| Subject | Date Asked |
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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, ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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. ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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. ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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. ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 @ ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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. ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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, ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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. ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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" ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
|
| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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: ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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, ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 |
