depot or Lowes and get yourself another sump pump! These pumps remove the water ...
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| foundation cracks new house | 4/11/2008 |
Q: We are in the process of building a new house house is now roof tight,windows are up, drywall is ...
A: Jansen, Send your photos to base60@gmail.com. Poured walls will crack when every element of ...
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| Cracks | 4/10/2008 |
Q: Jim, Sorry that I forgot to let you know my city is in western NY. The house is in the hill. ...
A: Yan, If there is a hillside I need a good overall picture of the house in the yard and some ...
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| Cracks | 4/10/2008 |
Q: Jim, I'm interested in a house (good floor plans) which is 7 years old house. But I saw a lot of ...
A: Yan, You can send me the report. Some pictures would be very helpful. I expect there will be ...
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| Foundation Cracks | 4/10/2008 |
Q: We live in a sided bungalow which is about 14 yrs old. In the original part of the basement (an ...
A: Jeanne, You may have had a frost break in the wall from freezing and expansion of ice ...
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| crumbling concrete foundation | 4/9/2008 |
Q: I have recently moved into a 1920s ,1200 sq.ft.home (one story)in Ohio. Evidence shows that this ...
A: Ron, The second interior wall that you are seeing is often constructed by the homeowner in an ...
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| Foundation | 4/7/2008 |
Q: This winter we had a vertical crack develop in our poured concrete foundation wall. I had some ...
A: Roger, A crack in a poured wall should be a cause for concern if the home is older than a few ...
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| Crumbling concrete in well room | 4/6/2008 |
Q: I live in Minneapolis and have a 1950's house that has an old well room in the basement. Anytime it ...
A: Tom, I've seen many little rooms like this and most all of them serve no purpose. They almost ...
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| Interior walls cracking | 4/1/2008 |
Q: We live in TN, house built in 2002, house has a tall crawlspace constructed with concrete blocks. ...
A: Michelle, A little secret for you. The gap across the top of the door will be triangular ...
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| poured concrete basement wall is layered | 3/31/2008 |
Q: I am house hunting, and fell in love with this newly built 2-story single family house, with ...
A: Mike, The picture is very helpful. The color change in the wall is likely due to the builder ...
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| water in basement thru bilco door | 3/31/2008 |
Q: We purchased a new construction in May 2006 outside of Philadelphia PA. That summer after heavy ...
A: Michelle, Thanks for the pictures. They are always so much more helpful when trying to ...
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| water in basement thru bilco door | 3/30/2008 |
Q: We purchased a new construction in May 2006 outside of Philadelphia PA. That summer after heavy ...
A: Michelle, Assuming the additional blocks are installed higher than the level of water ...
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| Foundation drainage | 3/27/2008 |
Q: My home had a small strip of grass, about 2 feet wide, next to the foundation, then the driveway. ...
A: Mark, Almost every storm drain I've seen is close to foundation...and not a problem as long as ...
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| Stablwall | 3/27/2008 |
Q: Is stable wall just as good as the other carbon fibers?
A: Don, Stabl wall carbon doesn't contain any Kevlar in it's grid, so it's not going to be as ...
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| slopping floor and crack in walls | 3/26/2008 |
Q: Im interested in buying a 1250sq ft, 2 story house built in 1920. I noticed there are fine cracks in ...
A: Shantae, It sounds like broken or cracked floor support joists. Get out the flash light and ...
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| foundation cracks new house | 3/26/2008 |
Q: We are in the process of building a new house house is now roof tight,windows are up, drywall is ...
A: Jansen, Builders always say there is nothing to worry about so you will not pursue the ...
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| crack in basement floor | 3/22/2008 |
Q: Jim, We purchased an oversized cape in Massachusetts 5 years ago. The house is now 20 years old and ...
A: Scott, Unless it's freezing in your cellar I doubt this is cold weather related. It sounds ...
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| leveing floor | 3/22/2008 |
Q: I have a house that i bought that has sloping floors in the living room and kitchen. Both rooms look ...
A: Chris, Hydraulic jacks centered under the main support joists should get you by for a while. ...
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| Consequences of foundation repair | 3/22/2008 |
Q: My husband and I are thinking of purchasing a house that is new construction, but the toe was cut ...
A: Crystal, Before you can do any home repairs you need to address the slope problem. To stop ...
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| bowed brick foundation | 3/21/2008 |
Q: We have a 120 yr old 2 story house with a badly bowing north basement brick foundation in Central ...
A: Kenton, Depending on the type and dimensions of the brick and block I feel it would be ...
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| repairing voids in fresh concrete | 3/21/2008 |
Q: I poured a small foundation for a porch enclosure today. There is a concrete curb, about 4 inches ...
A: Paul, From all my years of working with concrete I've personally never seen a touch up done at ...
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| Bowing Basement Wall | 3/19/2008 |
Q: Hise: I am in the process of purchasing a 1942 1-story 642'sq home SE MI. I recently had an ...
A: Stephanie, It's possible the South wall wasn't bowing enough to catch the inspectors eye ...
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| House Shifting? | 3/18/2008 |
Q: I live at Winnipeg, MB. As you may or may not know it is a cold winter climate and a has very clay ...
A: Ryan, If the cupboards in the kitchen are against an outside wall you likely are seeing ...
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| Water Problem | 3/17/2008 |
Q: I have a problem at the far corner of my walk-out basement where water is wicking up about 2 or more ...
A: Sharon, The first thing that comes to mind is the possibility that the dirt against the ...
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| cabin foundation problem | 3/16/2008 |
Q: Our cabin is about 900 square feet built on a foundation of pads{18" x18"x 6"thick},gravel base ...
A: John, There are a few ways to start working on this problem. If you think the settling has ...
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| Concrete porch slab sounds hollow next to house | 3/15/2008 |
Q: The concrete slab that forms our front porch has settled about 2 inches with a 1 inch open gap and ...
A: Deb, Most people I know who had this problem opted to have the concrete slab raised, leveled and ...
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| water in basement | 3/14/2008 |
Q: Any time it rains 3-4 inches in a day water bubbles into my basement where the back wall meets the ...
A: Mark, Any properly operating sump pump should turn itself off with a built in water level ...
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| water in basement | 3/13/2008 |
Q: Any time it rains 3-4 inches in a day water bubbles into my basement where the back wall meets the ...
A: Mark, You've got water coming in under your footer. If you caulk the seam the water will just ...
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| Crumbling Slab Foundation | 3/12/2008 |
Q: I have a 30 year old house in Southern California. The concrete slab is beginning to crumble, as ...
A: Meg, Sometimes extreme heat will cause concrete to spall and crumble. Concrete will actually ...
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| basement filled with sand, raise house? | 3/11/2008 |
Q: We have a summer home on Cape Cod (Dennisport) previous owners filled basement with sand, I don't ...
A: Kathy, Begin with a phone call to a structural engineer. He will be able to guide you through ...
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| Basement Foundation Cracks | 3/10/2008 |
Q: My wife and I are in the process of buying a new house built in 2006 and never lived in...There is a ...
A: Corey, There should be no cracks in new construction. Look very closely at the walls and be ...
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| under the hosue stuf | 3/9/2008 |
Q: I have bought an old farmhouse in Elkin NC. I am concerned about the foundation and a previous ...
A: Ann, The old boiler is not a structural support, so removing it is only going to be a problem ...
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| water in basement/foundation | 3/8/2008 |
Q: I built a house (2yrs) and finished my basement. I have a higher end pergo floor and was walking on ...
A: Eric, Sorry to hear about this problem. We build new homes to get away from headaches like ...
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| cottage foundation - bowing walls | 3/6/2008 |
Q: Can this be repaired? We have made a conditional offer on a cottage. The foundation is the ...
A: Kurt, I've seen a home built as you've described with similar problems on a similar site. The ...
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| Concrete Floor Crack in Raised Ranch | 3/5/2008 |
Q: My raised ranch house in Monroe, CT was built in 1965 on filled land. There is a 1/2 to 1 inch ...
A: Bonnie, I've seen many homes built over fill and the resulting problems. I first would follow ...
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| extension cracks | 3/4/2008 |
Q: I have a 100 year old house, with a small single story extension which was built about 35 years ago ...
A: Miranda, I suggest you investigate installing new construction piers incorporated into the ...
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| cracked foundation wall | 3/3/2008 |
Q: I have several vertical and horizontal cracks located in my basement wall. The damage was caused by ...
A: Scott, If you're doing this work yourself you'll be restricted to using only the rod and grout ...
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| epoxy injection repair is unsightly!! | 3/2/2008 |
Q: I am also in Missouri. We have a 30 yr. old walkout basement. It is for sale. The repairs to ...
A: Tracy, Sheet rock or paint will make the problem all but disappear, however, you should take ...
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| Interceptor drain solution | 3/2/2008 |
Q: My house is on the upslope side of a steep 1:1 slope which has had three surfical mud slides in the ...
A: Mel, Water will always take the path of least resistance first and sometimes that means taking a ...
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| Interceptor drain solution | 3/1/2008 |
Q: My house is on the upslope side of a steep 1:1 slope which has had three surfical mud slides in the ...
A: Mel, The idea of an interceptor drain system is to stop ground water from entering the soil ...
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| Need help on these cracks. | 2/29/2008 |
Q: I ask sb. did a home inspection on a house(28yrs old), I am wondering how serious these cracks are, ...
A: Jerry, I am assuming we are talking about a poured concrete wall...if not write back and ...
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| inward foundation pressure | 2/27/2008 |
Q: My wife and I are under contract to buy a house in the St. Louis, MO area. The house is 34 yrs old ...
A: Steve, Piers are installed to stabilize settlement. Tiebacks are used to resist hydrostatic ...
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| settling/sloping floors | 2/25/2008 |
Q: I have a 1920 western bungalow in Cleveland, Ohio. The center of the home has a fireplace. The ...
A: Anthony, It seems to me as though you are going about this the right way. For the bottom ...
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| foundation split | 2/23/2008 |
Q: I live Woodland park, CO. My home is on a sloped hill. 5 years ago we had a pipe break while ...
A: Lori, I think your insurance company dropped the ball. If you got a sharp structural engineer ...
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| Crumbling/failing stone foundation and bulging floors | 2/22/2008 |
Q: My husband and I recently purchased a two story brick house built in about 1910. The foundation is ...
A: Jennifer, I don't see many old stone foundation repairs over this way...but I may have ...
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| leaking throughout new foundation | 2/22/2008 |
Q: We have a house that was poured in Dec/Jan of last year - house was finalized and final closure was ...
A: D, It sounds as though there has been an on site water problem from the start. Many times a poured ...
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| slab foundations | 2/20/2008 |
Q: Jim. I have been looking to buy a house for about 6 months and am becoming very discouraged. I will ...
A: Shane, Knowing what I know now...and from everything I've seen over the years tells me your ...
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| 8/23/2007 post | 2/19/2008 |
Q: you replied to a post on 8/23/2007 "Best way to fix bowed, near foundation wall", which described my ...
A: Kim, Send me information on the bids to www.expertbasementrepair.com and we can discuss it from ...
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| Foundation with Helical Piers | 2/18/2008 |
Q: How much, on average, would a deep foundation with helical pier cost in constucting of a 3000 square ...
A: Al, I can do better than that. Get your foundation plans and an engineers ruler. Helical piers ...
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| Post foundation repair on a sloping lot | 2/18/2008 |
Q: We are looking to buy our first house which is currently bank owned in San Diego, CA. The house was ...
A: Scott, A geotechnical engineer usually runs from $500.00 for a look to $ 2,000 or more, ...
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| cracked slab underneath doublewide | 2/16/2008 |
Q: Our contractor prepared the ground, supposedly placed pier cylinders below the frost free line and ...
A: Doug, It sounds like the cracked section is sitting on uncontrolled fill, which hasn't been ...
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| Post foundation repair on a sloping lot | 2/16/2008 |
Q: We are looking to buy our first house which is currently bank owned in San Diego, CA. The house was ...
A: Scott, Unless you can get more repair information from previous owners were going to have to ...
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| Foundation shifting/ceramic tile buckled/cracked | 2/15/2008 |
Q: I have just rented a townhouse in Florida. 2 weeks after I signed the lease, I walked in to the ...
A: Ann, A structural engineer is the right approach to solving your mystery. It could be any number ...
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| water in bsmt | 2/13/2008 |
Q: I am having a major problem, I live in Sykesville, Maryland, I live in a rancher, I am having ...
A: Angela, Sometimes there is a concrete patio outside sliders with a small drain for water. If ...
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| block wall foundation bowing | 2/13/2008 |
Q: Jim, I have read some of the questions and answers about block wall foundation bowing. My foundation ...
A: Jim, Fortress carbon / Kevlar will be much better on red clay tile because it will conform to ...
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| Block Foundation Crack | 2/12/2008 |
Q: Jim, Thanks for taking the time to answer my question. Omaha, Nebraska, 1&1/2 story, walkout, block ...
A: John, Bottom line...the foundation footing has likely cracked from wall to wall across the back ...
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| Block Foundation Crack | 2/12/2008 |
Q: Jim, Thanks for taking the time to answer my question. Omaha, Nebraska, 1&1/2 story, walkout, block ...
A: John, Vertical cracks often mean settlement...First write back again and tell me if the North ...
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| Basement water at floor/wall line | 2/11/2008 |
Q: I live in Michigan, and have a home built in 1925. The basement is concrete blocks (with horseshoe ...
A: Mary, I've found the least expensive way to check the outside draintile is to dig up one corner ...
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| Basement water at floor/wall line | 2/10/2008 |
Q: I live in Michigan, and have a home built in 1925. The basement is concrete blocks (with horseshoe ...
A: Mary, Since you've already done work on the outside walls, and I assume draintile outside, all ...
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| Foundation | 2/8/2008 |
Q: I have cracks in my foundation and had a company come out to give me a quote on slabjacking. The ...
A: Doug, Without a detail drawing and foundation footprint dimensions it will be difficult to help ...
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| Large Vertical and Small Horizontal Wall Cracks | 2/8/2008 |
Q: Sir, I live in Baltimore, MD and can get no one to help me right away to look at my house to tell ...
A: Mike, Usually interior wall cracking with a wet crawl space is due to a sagging support beam ...
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| Repairing Cracks in Basement | 2/7/2008 |
Q: Jim, We bought a 14 year old two story home in August in Quincy IL. I has an unfinished basement ...
A: Poured basement walls are usually stronger than cement block walls, so when a poured wall cracks and ...
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| Foundation Wall with Severe Bowing and horizontal/step cracking | 2/4/2008 |
Q: I was wondering if you could give me some advice about a bowing wall. Here is the situation. The ...
A: Andy, By now you are almost an expert yourself! If you looked at my bio you would have noticed ...
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| concrete piers | 1/29/2008 |
Q: We live in Collierville, Tn and we have been in our home 4 years. It was built in 1987, we have ...
A: Laura, I Googled "stabilicrete soil stabilization" and could not find anything. This may just ...
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| Cracks in floor and wall | 1/27/2008 |
Q: I live in Grand Rapids Mi. The subdivision is in heavy clay. The house was built in 1982 and has a ...
A: Mike, My guess is you have water under the basement slab...swelling the soil and causing this ...
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| pillars sinking? | 1/27/2008 |
Q: We bought a new house that was built in 2005 but we were the first residents in March of 07. It was ...
A: Don, The pillar support beams are not supposed to be "loose"! I have seen pillars such as these ...
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| foundation cracks | 1/27/2008 |
Q: I'm looking at a house to buy in TN that is 30 years old and has two foundation cracks about 10 to ...
A: Homer, It sounds like you may be looking at a settlement crack, however, I would get a ...
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| concrete piers | 1/26/2008 |
Q: We live in Collierville, Tn and we have been in our home 4 years. It was built in 1987, we have ...
A: Laura, Concrete piers are very strong and used extensively in commercial construction. Without ...
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| HELP: WATER GOING THROUGH BASEMENT BLOCK WALL | 1/21/2008 |
Q: I have a basement wall (block) which has water coming through. The water then going down into an ...
A: Matt, The hollow cores of the block is where the water is collecting. A 1/2" hole in each core ...
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| HELP: WATER GOING THROUGH BASEMENT BLOCK WALL | 1/21/2008 |
Q: I have a basement wall (block) which has water coming through. The water then going down into an ...
A: Matt, I used to work in New Jersey years ago but in another business. I've got no contacts for ...
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| HELP: WATER GOING THROUGH BASEMENT BLOCK WALL | 1/20/2008 |
Q: I have a basement wall (block) which has water coming through. The water then going down into an ...
A: Matt, Out of all the choices you gave me I choose to drill some drainage holes at the base of ...
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| Tile floor problems | 1/18/2008 |
Q: My entire downstairs is saltillo tile and shows signs of effloursessence, cracked tiles and ...
A: Hank, The hollow areas under your floor are voids caused by water coming and going. One of a ...
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| Tile floor problems | 1/17/2008 |
Q: My entire downstairs is saltillo tile and shows signs of effloursessence, cracked tiles and ...
A: Hank, Usually the problem you have described is caused by water...coming up from and beneath ...
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| Leaky basement | 1/16/2008 |
Q: My house is in MI, block foundation, mostly clay soil. I wrote you a little while back, but since ...
A: Jeremy, The inside drill and channel kits are just that...a channel for water to travel ...
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| Basement crack repair | 1/15/2008 |
Q: I'm in the process of buying a house in St.Louis, Missouri. I'm a first home buyer and I noticed ...
A: Mackda, I believe that if a foundation problem is repaired properly the first time the ...
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| Wet wall | 1/15/2008 |
Q: I bought a flat on August 07.Everything was ok upto November.But then one side of the wall in my ...
A: Kazi, Dry lock is your best bet if you can't afford to take this problem to the next level of ...
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| One basement wall bowiing | 1/14/2008 |
Q: I live i southern Michigan and have been told by the excavator that does the work around my house ...
A: Jeff, If you can live with a slight bow in your wall all you would need to do is install ...
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| Leaky basement | 1/12/2008 |
Q: My house is in MI, block foundation, mostly clay soil. I wrote you a little while back, but since ...
A: Jeremy, Welcome back! My thoughts for your problems are as follows: The draintiles are most ...
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| foundation /concrete | 1/9/2008 |
Q: I recently have been having some problems with my home.I cant tell what problems are of the norm and ...
A: Nadine, None of the cracks your are noticing are normal after the repairs that you've had ...
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| horizontal crack in wall | 1/7/2008 |
Q: A question about crack in wall. We live in a house that was built in 1978 in Iowa area. In our ...
A: Debra, I'd need to see some pictures to be sure, but...I think it may just be drywall tape ...
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| basement stair step horizonal cracks | 1/5/2008 |
Q: "We have horizontal stairstep cracks in mortar only. The home was waterproof sealed in 1986 and ...
A: Jackie, Outside waterproofing normally corrects water infiltration into the basement, ...
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| Oak Tree Lifting Foundation | 1/5/2008 |
Q: A large oak tree located only several feet from house has lifted the foundation of a crawl space ...
A: Doug, Grind it down until you can see the roots are no longer an influence on your foundation. ...
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| foundation | 1/5/2008 |
Q: I don't have sufficient headroom in my basement. I am looking to dig the foundation to allot more ...
A: Gesenia, It can be done but is generally expensive. Not only do you have to excavate the ...
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| Oak Tree Lifting Foundation | 1/4/2008 |
Q: A large oak tree located only several feet from house has lifted the foundation of a crawl space ...
A: Doug, Most folks cut down the tree because it will continue to destroy the structure. Once the ...
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| Water | 1/4/2008 |
Q: I think our house was built on an underground river. We purchased it in Sept. It has a sump pump ...
A: Angela, I've never dried up an underground river. Perhaps you can try running a flexible ...
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| Cracked Basement Floor | 1/3/2008 |
Q: Our home is 10 years old located in Oregon's Willamette Valley clay is a the main part of our soil ...
A: Andy, After 7 years the framing on your home has adjusted to the new position it is in due to ...
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| The Reinforcer vs. Fortress Carbon Fiber | 1/3/2008 |
Q: Hey Jim, I am in the Pittsburgh area. I have a basement wall that is bowed about an 1 1/2 ...
A: Joe, I have used both products over the years. I've found that the Fortress is a superior ...
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| Foundation in High Water Elevation | 1/1/2008 |
Q: I am a builder and we have a property that is located next to a pond. Clearly a beautiful location ...
A: Emil, I think you'll be able to get the information you need on these sites as I've never built ...
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| porch | 12/30/2007 |
Q: I live on a lake in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The rear of the house faces the lake and I have a porch ...
A: James, Normally the foundation footing needs to be below the frost level in virgin earth. In ...
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| My wet wall and dry lock paint - need insight | 12/28/2007 |
Q: I truly appreciate your insight regarding my situation. Last year I purchased a house which was ...
A: Matt, The least expensive water control methods are done from the inside of the basement. ...
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| Offset crack in foundation | 12/26/2007 |
Q: I have a 4 year old house in Mendon MA that has an offset crack in the foundation in the basement. ...
A: Jay, You can wait to see what happens with the cracking, but chances are the problem will not ...
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| Offset crack in foundation | 12/26/2007 |
Q: I have a 4 year old house in Mendon MA that has an offset crack in the foundation in the basement. ...
A: Jay, Yes! You've got some foundation settlement occurring and you'll need to get someone in ...
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| basement floor cracking | 12/20/2007 |
Q: We bought a new home approximately one year ago. After moving in within the first 30 days we ...
A: Sharon, Shrinkage cracks are sometimes found in concrete basement slabs when the concrete ...
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| waterproofing | 12/16/2007 |
Q: I live in Frankfort KY and have a cement block basement that leaks along the bottom during heavy ...
A: David, I don't use that type of water control system but I can give you a few websites that ...
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| home terms and problems | 12/14/2007 |
Q: One big question I have what does window racking mean?The home I have is a home that had some soil ...
A: Nadine, A racked window means the window has twisted in the frame and doesn't open and close ...
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| Seepage in basement | 12/11/2007 |
Q: I moved into my house in June. The first week in December I noticed moisture in a few spots along ...
A: Phil, In the summer the ground water level is usually lower. You may be seeing a higher ground ...
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| spider cracks | 12/6/2007 |
Q: I recently bought a four month old house in Texas. This is a new subdivision. About a month ago I ...
A: Jessica, I've not heard the term before, but I think they are referring to concrete which ...
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| foundation cracks and floor sluffing | 12/6/2007 |
Q: My grandma lives in a 2 story home with basement built in 1902 in Seattle. I recently noticed water ...
A: Derek, It's most likely a major repair. Vertical cracks almost always mean settlement...which ...
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| water leaking thru egress into basement | 12/5/2007 |
Q: We've had a water-tight basement for nine years. After our recent basement remodel this fall where ...
A: Mary Gay, I guess I would have to question where the egress drain is connected to??? Most ...
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| separating wall from floors | 12/3/2007 |
Q: I have a 1950 brick colonial in Arlington, VA built on a slope with a stone facade that I fear might ...
A: Robert, I think you may want to try a geotechnical engineer. He is a engineer versed in soil ...
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| separating wall from floors | 12/2/2007 |
Q: I have a 1950 brick colonial in Arlington, VA built on a slope with a stone facade that I fear might ...
A: Robert, The first thing I would do is look at the joints in the block...inside and outside. ...
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| heaving basement floor | 11/30/2007 |
Q: My son wants to buy a house. The one he likes the basment cement floor is heaving about 2 feet from ...
A: Bruce, Usually a basement floor will heave when hydrostatic pressure overcomes the mechanical ...
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| sump pump and drainage | 11/29/2007 |
Q: Jim, We recently purchased a home built in 1966 with a cement block foundation. The home has a sump ...
A: Jim, 40 years is the average life of red clay tile before it cloggs, comes apart or ...
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| bowed but stabilized | 11/27/2007 |
Q: I asked this question in another portion of this forum before I realized that there were ...
A: Rick, Honesty is the best policy. Tell the buyers all the improvements you've made and how long ...
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| basement waterproofing... | 11/27/2007 |
Q: I have a 2 1/2 yr old modular on a full poured concrete basement. I Drylocked the walls and floor ...
A: Mike, This crack is likely a result of the concrete curing/drying unevenly. Most of these ...
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| cinderblock foundation | 11/26/2007 |
Q: I just bought a house, disclosure said some water seapage with heavy rain, but had it watersealed. ...
A: Morgan, Sorry to hear about these other problems. This previous basement repair sounds like a ...
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| cinderblock foundation | 11/26/2007 |
Q: I just bought a house, disclosure said some water seapage with heavy rain, but had it watersealed. ...
A: Morgan, The disclosure given to you certainly didn't say anything about a badly leaking ...
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| Basement and Wall cracks in 63 yr. old ranch | 11/24/2007 |
Q: I am looking at purchasing a 62 year old brick ranch home. It has a full, poured concrete basement. ...
A: Rich, Fasteel used to use a helical tie-back made by A.B.Chance the last time I heard. This ...
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| founation settling | 11/23/2007 |
Q: i have horizontal cracks in my drywall and cooresponding vertical cracks in the corner of my family ...
A: Chris, Piers can be done seperately from the carbon repairs in this case. I'd need to have ...
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| founation settling | 11/21/2007 |
Q: i have horizontal cracks in my drywall and cooresponding vertical cracks in the corner of my family ...
A: Chris, Normal pier spacing for a two story home is 8' on center for just stabilizing. If you ...
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| vertical crack in wall AFTER crawl repair | 11/21/2007 |
Q: A few months ago, we found out we had moisture damage in our crawl space, and had a support beam ...
A: Jamie, It sounds to me like your entire foundation is moving and you've only tried to ...
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| Day light basement leak | 11/19/2007 |
Q: I have a daylight basement. 3 sides are below grade(north,east,south)the west side is open with ...
A: Mike, The best thing you can do for the long haul is to excavate the three walls down to the ...
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| Painting brick foundation | 11/15/2007 |
Q: I am remodeling my attached garage. I have installed new drywall and will apply epoxy to the floor. ...
A: Bryan, I think you'll need to go to a paint store to get that answer. You'll need to have the ...
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| Foundation crack | 11/15/2007 |
Q: but I did not ask this question before, nor did I ask you a question before period. Can you please ...
A: Mark, I don't know what happened to my previous response, but I'll try again... You will ...
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| Previous Foundation Repair | 11/15/2007 |
Q: I have an accepted offer on a house which has had a previous foundation repair. In 2004, the seller ...
A: Amy, The life expectancy of the piers depends on the type of pier used and how acidic the soil ...
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| Basement Seepage | 11/14/2007 |
Q: I have a 65yr old Michigan house with a block foundation. It's a full basement with a poured floor ...
A: Jeremy, Usually in this region where there is a lot of clay and the home is older than ...
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| NEW HOUSE OLD FOUNDATION | 11/13/2007 |
Q: ME AND MY HUSBAND JUST RECENTLY STARTED SEARCHING FOR A HOUSE AND WE RAN ACROSS A HOME THAT IS A ...
A: Shannon, As long as the foundation is in good shape it may not make a difference. Consult a ...
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| New house settling, crack in foundation. | 11/11/2007 |
Q: I have recently purchased a newer house in Pontoon Beach, IL, construction was complete December ...
A: Ken, A soaker hose is used to slowly put moisture back. Too much and you create other problems. ...
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| New house settling, crack in foundation. | 11/9/2007 |
Q: I have recently purchased a newer house in Pontoon Beach, IL, construction was complete December ...
A: Ken, Your house is settling. Most homes come with only a one year warranty. Check your ...
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| Wet Basement and concrete wall crack | 11/8/2007 |
Q: Jim, We bought a 9-year old townhouse with a finished walk-out basement last year. The basement ...
A: Chin, Yes, it's possible. Water can and often does make its way around corners by following ...
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| Do I have a foundation problem? | 11/6/2007 |
Q: I've lived in my one and a half story 1953 brick bungalow for 2 years now. It has been "remodeled" a ...
A: Matt, Nice house! Look at the basement wall and see if there are any signs of cracking or ...
|
| Do I have a foundation problem? | 11/5/2007 |
Q: I've lived in my one and a half story 1953 brick bungalow for 2 years now. It has been "remodeled" a ...
A: Matt, The use of the second story will not cause settlement...but unstable soil strata will. A ...
|
| Fix now or later? | 11/5/2007 |
Q: Jim, We have a 36 year old house in Dallas. We've had 3 estimates to fix what I think is major ...
A: Mary, The only way to know if the settlement has stopped is to monitor it over a period of a ...
|
| Basement wall curving in | 11/3/2007 |
Q: The cinder block basement wall of a fixer up house I'm looking at buying is curving in toward the ...
A: Matt, To straighten the wall expect to dig up the outside down to the footing and then push it ...
|
| block wall is cracking | 10/31/2007 |
Q: our house is a block wall home constructed appr 50 yrs ago. we recently discovered hairline ceiling ...
A: s bloom, When there is a slope failure, seldom is the slope failing near the surface and ...
|
| block wall is cracking | 10/30/2007 |
Q: our house is a block wall home constructed appr 50 yrs ago. we recently discovered hairline ceiling ...
A: s bloom, There's a very high chance with the diversity of cracking you are seeing... that ...
|
| Concrete Perimeter Foundation | 10/30/2007 |
Q: My husband and I have put an offer on a 1979 double-wide modular home in northern British Columbia ...
A: Erica, Yes, you should be concerned. The horizontal crack tells me that the draintile around ...
|
| Cost for Foundation Repair | 10/29/2007 |
Q: I read your discussion about helical or pipe piering vs. concrete pouring. My house seems to have ...
A: Wei, Piers run about $ 1150-$ 1,400 each. The first pier goes at one crack...then spacing ...
|
| basement leak | 10/26/2007 |
Q: My husband and I had a house built in a new development (3 years). We had drought-like weather for ...
A: Marla, The mold cannot be effectively dealt with until the grading issue is resolved. Get ...
|
| cement porch slope | 10/25/2007 |
Q: My front porch slopes in toward the door. Can I pour a thin layer of cement over it to correct?
A: Bill, There is a product called self-leveling cement that would work, but the end result may ...
|
| Double Brick wall Integrity | 10/25/2007 |
Q: Jim, I live in a 1890's Victorian townhouse with double brick construction for the walls. We are in ...
A: J.C., This one is to tough to tell what is happening and why without being on site. You're ...
|
| Foundation Hot Water Line Leak Repair Option | 10/23/2007 |
Q: I live in the Dallas, TX area (Allen/Frisco) and recently discovered and confirmed a hot water line ...
A: Al, Ask your people if anyone knows about low-strength mortor or LSM. This is a low strength ...
|
| sealant for cinder block foundation wall | 10/22/2007 |
Q: jim. I am remodeling a garage into a woodshop. I do custom veneer/ laminating wookworking projects, ...
A: Ryan, The right way to seal this wall is to excavate outside and waterproof it, complete with ...
|
| No seal on Window well | 10/20/2007 |
Q: Mr. Hise, Like most we have some water seepage in our basement. We fixed the downspouts and ...
A: Ken, Most cinderblock walls are hollow. The only time I've seen them filled is when they are ...
|
| Broken Footer | 10/19/2007 |
Q: I have a cape cod (1989)with an attached two car garage (walk in storage above). The footer at the ...
A: Rob, Picture a boat dock being supported by beams. Piers extend deep into the ground and pass ...
|
| salt deposits in basement and cracks in outside skim coat | 10/18/2007 |
Q: i live in portland, oregon. my house was built in the 1920s with the infamous, crumbly "ross island ...
A: Val, Your "salt" deposits are an indicator of water around the wall. The white chalking is ...
|
| Big crack on foundation | 10/18/2007 |
Q: I've been very worried lately about my house and its foundation. I bought the house about 4 years ...
A: Claudia, You have a cinderblock wall basement. A slab is just concrete poured on ground ...
|
| foundation/garage slab | 10/17/2007 |
Q: I have a 100 year old garage sitting on serpentine rock. There was an adjoining garage built about ...
A: Joyce, You may not need to do anything, but you will need an expert in your area to look at ...
|
| Big crack on foundation | 10/16/2007 |
Q: I've been very worried lately about my house and its foundation. I bought the house about 4 years ...
A: Claudia, A piano will not cause the problems you are seeing. The only way to get an unbiased ...
|
| huge cracks on patio | 10/16/2007 |
Q: I live in euclid, ohio the problems is huge cracks and gaps open about a half inch on our back ...
A: Pam, You've got a drainage issue with the patio. Water is getting under the slab and causing it ...
|
| foundation | 10/13/2007 |
Q: We bought a home 2 years ago about an hour out of st louis, I'm told it's known for clay soil. When ...
A: Tena, Concrete piering is an inexact science because you have no idea what the soil is like ...
|
| Powerwash Basement? | 10/12/2007 |
Q: Our basement was semi-finished. However, I gutted it due to mold. That has been cleaned up. The ...
A: Mat, I power washed a basement once and it came out great...but...there are a few things you ...
|
| digging a basement on an existing house | 10/12/2007 |
Q: I have a house in Levitton N.Y..........Levitt built these houses on a concrete slab.....I think it ...
A: AJ, You are looking at a project that could easily exceed $40-50,000. I've looked into a few of ...
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| foundation repair: helical v. push piers | 10/10/2007 |
Q: I have a 56 yr old, brick 3 level (walk-out basement and 2 levels) house in Alexandria, VA. The ...
A: Eric, I've never seen push piers fail when installed properly. Helicals are good if you go deep ...
|
| My house a fallin | 10/8/2007 |
Q: We have a 1911 old historic house that has been in the family for years. The house has a field ...
A: Frances, Since there's no engineer in the immediate area I would contact a few of the ...
|
| My house a fallin | 10/8/2007 |
Q: We have a 1911 old historic house that has been in the family for years. The house has a field ...
A: Frances, Because you have individual field stones for a foundation instead of a concrete ...
|
| Heaving I believe | 10/7/2007 |
Q: Jim, the floors have been getting prgressively speakier through the entire house. The first floor ...
A: Todd, Look in your area phonebook for local engineers. It is possible the support beams are ...
|
| Horizontal crack across entire property | 10/7/2007 |
Q: My wife and I have an accepted offer on a house with the home inspection this week. The sellers ...
A: Jim Bob, This kind of a ground fault is not normal and indicates to me either improper ...
|
| Inadequate/improper framing or foundation? | 10/4/2007 |
Q: I live in Houston, TX well known for it's 'gumbo' soil and brisk foundation repair business. I am ...
A: Nathan, I suspect that there are indeed multiple foundation issues here. I've seen inadequate ...
|
| Cracked and bowing foundation walls | 10/2/2007 |
Q: I live in southern Minnesota. The cinder block foundation walls in my 50's rambler home have cracked ...
A: Kyle, Rod and grout repair works pretty good when you get the rebar properly placed in the ...
|
| Buying a house with foundation issues | 10/2/2007 |
Q: My fiance and I are in love with a 40 year old home in the City of St. Louis, Missouri that has ...
A: Keri, If the fault has been diagnosed properly underpinning installed properly will be a ...
|
| Carbon Fiber | 9/14/2007 |
Q: Could you please give me your opinion about carbon fiber. How good is it? Does it really work? ...
A: Dan, Prior to Fortress grid strap, there were two types of carbon fiber commercially available: ...
|
| Basement Cinder block cracks | 9/13/2007 |
Q: I live in Berkley MI, Owned a home for 12 years, built in 1942 P-line home with additional support ...
A: Jeff, Even if the waterproofing was done properly...with expansive clay soils and unreinforced ...
|
| Follow-Up Question | 9/11/2007 |
Q: Jim - Thanks for the quick response to my question yesterday. It is hard to tell if the cracks are ...
A: Chris, I taught an ongoing education class in foundation repair a few years ago to 75 home ...
|
| Fear of Home Sinking | 9/10/2007 |
Q: My wife and I purchased a property in April of 2004 in Smyrna, Georgia. The home was built in 1954 - ...
A: Chris, Unless the cracks are getting bigger or won't stay repaired, I don't think you should ...
|
| vertical cracks in walls, horizontal crack in ceiling | 9/9/2007 |
Q: My eighty year old mother lives in a house which is probably sixty years old. There is a den which ...
A: Cynthia, I think your slab has dropped and will require slabjacking...but again, a ...
|
| Sill Plate Strapping | 9/8/2007 |
Q: An Inspector for the buyers of my home, cited a discrepancy 'sill plate needs strapping'. Please ...
A: Viginia, Yes you would, but obviously the inspector thought you didn't have them or he ...
|
| vertical cracks in walls, horizontal crack in ceiling | 9/7/2007 |
Q: My eighty year old mother lives in a house which is probably sixty years old. There is a den which ...
A: Cynthia, You need to have a structural engineer in there to take a good look and give you ...
|
| anchor wall system in Iowa basement | 9/6/2007 |
Q: I am thinking about buying a house in Coralville, Iowa built in 1952. The north wall of the basement ...
A: Elizabeth, The site description worries me. There could be a lot more going on the the ...
|
| Please Help | 9/5/2007 |
Q: My husband and I are in the process of selling our home that we have lived in for 4 1/2 years. We ...
A: Whitney, For the door to require continual adjusting over the seasons really means the ...
|
| Crack in Basement Floor | 9/1/2007 |
Q: We have just purchased a new home in eastern Pennsylvania. We will make settlement on it in two ...
A: Ken, The basement floor doesn't affect the perimeter foundation because it's not ...
|
| persistent vertical crack | 8/31/2007 |
Q: My rowhouse in Philadelphia was remodeled 17 years ago. A wall between my house and the neighbor has ...
A: Monica, It sounds like the foundation footing has broken and dropped on that wall. It would ...
|
| Vertical Crack in Exterior Row House Wall | 8/30/2007 |
Q: My husband and I are looking at purchasing a turn of the century Victorian terrace row house which ...
A: Nicole, Something caused the wall to crack and now it's been patched up. Without more ...
|
| Sun room foundation repair | 8/29/2007 |
Q: We recently purchased a house with an enclosed metal/glass sunroom about (20 X 10). It appears that ...
A: Alan, I've fixed a dozen of these in the past. The patio enclosure people simply build the room ...
|
| fine sand flowing into draintile disrupting foundation | 8/29/2007 |
Q: We have a three year old addition and just had a lot of rain here in Illinois (22 inches in two ...
A: Paul, One more idea on the problem of water level. Have you considered putting in a drywell out ...
|
| Window well drains | 8/28/2007 |
Q: I had some window wells flood recently which promped me to investigate the drains. Some are filled ...
A: Stevan, Sometimes they are tied in and sometimes not. You'll need to expose one to know for ...
|
| helical piers and foundation repair | 8/28/2007 |
Q: can you help me. i live in warren michigan and i have an attached covered porch about 9 x 9 with 1 ...
A: Anette, A small covered porch really doesn't weigh that much. I'm thinking piers may be ...
|
| fine sand flowing into draintile disrupting foundation | 8/28/2007 |
Q: We have a three year old addition and just had a lot of rain here in Illinois (22 inches in two ...
A: Paul, That amount of water had to go somewhere, and it sounds like your foundation was in the ...
|
| Window well drains | 8/27/2007 |
Q: I had some window wells flood recently which promped me to investigate the drains. Some are filled ...
A: Stevan, Drain cleaner won't remove dirt and rocks! Unless you want to dig everything up, hire ...
|
| Cement block or poured? | 8/26/2007 |
Q: The sills on our 50-yr old 700 sq.ft. wood frame garage are completely rotted away and the concrete ...
A: Jill, If you overpour around the existing block the thickness, possible voids and overall ...
|
| Crack in foundation | 8/26/2007 |
Q: My basement use to leak in water and we discovered a crack outside. It is quite long, I think the ...
A: Mabel, Crack injection can be done from the inside or the outside. If he was familiar with the ...
|
| Cellar | 8/26/2007 |
Q: I have an old house which is listed in the town records as 1900. I tend to think its older due to ...
A: David, There are two ways to approach this. The first is deepening the crawlspace and ...
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| Crack in foundation | 8/25/2007 |
Q: My basement use to leak in water and we discovered a crack outside. It is quite long, I think the ...
A: Mabel, Outside repair is always my preferred method of fixing a crack. The epoxy or urethane ...
|
| Is the old brick ok | 8/25/2007 |
Q: We live in atlanta and are about to buy a house that was built in the 1920's. There is a unfinished ...
A: Eric, It is normal to see the mortar in this condition on older brick buildings. Usually the ...
|
| leaky walls in basement | 8/25/2007 |
Q: We have an older home,the walls are leaking in various spots for a while now. Causing mould. Is it ...
A: John, Interior water control systems tap out the BOTTOM block and put it into a drainpipe ...
|
| cracks on a new construction foundation | 8/24/2007 |
Q: Jim, I signed a contract for a new construction house in March. The deal is closing in ...
A: Richard, There's a little bit more cracking than one should expect at this stage of the ...
|
| Window well drains | 8/24/2007 |
Q: I had some window wells flood recently which promped me to investigate the drains. Some are filled ...
A: Stevan, Normally the bottom of the window well has a 4" drainpipe, buried under the stone, ...
|
| Stair step crack | 8/23/2007 |
Q: I have the classic stair step crack at the rear corner of my masonry wall foundation. It's pretty ...
A: Kris, When the rain comes the soil will swell again and the foundation will move another ...
|
| The best way to fix a bowed, rear foundation wall? | 8/23/2007 |
Q: Jim, After moving into our house (15 yrs. old) just outside of St. Louis, MO about 8 months ago, it ...
A: Brian, The reason the wall came in is because of poor drainage allowing the soil to wick up ...
|
| outside wall vs. patio | 8/22/2007 |
Q: My house was built in 1946 by the owner. I live in the Seattle, Washington area. Rain and damp 350 ...
A: Stephanie, Don't pour more concrete just yet. If you pour up to the shake shingles you'll ...
|
| Leaky cellar | 8/22/2007 |
Q: We live in a house that is over 100 years old. The foundation on the house is sandstone. The house ...
A: Matt, It sounds like the new sump pump may have a loose or broken connection just outside the ...
|
| foundation repair and roof replacement | 8/20/2007 |
Q: We have an odd situation. We bought our home 2 yrs ago. We had been told that foundation work had ...
A: Ted, I would do any foundation repair and elevation adjustments before any roof work because the ...
|
| Horizontal Cracks in Basement Concrete Block | 8/20/2007 |
Q: I have a 15 year old house in New Jersey with an 8 inch concrete block foundation with a basement. ...
A: Rich, An interior waterproofing system does little in the way of relieving hydrostatic pressure ...
|
| Basement water leakage | 8/17/2007 |
Q: I live just west of Milwaukee WI in a hilly area (I'm on the high end)in a house built in 1977. When ...
A: Marcia, I've got two theories...It's likely that a sump pump pipe connection just outside the ...
|
| Small crack along exterior cinder blocks | 8/17/2007 |
Q: We live in Atlanta and have a 10 year old house. We have had water in the basement and installed a ...
A: Jon, I'm not a believer in "normal settling". That is something builders like to tell their ...
|
| foundation cracks -basement wall-vertical | 8/17/2007 |
Q: The house is a new construction, foundation was poured about 6 months ago. I haven't closed because ...
A: Glorya, Yep...too many problems going on here for a NEW HOUSE! I think it won't stop here. ...
|
| new water in basement | 8/14/2007 |
Q: I have a question about new water that is coming into my basement. I have a 60-yr old home in ...
A: Steve, Several things may have changed over time. First check the grading of the ...
|
| Cracked Cinder Block Corner | 8/13/2007 |
Q: Mr. Hise, I have a 1940's house in the Shenandoah Valley, VA. All the outer walls, including the ...
A: Kai, First remove the downspouts and stop putting water along your foundation (into bad ...
|
| Foundation wall stucco separation | 8/10/2007 |
Q: Jim, I live in San Diego. The house was built in the early 50's. The stucco is flaking off the ...
A: Jan, The browncoat is normally cosmetic. I would clean ( powerwash )the surface with trisodium ...
|
| Separating garage foundation wall | 8/8/2007 |
Q: My house was built in 1993 and has poured concrete basement and garage foundation walls. One of the ...
A: John, I've seen it before and it could be "driveway creep", where the concrete driveway has ...
|
| eroding basement wall | 8/2/2007 |
Q: Jim, My 100 year old house has a basement which appears to be the original part of the house, and an ...
A: Mandy, From your description it sounds like the concrete was put on the dirt as a cap and ...
|
| foundation and cellar floor cracks | 7/29/2007 |
Q: We are looking to purchase a house built in 2003. we both love this house, but it has a problem. The ...
A: Del, The cellar is still below ground level. You can seal the cracks all you want but if there ...
|
| footer | 7/28/2007 |
Q: I own a 30 year old house between Cleveland and Toledo around 5 miles south of lake Erie. The soil ...
A: Steve, Part 1: Your soils are the same as ours over here. Unless you see more movement in your ...
|
| foundation and cellar floor cracks | 7/28/2007 |
Q: We are looking to purchase a house built in 2003. we both love this house, but it has a problem. The ...
A: Del, Your house sits in the bottom of a hole in the ground. If the hole doesn't drain...it will ...
|
| stone foundation in montreal | 7/27/2007 |
Q: i recently bought a 108 year old montreal townhome with a 6' clear basement. the basement had moist ...
A: Latimer, The wall shouldn't need to be membraned if you power wash it before pouring a new ...
|
| cracking above grade | 7/27/2007 |
Q: Jim, I have a 25 yr old house. The soil in this area is a clay "gumbo". I have an exterior ...
A: Scott, The "Gumbo" type clays can develop very high hydrostatic pressures against the ...
|
| Burnt house foundation | 7/26/2007 |
Q: I just bought a plot of land with a burnt house that was block wall construction. Some walls have ...
A: Greg, The high temperatures of the fire will have compromised the outside waterproofing, the ...
|
| Exterior Wall Crack | 7/22/2007 |
Q: Jim, I have a vertical/slightly diagonal crack outside the house measuring 1/16 to 1/8 width ...
A: Adam, You build a new home to avoid problems like these! Poured walls will sometimes crack in ...
|
| foundation crack through entire wall | 7/21/2007 |
Q: My home is 5 years old. the home was built on a steep slope. I have a crack which extends all the ...
A: Anna, The foundation has to be excavated all the way around the cracked area...down to the ...
|
| foundation crack through entire wall | 7/20/2007 |
Q: My home is 5 years old. the home was built on a steep slope. I have a crack which extends all the ...
A: Anna, The house foundation has snapped in half and is being affected by the slope. You need to ...
|
| New Foundation - Older home | 7/20/2007 |
Q: I Live and Windham, NH and have a home build in 1966. This home has a 30x30 6.5ft basement. The ...
A: Sharon, You can still live there during wall replacement. You are looking at somewhere around ...
|
| 45 degree cracks in drywall near doors | 6/20/2007 |
Q: Are 45 degree cracks in the drywall eminating from the upper corner of interior doors in the house ...
A: John, If you consider vertical foundation settlement an issue I would say yes! Get a couple of ...
|
| Vertical Crack in Basement Wall | 6/19/2007 |
Q: I live in Denver and we just bought a house built in 1949. There is a vertical crack in the basement ...
A: Laura, If you need to lift the house back you need to excavate the outside so there's no ...
|
| Permanently Close 38 foot Inground Pool | 6/17/2007 |
Q: I purchased this home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania four years ago. I wasn't looking for a pool, but ...
A: Melon, Contact Rick from www.Abetterchoiceinc.com He is in your area and always needs a place ...
|
| Flagstone waterproofing | 6/14/2007 |
Q: I saw another question regarding old flagstone with mortar foundation that leaks. We have minor ...
A: Tracy, After power washing the walls and tuckpointing all the cracks you would parge and tar ...
|
| what system to help with humid basement | 6/11/2007 |
Q: my house is from 1968 with a walk out basement. we don't have water coming in but we do have high ...
A: Christine, At this point I would get three estimates from basement waterproofing companies ...
|
| what system to help with humid basement | 6/11/2007 |
Q: my house is from 1968 with a walk out basement. we don't have water coming in but we do have high ...
A: Christine, Dig a trench along the wall, install draintile and cover it with #57 stone, ...
|
| Water leaking between old foundation and new extension | 6/10/2007 |
Q: About 13 years ago my grandparents gutted their house and added a new extension on. After 3 years ...
A: Nicholas, The proper way to fix the problem is to dig it up, use a hydraulic cement to ...
|
| horizontal crack in drywall | 6/8/2007 |
Q: I have a horizontal crack on a interior wall. It is straight and 3/4 across this small wall. The ...
A: Patricia, Outside clogged or broken draintile will cause this problem. The wall must be ...
|
| Cracks in corners of foundation | 6/7/2007 |
Q: I have cracks in the corners of my foundation. I'll try to give as much info as possible. I live ...
A: John, You're a little too late for a soaker hose at the corner...but it may help around the ...
|
| basement wall | 6/6/2007 |
Q: my basement wall is bowing in and i have some deterating blocks. is there a way of replacing some of ...
A: jerome, To push the wall back you need to excavate the entire wall down to the footing...then ...
|
| Cracks in corners of foundation | 6/6/2007 |
Q: I have cracks in the corners of my foundation. I'll try to give as much info as possible. I live ...
A: John, Thanks so much for the extra info...sure makes my job easier and more accurate. You ...
|
| Flooring | 6/4/2007 |
Q: OK, so I bought this 1945-ish house that was a rental for many years and deprived of needed ...
A: Jill, With a space with that small I would get a 5 ton floor jack like they use for cars, some ...
|
| Flooring | 6/3/2007 |
Q: OK, so I bought this 1945-ish house that was a rental for many years and deprived of needed ...
A: Ok, So you want something for almost nothing, right? Try some JACKPOSTS in the basement to hold ...
|
| cracking tile and grout | 6/2/2007 |
Q: Our house is almost three years old. At about 6 months, we noticed that the grout in the master ...
A: Deana, It sounds like a foundation settlement problem occurring because of the underlying ...
|
| Crack in concrete ledge & brick on porch corner | 5/30/2007 |
Q: Our house is a two story colonial & is about 100 years old. There are four columns supporting the ...
A: Belle, If you know how to slabjack / mudjack and have the equipment you can do it ...
|
| possible foundation problems | 5/29/2007 |
Q: I am currently experiencing a lot of random construction problems. These problems may be due to ...
A: Michael, Start with LAZER LEVEL readings inside and outside to determine if you have a ...
|
| cracking exterior | 5/29/2007 |
Q: I have a house built in the early 50's, with a brick exterior. In the front of the house and just ...
A: Paul, If all they did was rebuildt the wall on the same soil...it will crack again and continue ...
|
| HISTORICAL HOME FOUNDATION CONCERN | 5/29/2007 |
Q: I am in the process of purchasing my first home. The home was built around 1837 and is located in ...
A: Nicole, Walls are often plastered to hide nasty problems and make it possible to pass them ...
|
| helical tiebacks, grip-tite, or dead man | 5/28/2007 |
Q: I live on Lawrence, KS, and my wall (55ft.) has been moving in over the past 16 years. We've lived ...
A: Jon, A grip tite type anchor is a one size fits all anchor. It is always cheaper than a helical ...
|
| Egress nightmare | 5/27/2007 |
Q: I had an egress window installed after I had a fire in my home. When they installed it they didn't ...
A: Meg, Dig it up again and tie it into the system. The water HAS to go somewhere!...or...possibly ...
|
| crumbling block | 5/27/2007 |
Q: My house is about 110 yrs old and inside the garage wall at the bottom there is on row of crumbling ...
A: Chris, You need to stop the water from sitting against the basement wall by correcting the ...
|
| Foundation Settlment | 5/25/2007 |
Q: We have a house about 50 year old. In 1997 it was remodeled and 600 square feet added. In 2005, we ...
A: Minna, You now have settlement problems, which are going to be an expensive problem in the ...
|
| Cement slab stability and floor tile replacement | 5/23/2007 |
Q: My home was built in 2002 on a concrete slab in a new subdivision built at the foothills of black ...
A: Kristy, Get a slab installation design and build specification from an independant structural ...
|
| Bowing Basement Wall | 5/23/2007 |
Q: Jim - We've got a house that we are selling. The house has a block foundation with clay fill. The ...
A: Tim, The wall bowed probably because the draintiles are not working properly and soil is wicking ...
|
| previous foundation repair | 5/22/2007 |
Q: Maybe you are able to help us!! We are in the process of buying a house with a previous foundation ...
A: Katrin, Foundation movement is not normal or expected. Some builders and foundation people ...
|
| previous foundation repair | 5/22/2007 |
Q: Maybe you are able to help us!! We are in the process of buying a house with a previous foundation ...
A: Katrin, The previous repair is still moving and will probably cause some wall cracking...and ...
|
| Cumbling basement / foundation | 5/22/2007 |
Q: I have a home that was build (nearest estimate) around 1915. The foundation and basement Walls are ...
A: Ed, I recommend you contact the company in your area called "A BETTER CHOICE, INC." They are are ...
|
| How to fix seal plate damaged by beetles | 5/21/2007 |
Q: What is the best way to replace the seal plate board that lies on top of the foundation that has ...
A: Karalie, The house must be jacked up enough to slide out the old sill plate and slide in a ...
|
| Foundation cracks, water, etc. | 5/21/2007 |
Q: I have a block foundation, house was built around 1960. One of the basement walls is bulging inward ...
A: Kurt, If you live near Cleveland I will be happy to look at it. If not, carbon fiber is a ...
|
| Cumbling basement / foundation | 5/20/2007 |
Q: I have a home that was build (nearest estimate) around 1915. The foundation and basement Walls are ...
A: Ed, If you dig up the outside and waterproof the walls the water cannot attack the flagstone and ...
|
| rock foundation wall detioration | 5/19/2007 |
Q: We own a 3 story house in Vancouver. It was built in 1912. It has rock foundation walls. 25 years ...
A: Rob, There is a waterproofer in Cleveland Ohio who routinely waterproofs stone foundations with ...
|
| crumbling cement beneath paint on exterior foundation | 5/17/2007 |
Q: I recently noticed that there were some squishy small pockets underneath the paint on the exterior ...
A: Jennifer, Ants love water. Water is collecting on your wall. Lose the water and this should ...
|
| Foundation cracks, water, etc. | 5/17/2007 |
Q: I have a block foundation, house was built around 1960. One of the basement walls is bulging inward ...
A: Kurt, From the lay of the land description it sounds like water is coming downhill right at the ...
|
| soft concrete and hard soil | 5/16/2007 |
Q: Jim: I live in Denver and we have some pretty hard bentonite clay soil here. I'm looking at buying a ...
A: Joe, Epoxy repairs now are often stronger then the material they are bonding! This should ...
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| house foundaton replacement | 5/15/2007 |
Q: A section of my 100 year old farm house is sitting on concrete piers that are placed about 4 feet ...
A: Craig, That's exactly right. Leave the piers in place and build your new footing in between ...
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| Egress Window Leak | 5/15/2007 |
Q: My wife and I live in Denver, CO. We had an egress window installed 2 years ago. It leaked after a ...
A: Mark, The egress window well has to drain somewhere...and that would be into your surrounding ...
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| House leaning | 5/14/2007 |
Q: I just bought a 50 year old single story wood frame house in SF Bay area. Foundation is poured ...
A: John, It sounds to me like THE ENTIRE HOUSE is moving or has moved as a unit...and therefore ...
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| cracks in new foundation | 5/13/2007 |
Q: We are building a new home in Houston Texas, the foundation was laid 6 days ago and framing is to ...
A: Julie, In this case you need an INDEPENDANT strucural engineer to evaluate the problem. It's ...
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| Water on Slab | 5/12/2007 |
Q: We are having a new house built, and the slab has been poured with the frame construction nearly ...
A: Lara, Water on the slab means the slab is not completely level. It's not likely this will ...
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| A perfect storm of foundation trouble | 5/10/2007 |
Q: Jim, We have a 1932 two story with a block basement foundation, two smaller block crawl spaces, and ...
A: Mark, To begin...You will need to remove sections of the basement floor in order to ...
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| Brick shifting on an exterior wall | 5/8/2007 |
Q: I'm looking at buying my first house and one of the houses I'm looking at has some brick shifting. ...
A: Jeff, I agree...the tree is a problem that you need to address. Unless you are seeing wall ...
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| foundation wall moisture and crumbling mortar | 5/8/2007 |
Q: I own two rental properties in Cambridge, Ma, a double-decker and a triple-decker. Both were ...
A: Peggy, I'm leaning toward Q bond also, but you really need to repair the interior mortar ...
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| Exterior wall foundation crack | 5/7/2007 |
Q: I have a house that was build in 2001 that has a poured concrete foundation with what seems to be an ...
A: William, You need to expose the interior wall surface and look for cracks. Cracks need to be ...
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| Cracks in walls and masonry block | 5/7/2007 |
Q: We had a house built about 5 months ago. We have noticed several vertical and horizontal cracks in ...
A: Shonitra, You have a SETTLEMENT problem with the foundation that is not normal and will ...
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| cinderblock foundation & fire | 5/5/2007 |
Q: We had a fire in our basement last May, and while waiting to settle with our insurance to start ...
A: Karen, Unless the fire cracked the blocks I feel the wall will be fine. The problem you are ...
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| brick wall | 5/4/2007 |
Q: Jim I have a old house most likely pre 1890's is has a double brick foundation. On one side there ...
A: Brian, When you go to push the wall back you will loosen all the mortar joints. You will need ...
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| Horizontal Hairline Cracking | 5/3/2007 |
Q: My house is about 60 years old and has a block foundation. I had the horizontal cracking typical of ...
A: Al, Lateral shift usually is a settlement issue and carbon is not designed to address that. Also ...
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| Cracks in concrete block foundation | 5/2/2007 |
Q: I am looking at purchasing my first home. The house was built in 1943, and has a lot of cracks in ...
A: Melody, A house of this age is going to have bad draintile at this point. All houses with ...
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| crumbling foundation | 4/30/2007 |
Q: my grandparents house is about 60 years old and was built on a cinder block foundation. the ...
A: Matt, For a wall displaced this badly the best thing to do is excavate the outside so the wall ...
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| crumbling foundation | 4/28/2007 |
Q: my grandparents house is about 60 years old and was built on a cinder block foundation. the ...
A: Matt, If the walls have only bowed and aren't sheared at the bottom...and if the bowing is less ...
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| Waterproofing and exterior drain tile | 4/28/2007 |
Q: In an answer to a question I had, you mentioned to be sure and install a clean out for the the ...
A: John, Use rigid schedule #35 pvc draintile. The corrugated stuff is not very strong and is ...
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| newly poured garage floor cracking | 4/20/2007 |
Q: We had a garage (24x30) built last November in Central Illinois. There is already a crack down the ...
A: Mary, I suspect you are going for a ride. Most builders will tell you that cracking is normal ...
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| Old brick foundation section falling out | 4/19/2007 |
Q: My house is a little over 100 years old. It sits on a brick foundation that is four bricks thick ...
A: Tim, If the previous owner had tuckpointed the outside bricks years ago you wouldn't be writing ...
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| Horizontal Hairline Cracking | 4/18/2007 |
Q: My house is about 60 years old and has a block foundation. I had the horizontal cracking typical of ...
A: Al, The ONLY time carbon fiber fails is when it is misapplied, or the wall is not prepared ...
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| Horizontal Hairline Cracking | 4/17/2007 |
Q: My house is about 60 years old and has a block foundation. I had the horizontal cracking typical of ...
A: Al, It is usually less expensive to address the drainage issues and hope that solves the problem. ...
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| Leaning foundation wall | 4/17/2007 |
Q: We just purchased a small ranch style home built in the 50's. The south wall is approximately 45 ...
A: John, I've no experience with Gorilla braces. When I needed to get a wall to move back after ...
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| Water wicking into building | 4/15/2007 |
Q: The clay around the building slopes away and the clay inside is at the same level or slightly below ...
A: Kristi, You've got a water table problem in the vicinity. Yes, some sort of perimeter ...
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| foundation shifting | 4/14/2007 |
Q: My wife and I were looking for a house to live in and came across one house where there was an ...
A: Stuart, Often times the roof will show foundation movement in uneveness and distortion. Look ...
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| foundation shifting | 4/13/2007 |
Q: My wife and I were looking for a house to live in and came across one house where there was an ...
A: Stuart, If you like the house invest in the opinion of a structural engineer. ( around $ ...
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| open web type floor joist, problems with drywall... | 4/13/2007 |
Q: When drywall is fastened to the bottom chord of open web floor joists, in some cases there are ...
A: Dennis, If this is a full basement I think you will need a few jackposts under the center of ...
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| drainage | 4/12/2007 |
Q: my gutter runoff washes away my grass and puddles on the lawn. Can i install an underground pipe ...
A: Michael, Yes. It's called a French drain. Normally you will dig a 4'x7' hole about 5'-6' (or ...
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| basements | 4/11/2007 |
Q: I am helping a friend to remodel his recently purchased home. His basement has some moisture ...
A: Nathan, Anything you do may fail in the future with damp walls. Water is building up behind ...
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| Foundation/Plumbing | 4/11/2007 |
Q: I recently bought a house in KC kansas. We have had major problems with the plumbing and recently ...
A: Scott, You can underpin the floor if you like, but I don't feel that it makes much sense. ...
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| Foundation/Plumbing | 4/11/2007 |
Q: I recently bought a house in KC kansas. We have had major problems with the plumbing and recently ...
A: Scott, I would like to believe that the broken pipes contributed to the large voids under your ...
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| Block foundation is leaking | 4/8/2007 |
Q: We are from central Ablerta Canada and live in a house built in 1951 with a 4 foot block wall ...
A: Craig, This wall is supporting your house, it's way out of plumb and is not tied into the sill ...
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| bulging foundation | 4/7/2007 |
Q: i didnt take measurement when we moved in so i dont know if its moving or not , right now there is ...
A: Robert, The crumbly stuff on your walls is called efflorescense.It is WATER IN THE BLOCK ...
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| bulging foundation | 4/6/2007 |
Q: i didnt take measurement when we moved in so i dont know if its moving or not , right now there is ...
A: Robert, The first thing you need to do is mix a bit of two-part 5 minute epoxy, then smear a ...
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| Cracks in Basement Wall | 4/5/2007 |
Q: I'm a first time home buyer and have finalized on a home. However, the home inspection revealed a ...
A: Biren, There a a few thoughts which come to mind in this situation. Some of the wall cracks ...
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| RE: Foundation Wall | 4/1/2007 |
Q: The front of our basement foundation wall (16ft. wide rowhome) is crumbling. There is no water ...
A: Angie, Clean the wall of all loose cement, then wash with TSP ( trisodium phosphate ) then ...
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| Leaky basement | 4/1/2007 |
Q: Jim: I live in a semi-detached house and have been noticing small puddles of water in the basement ...
A: John, There is normally draintile surrounding the shape of the basement or basements in your ...
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| RE: Foundation Wall | 3/31/2007 |
Q: The front of our basement foundation wall (16ft. wide rowhome) is crumbling. There is no water ...
A: Angie, I would have a structural engineer inspect your wall before you cover it up. You may ...
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| basement leak | 3/27/2007 |
Q: During severe heavy rains we had water come in our basement to the causing damage to our wood floor. ...
A: Lisa, Dirt up against the foundation will cause dampness if the foundation is not sealed. The ...
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| Water in garage | 3/27/2007 |
Q: Jim, I really hope you can help me. I reside in Missouri and my house is built on a slab with an ...
A: Casandra, My best guess is actually twofold...I think you have a very high water ...
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| Leaking basement in corner under step area | 3/26/2007 |
Q: We have a 23 year old home, have lived here since it was built. We live in a rural area 20 miles ...
A: Judy, Dryloc waterproofing paint will work fairly well to prevent water infiltration, but ...
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| Leaking basement in corner under step area | 3/26/2007 |
Q: We have a 23 year old home, have lived here since it was built. We live in a rural area 20 miles ...
A: Judy, Often when there is a leak in a corner the downspout or gutter in that area is usually ...
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| Leaky Basement Under Wrap Around Porch | 3/22/2007 |
Q: Bare with me a moment while I explain.... My wife and I are house hunting and have looked at dozens ...
A: Dan, One more thing to check. Make sure the backfill against the foundation is not higher than ...
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| leaking foundation | 3/22/2007 |
Q: I live in Houston, TX. My home is 40-years-old with a concrete slab foundation on gumbo. Most of the ...
A: Cindy, I never heard it called gumbo before...but I know what you mean! You biggest problem ...
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| Leaky Basement Under Wrap Around Porch | 3/21/2007 |
Q: Bare with me a moment while I explain.... My wife and I are house hunting and have looked at dozens ...
A: Dan, You've got water wicking into the unsealed block foundation and possibly your sill plate ...
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| Basement Flooding | 3/21/2007 |
Q: I live in an old house built about 1920. There is a partial basement underneath. We have lived here ...
A: Gale, First check your downspouts and gutters for clogging, damage, or wrong flow angle to the ...
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| Quality of Foundation Repair | 3/21/2007 |
Q: I live in Missouri and have put a contract down on a house. The house is 25 years old. Before I ...
A: Eric, Although this is not an ideal repair, I think the steel beams will probably hold the wall ...
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| basement extension outside underground | 3/18/2007 |
Q: Jim i have small low corner basement no outside access i wish to extend basement and under garden ...
A: Dennis, I don't know of any add on basement addition packages at this point in time. We are ...
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| Foundation/sagging floors | 3/16/2007 |
Q: We have recently purchased an older farm house and are presently remodeling/restoring it.It has rock ...
A: David, We are doing a similar repair this week near Cleveland, and after a few conversations ...
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| Basement flooding | 3/15/2007 |
Q: Are you sure I have draintile? I live in a small, two story single family house in central New York. ...
A: Roger, Your home should have had draintile installed when built otherwise there would have ...
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| uneven slab | 3/14/2007 |
Q: Jim, I have looked at several slab houses in NE Ohio and found them all to have floors that dip to ...
A: Hollis, When the floors are dipping in the middle, either the fill beneath was not compacted ...
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| Basement flooding | 3/14/2007 |
Q: I live in a single family home built in the 50's with a cinder block foundation. A couple times a ...
A: Roger, To clarify your problem...your home is built down in a hole in the ground. The ...
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| Wall and ceiling seperation | 3/10/2007 |
Q: I live in Tennessee and my house is a split level. Down stairs is a garage and a finished den.I have ...
A: Suzanne, With this additional information I am now guessing, ( and I've seen a lot of this ) ...
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| Wall and ceiling seperation | 3/9/2007 |
Q: I have noticed for the past 6 months or so that my walls and ceiling are separating in the bathroom ...
A: Suzanne, If we are talking about a medium sized slab home it's likely you have a settlement ...
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| crack in concrete slab | 3/8/2007 |
Q: I live in Canada and I can't say that the crack changes at all with the seasons. My guess is that ...
A: David, If your are having foundation settlement there will be a VERTICAL wall crack on two ...
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| crack in concrete slab | 3/8/2007 |
Q: I'm getting ready to lay down the laminate flooring in our 5year old basement which is a poured ...
A: David, Put a level on the floor to determine if the floor is sinking or heaving. My guess is ...
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| Water problem | 3/2/2007 |
Q: I have a rather annoying water problem in my basement. I have tried to no avail to "seal" what I ...
A: Grace, The only way I can tell you this is to say it... Your outside draintile has failed and ...
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| wet basement | 3/1/2007 |
Q: I own a home built from 1955. It has a full basement with cinder block foundation. I live in ...
A: Nick, I suggest you check your exterior draintile before you invest money on the interior. ( ...
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| wet basement | 2/27/2007 |
Q: I have a basement that I am in the process of finishing right now. Leaking is not a problem, and I ...
A: Nick, Give me more information first. How old is your home? What kind of soil do you have? What ...
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| poured concrete wall | 2/26/2007 |
Q: wall has small crack. leaks water after rail. how do I patch it?
A: Jerry, The best method of repair is an EPOXY INJECTION method, which makes the repair stronger ...
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| heavy storm basement leakage | 2/21/2007 |
Q: We recently purchased a house that has a known basement leak during heavy rains (unfinished basement ...
A: Brian, Check the gutters and storm drains. If these are clogged water will dump along the ...
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| sump pump backup option | 2/20/2007 |
Q: I have two sumps in my basement that get regular use a few times a year. We have high water tables ...
A: MCT, From what I've seen, battery backup pumps of any kind have only around 1/3 the capacity of ...
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| Plumbing Leak | 1/24/2007 |
Q: Are there specialized contractors to do the LSM (I live in Dallas). Should I go to a foundation ...
A: SB, I would try the local foundation repair companies first over the phone. If they don't know ...
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| Plumbing Leak | 1/24/2007 |
Q: I wrote to you some time back about a slab leak problem I had, and the inability to fix it from the ...
A: SB, Yes...I expect the soil will settle in the future. I would like to see some LSM or low ...
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| Modular home on poured walls foundation full basement... | 1/23/2007 |
Q: Our home is about 2 yrs old now and I have just got around to somewhat finishing the basement. ...
A: Mike, The white spots you are seeing on the walls is probably efflorescence. It is alkaline ...
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| Window Well Sump Pump | 1/22/2007 |
Q: Jim, A foundation company has already dug to the footer and reported there is no drain tile. They ...
A: Steve, Standard draintile is 4" diameter. The pump discharge pipe size will be determined by ...
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| Window Well Sump Pump | 1/21/2007 |
Q: Jim, I have an egress window well that pools water. I dug the clay & rock out of the window well ...
A: Steve, Usually there is a drainpipe from the gutters which is only 3'-4' deep surrounding the ...
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| Foundation Cracks | 1/19/2007 |
Q: ------------------------------------------- The text above is a follow-up to ... Jim, The Garage ...
A: Dan, Concrete will expand during the summer up to 2" in some cases, pushing the inside garage ...
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| Foundation Cracks | 1/16/2007 |
Q: Jim, I live in Missouri and my house is a Story and a half over a poured basement. A garage is on ...
A: Dan, With this new information...I'm now guessing that this problem may be caused by thermal ...
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| Foundation Cracks | 1/14/2007 |
Q: Jim, My home is 7 years old now and this last year I have noticed two cracks develop. One in the ...
A: Dan, You'll have to be very handy to fix this issue. It sounds to me that you are experiencing ...
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| slab on grade beam width | 1/11/2007 |
Q: I live in Texas and my house is on a slab-on-grade foundation. Like you said, the beam seems to be ...
A: SB, With luck you can just tuckpoint the hairline cracks with any kind of matching cement or ...
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| slab on grade beam width | 1/10/2007 |
Q: I am on a slab-on-grade foundation and having a slab leak repaired. I live in Texas and house was ...
A: SB, I've seen these beams extend the entire length of the slab, ...usually done when they are ...
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| french drain | 1/8/2007 |
Q: I have a french drain around the side of my house that faces a very steep driveway. in most ...
A: Austin, Unless you can improve the capacity of the French drain...I'm thinking you may ...
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| 2 buckling basement walls. | 1/7/2007 |
Q: Just a little note to let you know that the anchoring system is already in place. This system comes ...
A: Tim, Sometimes the wall anchor system will straighten a wall, but you must still torque them ...
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| 2 buckling basement walls. | 1/7/2007 |
Q: i am considering buying a 2 bedroom rambler built in 1974.it has 2 basement walls that have buckled ...
A: Tim, One of the problems with wall anchors is you'll have to HAND DIG the outside in order to ...
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| leak in garage | 1/7/2007 |
Q: I live in Pennsylvania. My house is built on a slab. It is a two story, center hall colonial. Is ...
A: Jackie, Since you are on a slab, the only thing I can think of for interior water control ...
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| Leaking basement | 1/3/2007 |
Q: My house in Ontario Canada is built in 1963. It is a custom built house in a rural area. Now, there ...
A: Simon, First check to see if there is a downspout in this area. Usually downspouts will clog ...
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| French Drain | 1/2/2007 |
Q: I also have a french drain in my basement, like Trica. But I have a townhouse which is connected on ...
A: Yvonne, Go to the phonebook and get a sewer or drain cleaning company to see if they can open ...
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| bowed outside wall | 1/2/2007 |
Q: My husband and I are considering purchasing a home built in 1840. However, we noticed one of the ...
A: Mary Coe, Your foundation has moved around a bit after all these years due to ground ...
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| New Basement Construction | 12/31/2006 |
Q: We currently have a small (partial) wet basement under part of our home and the rest is stem walls. ...
A: Matt, I would add more internal drainage ACROSS the floor to connect with the sides. Pipe is ...
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| Bulging wall | 12/15/2006 |
Q: I have a bulging basement wall. I have seen in the past that engineers have used I beams concreted ...
A: Edward, I think 8' apart may be too wide. I've seen installations where the wall has broken ...
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| Foundation repair | 12/14/2006 |
Q: JIm, Thankyou very much for your advice. I live in St. Charles, Mossouri. This "bowing" as I ...
A: Mark, When you install the rods try to take them out in the yard a minimum of 10'. Longer is ...
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| Shifting wall from ground to roof | 12/14/2006 |
Q: Our home was built in 1974. It is all brick, ranch with 3 car garage. We have been in the house 1 ...
A: EJW, It sounds to me like the roofing guy went to great lengths to get the roof framing modified ...
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| Foundation repair | 12/13/2006 |
Q: I have a 35' foundation wall 7' tall that about 20' has a horizontal bow approximately 2" inward ...
A: Mark, Review my answer history. I've dealt with this problem before in depth. You're ...
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| leack | 12/13/2006 |
Q: I think is coming through the window frame and the wall. must be coz of the heavy weather here in ...
A: pietro, The best guess I'd have for you is to caulk every opening around and above the ...
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| foundation floors and efflorescense | 12/6/2006 |
Q: I have recently purchased a house (not new, built in 1989) and in the past 6 weeks since we have ...
A: Jonathan, You've got a high water table. Water and foundations do not go together well in ...
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| basement wall | 12/5/2006 |
Q: Jim, similar problem to previous ones. In this house for 1 year, basement is hollow block wall ...
A: Andrew, It's tough when you have "experts" such as structural engineers who disagree on a ...
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| previous foundation repair/floors now uneven | 11/26/2006 |
Q: I just bought a 35 year old house in Houston that has had previous foundation repair. I have two ...
A: MJ, With a ceramic tile floor a solid and stable subfloor is critical to prevent cracking and ...
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| Drywall ceiling and walls separating | 11/24/2006 |
Q: my home is a a cinder block foundation with a crawl space. I bought it 60 days ago. It's 16 years ...
A: David, The most likely suspect for you problem would be the floor joist supports under the ...
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| can u pls tell me the causes of movement n how it should b repair?thank u | 11/20/2006 |
Q: The subjects comprise of a detached granite built, 2 ˝ storey house with attached ground. The house ...
A: Crislyne, The first thing I would suggest is get a few soil borings around the house. These ...
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| basement leaking | 11/20/2006 |
Q: I moved to this semi-detached house 2 month ago(29 years old house). After a while I found my ...
A: Susan, It may not be the end of the world. It is possible a gutter repair will stop the water ...
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| French Drain | 11/17/2006 |
Q: I am looking to get a French Drain put in my basement due to water issues. I bought my house 3 yrs ...
A: Tricia, You are getting water in the basement because your draintiles are not working ...
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| FLOODING IN DINING ROOM ADDITION | 11/17/2006 |
Q: THE FOUNDATION OF MY DINING ROOM ADDITION(BUILT PRIOR TO OUR MOVING IN - WAS A SUN ROOM) IT IS AT ...
A: Michael, At this point it's obvious you have a high water table problem. The next thing to ...
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| Basement Floor | 11/16/2006 |
Q: Is there anything that I can do to minimize the basement floor movement? Background: @10yr old Log ...
A: Don, It sounds like you've got a broken footing and are experiencing some settlement. The ...
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| basement leaking | 11/16/2006 |
Q: I moved to this semi-detached house 2 month ago(29 years old house). After a while I found my ...
A: Susan, Welcome to the world of home repair... To begin with, wet drywall will begin to grow ...
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| 2 story sag | 11/15/2006 |
Q: I live in a commercial brick building built around 1900. It is basically solid, but the center ...
A: Sherry, You are a brave woman! The best way to raise the floor is to buy a couple adjustable ...
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| footers | 11/15/2006 |
Q: how do you place a footer under the corner of a existing slab to keep it from sinking any further?
A: TW, Normally you would dig a hole under it from the outside deep enough to be below frost level ...
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| full basement poured walls concrete foundation | 11/14/2006 |
Q: Just wondering what to use to fill in cracks, crevices and the small gaps between the walls and ...
A: Mike, I used a silicone based caulk for concrete from Home Depot years ago on mine. Stop in a ...
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| What material to choose for filling | 11/13/2006 |
Q: I have a CRAWLING space with a concrete floor and of course there are 3 sides of walls. Water ...
A: Chi Lo, First caulk the edges of the crawl space with a flexible concrete caulk with ...
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| sunken porch slab | 11/12/2006 |
Q: I have a 8x12 enclosed porch which the floor is a slab. I am in the market to purchase a 8x12 ...
A: Tw, Thanks for the extra information. In this case, I would have the slab "Mudjacked" or ...
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| foundation | 11/12/2006 |
Q: A tree fell on our house 2 months ago. Now with cracks on walls and ceilings in all of the rooms of ...
A: Suzette, Your insurance company should cover the cost of a structural engineer who will need ...
|
| Sinking Chimney | 11/12/2006 |
Q: We have a 2-story home built in 1912. The chimney is dead center in the home and through the years ...
A: Tim, Any permanent structure which is moving should be piered. This may not be the cheapest ...
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| waterproofing | 11/10/2006 |
Q: I have a cement block building on a slab foundation. I have a leak with heavy rain but only in 2 ...
A: Robert, Go to a Lowes or Home Depot and talk with someone in the paint dept. Tell them you ...
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| which wall anchor to use? | 11/10/2006 |
Q: I live in Illinois. Thanks for the quick response. It's about 4k more for the helical anchor over ...
A: Steven, I've seen the grip tite torqued until the threads were 3'long extending into a ...
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| which wall anchor to use? | 11/9/2006 |
Q: The wall is a poured solid wall. I live in Illinois.I have 3 leaning basement walls. I am ...
A: Steven, Hands down...helical tie backs. They will be torqued into your yard until they won't ...
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| foundation problem? | 11/7/2006 |
Q: I am actually in Nova Scotia, Canada. The living room and dining rooms are on a poured foundation. I ...
A: Trevor, This is one problem I'd really have to see myself to properly diagnose it. At this ...
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| foundation problem? | 11/7/2006 |
Q: I am not sure what my problem is except that I have installed crown molding in the living room and ...
A: Trevor, First I have to assume your living and dining rooms are on a slab. Often non weight ...
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| foundation drainage | 11/5/2006 |
Q: We are in the process of building a small studio (480 sqare feet) on our sloping property. The ...
A: Ann, I'd like to see the draintile much deeper than that. i suggest contacting the local ...
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| Hairline crack in new foundation | 11/5/2006 |
Q: We are building a new home that is almost complete. It has a poured concrete foundation and the ...
A: Gary, It is common to see hairline cracks in poured walls, but they usually break along the ...
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| footers in kansas | 11/4/2006 |
Q: how deep and wide should a footer be under a 12x8 slab supporting a glass sunroom? thanks
A: TW, I just fix them, I don't engineer them. Contact your local building department or a ...
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| Horizontal Crack in Block Wall | 11/4/2006 |
Q: When the rebar is placed in the cells how to you get it to stay on one side? I am assuming the ...
A: Daniel, The tension side of your wall is the INSIDE face...it is being pushed inward, and ...
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| water draining towards house | 11/4/2006 |
Q: We just bought a house that's on a lower slope of a hill. The building inspection noted about $30K ...
A: Wayne, Get in the phonebook and call out some companies that do SLABJACKING OR MUDJACKING ( ...
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| water encroachment/french drain | 11/4/2006 |
Q: Jim, We have a 3 story home that is all above ground. The downstairs is a separate apartment and ...
A: Sharon, I think a French drain is the way to go at this point. Get the water from coming up ...
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| Horizontal Crack in Block Wall | 11/3/2006 |
Q: One of the block walls in my Seven foot high basement was leaking quit a bit during a recent storm. ...
A: Dan, Rebar and grout is a great repair in many cases. If you can't stick a screwdriver through ...
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| water from neighbors leak in the basement | 11/3/2006 |
Q: My neighbors toliet had a leak in it which destroyed her house and leaked water into my basement. We ...
A: Nicole, The wall between your two homes is normally a common, shared wall. In your case it is ...
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| Cone of Compression | 11/3/2006 |
Q: The cone of compression issue was not with the roof but with the foundation. You are not suppose to ...
A: Laura, Thanks for the additional information. At this point in discovery I would advise you ...
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| Foundation Concern on a Potential New Home | 11/2/2006 |
Q: My husband and I are looking at buying a brick house built in the 1920s. It is a little over 3000 ...
A: Anne, Wall rebuilds in Cleveland go for around $ 200.00 PER FOOT. The chimney likely needs two ...
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| Cone of Compression | 11/2/2006 |
Q: I recently had a home inspection of a house I want to buy and the inspector said that the cone of ...
A: Laura, The area of the house where the roof meets the walls has begun to buckle. This type of ...
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| cracked ceiling means foundation trouble? | 11/1/2006 |
Q: Jim, Our house is a split level with a basement. The cracks are along the ceiling on the main floor ...
A: Leigh, Start with a local STRUCURAL ENGINEER to get down to the problem and recommended ...
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| Foundation/masonary repair | 10/24/2006 |
Q: I have a crack on an exterior wall, running from the ground, between concrete brick foundation, up ...
A: Alex, It's going to be tough to replace the existing bricks with something that has the same ...
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| leaky foundation | 10/23/2006 |
Q: Jim, I live in KC where leaky foundations are common. I just bought a house where the seller ...
A: Chris, I feel regrading would be first on your list. The further away from your foundation ...
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| cracking of masonry load bearing wall on expansive foundation | 10/23/2006 |
Q: The problem relates to aset of single storeyed masonry brick mortar structure, built about 40 years ...
A: Arvind, In this situation you need to lower the water table around your foundation. One of ...
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| FOUNDATION | 10/23/2006 |
Q: Two questions: I own an 80 year old end row house in Baltimore, MD and its foundation wall is made ...
A: Al, I've seen an effective repair done by others over the years which is fairly simple to do. ...
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| Interior Crack | 10/21/2006 |
Q: There is a crack in the interior of a bedroom, a corner room in the front left of the home. The line ...
A: Will, A mature oak tree will pull 75 gallons of water PER DAY out of the soil. The tree will ...
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| crack in old house is getting worse | 10/20/2006 |
Q: The wall does not appear to have moved in - it's not bulging or anything like that. It's almost ...
A: Dec, Lets keep going on this one. Is there a large tree near this wall, and if so, how close. ...
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| crack in old house is getting worse | 10/19/2006 |
Q: My 1936 colonial in Western Pennsylvania has a block wall foundation and is brick veneer and balloon ...
A: Dec, It sound to me like your wall is being pushed in from the outside. Cracks near the corners ...
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| Waterproofing concrete walls | 10/19/2006 |
Q: I have white powdery stains all along the thin crack in concrete wall in the basement. There is no ...
A: Greg, The thin crack is the wall being slowly pushed inward due to soil swelling. Drylock will ...
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| dampness by foundation | 10/18/2006 |
Q: Greetings fellow expert! I underpinned my 80 year old brick house 10 years ago it didn't budge(whew) ...
A: Ralph, The only thing you can do on the inside to seal the wall and delay the inevitable is a ...
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| foundation vents | 10/16/2006 |
Q: Jim, This isnt exactly the area of experise you've listed, but maybe you can help. I live on the ...
A: Alan, Just like your attic, your crawl space needs to breathe. I would suggest getting someone ...
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| foundation crack | 10/12/2006 |
Q: My house is 37 years old. It is a 2 story house with basement and concrete block foundation. I was ...
A: Doug, My company is doing a foundation stabilization project in Erie this week on a commercial ...
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| horizontal crack in basement | 10/12/2006 |
Q: There is a house that I'm interested in buying that is about 45 years old, but before I pay a few ...
A: Liz, A house 45 years old or older is likely to have a failing draintile system. When water ...
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| waterproofing | 10/5/2006 |
Q: I have an older home that has a stone foundation. When the house was purchased 20 years ago, it came ...
A: Jack, Sometimes the in-floor water drainage systems come with a really long warranty against ...
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| Foundation Repair and insects | 10/1/2006 |
Q: In the dining room the floor is sinking on one side and the same with the master bedroom. There are ...
A: Michael, This house sounds like it is experiencing settlement. This means a section of the ...
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| Filling in concrete cracks | 10/1/2006 |
Q: My concrete garage floor and backyard patio are in serious need of repair. Every year I fill in ...
A: Bob, Ok, you are in the neighborhood. There is a supplier I know of called PHIPPS company. They ...
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| Foundation Crack | 9/28/2006 |
Q: I live in NJ and have a long horizontal crack in my basement wall.Crack is surely caused by outside ...
A: Sam, Get to the yellow pages under foundation repair and find three contractors who do basement ...
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| protecting concrete slab | 9/27/2006 |
Q: I own a home in Frisco, TX. Soil is mostly clay. Should I put soaker hoses around the foundation in ...
A: WILLIAM, I LIVED IN MCALLEN TEXAS FOR 10 YEARS, SO I KNOW THE CONDITIONS DOWN THERE. THE KEY ...
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| foundation at ground level | 9/24/2006 |
Q: Since then I ran a hose by the foundation to see exactly where the water is coming in and it's ...
A: Michelle, My advice still stands. The wall shouldn't crack unless it is being pushed in. ...
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| HORIZANTIALY BOWED FOUNDATION WALLS | 9/24/2006 |
Q: I OWEN A HOME BUILT IN 1929, THE FOUNDATION WALLS ARE POURED CONCRETE WITH A FALSE BLOCK WALL BUILT ...
A: Ryan, I've seen many "false walls" over the years. Usually do-it-yourselfers are responsible ...
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| BASEMENT BASEBOARD GROWING A FUNGUS | 9/22/2006 |
Q: MY BASEMENT SMELLS MUST AT TIMES DISPITE A HUMIDIFIER AND TWO AREAS IN THE BASEBOARD NEAR WINDOW ...
A: Sean, Sometimes there is a drain at the bottom of the window well, and if there is it may be ...
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| foundation at ground level | 9/16/2006 |
Q: We just bought a 50 year old house in Chicago. We recently had a very heavy rain and noticed a ...
A: Michelle, This is the most common problem I see in basements. Water on the floor means that ...
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| lintell insertion | 9/12/2006 |
Q: i am reconstructing a property in uk and wish to remove an existing catnic preformed steel lintel ...
A: Larry, From my experience, when you change original structural designs you can sometimes get ...
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| sealing foundation | 9/5/2006 |
Q: Years ago when I bought my house, I noticed that there was a large chunk of foundation missing ...
A: Sandy, Bugs can and do get through the smallest of foundation cracks and openings. The ...
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| cracks/odour in basement | 9/5/2006 |
Q: My 50's era house has many cracks in its concrete basement floor which have white powder around ...
A: Mike, White powder around the cracks in your floor IS a sign of moisture. It is called ...
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| concrete slab above basement | 9/5/2006 |
Q: jim, Concerning a 50 year old house in Pa. The concrete garage floor is directly above the ...
A: Bob, Yes, I would want to look into this further. This is an issue to be investigated by a good ...
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| Exterior Foundation Crack | 9/3/2006 |
Q: Jim, Thanks for the response. It's a poured concrete foundation. The crack is on the exterior ...
A: Tom, It sounds to me as though you likely are seeing a crack that is running along an expansion ...
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| window well | 8/27/2006 |
Q: Wondering what kind of rock you should use to fill in a window well. We have a low spot right near ...
A: Phil, Pea gravel is the standard fill material found in window wells. Clay is just going to ...
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| outside cracks on foundation | 8/25/2006 |
Q: I guess the reason why I prefer to fix crack from outside is because the leaky crack is underneath ...
A: Urethane injection can be done from either side of the wall with equal results. Small holes are ...
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| Damp Area in Basement | 8/25/2006 |
Q: A damp area about 2ft. long and 6" wide has appeared in the foundation wall of my basement that is ...
A: Hope, Yes...First you need to go outside and see if there is a downspout opposite that ...
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| outside cracks on foundation | 8/24/2006 |
Q: We bought a 25 year old house a few months ago, we got a puddle in the basement only once when it ...
A: Well...first assuming we are talking about a POURED foundation wall, this type of cracking can be ...
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| patio surrounding pool causes water and dirt to fill in up to brick on house | 8/24/2006 |
Q: My house was built in 1984. The patio slab was poured seperate from the homes slab foundation. I ...
A: Mellisa, It sounds like moisture has already done some damage. The crack is usually caused ...
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