[dreamingat30fps]

So we have been in this house for 10 years it was built in the 80s. I've noticed small cracks here and there on the celling drywall and some horizontal ones on the outside wall. Mostly pretty small hairline cracks that I have fixed with that crack filler stuff.

Anyways the other day I noticed a step ladder style crack on one of the walls outside. Having no experience with any of this I called a foundation company to come take a look at it. They supposedly took measurements of the floor and said that one corner of the house (where I saw the crack) was off by 0.2-1".

Anyways they say I need some metal rods they insert down into solid soil and attach to the foundation. They quoted me $7-$11k depending on how many rods etc.

So for those of you who have experience in this does this sound correct? Is this something I need to address right aways (after all it took almost 40 years to get here). Does the price sound right? We have no plans to move right now, but I'm also not sure I plan to be here for the rest of my life so.

[Tommy-G]

Not sure if you're in the Tampa area but every night on the 6pm news I see a company advertising for cracked foundations and such. Ill have to watch for the name next time.

I have no clue about the pricing but I would imagine as long you dont end up near a sinkhole you're OK for a bit

[Dagamus_NM]

It will likely get worse. But call and get a second and third quote from others if that is available.

That is just the price to fix that part, still have to deal with the walls that were damaged.

[Adrian g.]

Originally Posted by dreamingat30fps

So we have been in this house for 10 years it was built in the 80s. I've noticed small cracks here and there on the celling drywall and some horizontal ones on the outside wall. Mostly pretty small hairline cracks that I have fixed with that crack filler stuff.

Anyways the other day I noticed a step ladder style crack on one of the walls outside. Having no experience with any of this I called a foundation company to come take a look at it. They supposedly took measurements of the floor and said that one corner of the house (where I saw the crack) was off by 0.2-1".

Anyways they say I need some metal rods they insert down into solid soil and attach to the foundation. They quoted me $7-$11k depending on how many rods etc.

So for those of you who have experience in this does this sound correct? Is this something I need to address right aways (after all it took almost 40 years to get here). Does the price sound right? We have no plans to move right now, but I'm also not sure I plan to be here for the rest of my life so.

Do not call a foundation company. Call a structural engineer before you spend any money.

[dreamingat30fps]

Originally Posted by TommyG-inFlaNow

Not sure if you're in the Tampa area but every night on the 6pm news I see a company advertising for cracked foundations and such. Ill have to watch for the name next time.

I have no clue about the pricing but I would imagine as long you dont end up near a sinkhole you're OK for a bit

My concern is that I know nothing about it so they could tell me anything and I would have to take them at their word. Plus they make their money selling foundation repairs soooo.....

Originally Posted by Dagamus_NM

It will likely get worse. But call and get a second and third quote from others if that is available.

That is just the price to fix that part, still have to deal with the walls that were damaged.

Yeah I may call a different one just to see what they say compared to the other, but the one that came out seems to be the biggest one with the best reviews. All the others are kinda iffy online.

The damage to the wall is nothing. Like I said it's a hairline crack. Could probably cover it with thick paint. No damage inside of the house in that part which is extra weird.

Originally Posted by Adrian g.

Do not call a foundation company. Call a structural engineer before you spend any money.

Will have to look into this more. Preliminary search just seems to come up with large commercial type stuff.

[Chihuahua]

Originally Posted by TommyG-inFlaNow

Not sure if you're in the Tampa area but every night on the 6pm news I see a company advertising for cracked foundations and such. Ill have to watch for the name next time.

LRE Foundation repair. Just moved out of Pinellas. No experience, but that's the company that's all over the billboards and TV.

[CTinline-six]

Originally Posted by Adrian g.

Do not call a foundation company. Call a structural engineer before you spend any money.

This.

It's a common problem in my area due to a bad local concrete company in the 1980s not getting the mix correct. Lots of crumbling foundation issues, and with how widespread it is around here insurance companies aren't covering it, conveniently. A foundation company will tell you how much to replace it, a structural engineer will tell you if it *needs* replacing.

The funny part is with the housing boom, people are paying way over asking price for homes on the market in this area, and not doing the inspection in order to save time and not risk losing their bid. Joke is on them in this case. 4 houses on my street had the issue, and 3 on the street next to me.

[dreamingat30fps]

Originally Posted by CTinline-six

This.

It's a common problem in my area due to a bad local concrete company in the 1980s not getting the mix correct. Lots of crumbling foundation issues, and with how widespread it is around here insurance companies aren't covering it, conveniently. A foundation company will tell you how much to replace it, a structural engineer will tell you if it *needs* replacing.

The funny part is with the housing boom, people are paying way over asking price for homes on the market in this area, and not doing the inspection in order to save time and not risk losing their bid. Joke is on them in this case. 4 houses on my street had the issue, and 3 on the street next to me.

These people would not be replacing anything. That's just to install some kind of jacks that are suppose to go down into hard ground (sounds sketchy in FL) and I guess basically hold the foundation from going down any further. It also only appears to be that corner of the house that's down 1".

[Steeler]

Likely what you were quoted on were "helical piles". Basically a huge screw driven into the sub soil to a desired torque. Then attached to your foundation.

Not knowing the going rates in your area its hard to say if the quote is out of line or not. If I had to guess I would venture to say it is reasonable given the equipment required and liability as well.

Do they offer a guarantee that the foundation will be stable after the installation??

[Tommy-G]

Originally Posted by Chihuahua

LRE Foundation repair. Just moved out of Pinellas. No experience, but that's the company that's all over the billboards and TV.

YES! I was thinking RRE...you're def right

[chassis]

Cracked foundations (walls and/or floor slab) are relatively common. In my experience, more common in wetter areas.

A proper fix is not cheap. Definitely in the thousands, possibly tens of thousands depending on the details of the fix. Call your homeowners insurance to see if you are covered, or partially covered, for this.

Get a minimum of three qutoes. Ask around your neighbors, hardware stores, etc. for the most common type of repair used in your area. I have first hand knowledge of a person who had major foundation repair done in the Great Lakes area. Likely the details of that repair would not be used in Florida.

[dreamingat30fps]

Originally Posted by dbarton62

Likely what you were quoted on were "helical piles". Basically a huge screw driven into the sub soil to a desired torque. Then attached to your foundation.

Not knowing the going rates in your area its hard to say if the quote is out of line or not. If I had to guess I would venture to say it is reasonable given the equipment required and liability as well.

Do they offer a guarantee that the foundation will be stable after the installation??

Yeah that's what it is. My concern would be the screw is still going through the same soil. They do have a warranty, however like most warranties it has so many caveats that's its probably worth the paper it's written on.

Originally Posted by chassis

Cracked foundations (walls and/or floor slab) are relatively common. In my experience, more common in wetter areas.

A proper fix is not cheap. Definitely in the thousands, possibly tens of thousands depending on the details of the fix. Call your homeowners insurance to see if you are covered, or partially covered, for this.

Get a minimum of three qutoes. Ask around your neighbors, hardware stores, etc. for the most common type of repair used in your area. I have first hand knowledge of a person who had major foundation repair done in the Great Lakes area. Likely the details of that repair would not be used in Florida.

I guess the real question is if I need to deal with it now or not. I mean it's taken almost 40 years to get off 1" is it going to take another 40 to go another or can it now just rapidly slope down. I have not noticed any effects on the house other than the hairline crack on the stucco outside.

I asked my neighbor to take a look at it. He's always doing stuff on his house and maintains it very nice. I also think he does some kind of commercial construction, maybe building roads or something like that. Anyways he said he probably wouldn't worry about it. If I wanted I could chisel out some stucco to take a look at the concrete blocks and see the condition.

Right now I'm leaning towards fixing the crack and monitoring to see if it gets worse.

[chassis]

Monitoring it is the best thing for now. What else is there? If you notice the master bedroom starts sliding away from the dining room, that would warrant faster action.

Also depends on if you decide to sell the house, and when. A large crack would be an inspection red flag, if people are still doing inspections these days. I would do an inspection if I was buying a house.

[zx10guy]

I don't understand why you're so resistant to getting a structural engineer involved. You don't know if that 1" being off true accelerated lately or not. Getting people's opinions are just best guesses even companies that do foundation repair work.

My home was bought as a new construction build. One day I heard what sounded to be a gun shot going off in the attic. I decided to climb up there to take a look around. I found one of the roof trusses to be snapped through. I informed the builder and they came out and sistered another 2x4 piece of wood over the cracked area. I contacted the home inspector I used that inspected my home through all phases of construction. He recommended a longer 2x4 used that spanned between gusset plates. I talked to my builder again about my concerns with their repair. They ended up hiring a structural engineer to come out and examine the repair. They did a complete write up certifying the repair which gave me piece of mind and covered the builder against any future liability.

If what you're finding are structural engineers that seem to be commercially focused, I'd still call them as they may do residential. If they don't, they can certainly refer you to ones that do.

[F32Fleet]

Some settling is a common occurrence as homes age but it's best to obtain an engineers report.

No need to panic yet.

[DETRoadster]

How about some photos. Of the crack and of that side of the house, including roof and downspouts.

Hows the drainage there? Do you have a downspout concentrating a bunch of runoff from the roof right there?

ALL conventional poured foundation houses settle over time. Unless you have pilings down to bedrock, you're going to get some settling. if you dont notice sticky doors and cracked drywall, I dont think you have much to worry about. But then again, I'm just some dude on a car forum. As others have said, get an engineer to look t it if you are super concerned. The foundation company wants to sell you a foundation fix. the engineer just wants to sell you his knowledge. No conflict of interest there. Asking the foundation company if you need to fix this is like asking the mold remediation company if you need to have a spot of mold removed. The answer will always be yes.

[dreamingat30fps]

Originally Posted by chassis

Monitoring it is the best thing for now. What else is there? If you notice the master bedroom starts sliding away from the dining room, that would warrant faster action.

Also depends on if you decide to sell the house, and when. A large crack would be an inspection red flag, if people are still doing inspections these days. I would do an inspection if I was buying a house.

Not selling right now, but if I was I'm sure I could still get crazy money even if the bedroom was mostly under water.

Originally Posted by zx10guy

I don't understand why you're so resistant to getting a structural engineer involved. You don't know if that 1" being off true accelerated lately or not. Getting people's opinions are just best guesses even companies that do foundation repair work.

My home was bought as a new construction build. One day I heard what sounded to be a gun shot going off in the attic. I decided to climb up there to take a look around. I found one of the roof trusses to be snapped through. I informed the builder and they came out and sistered another 2x4 piece of wood over the cracked area. I contacted the home inspector I used that inspected my home through all phases of construction. He recommended a longer 2x4 used that spanned between gusset plates. I talked to my builder again about my concerns with their repair. They ended up hiring a structural engineer to come out and examine the repair. They did a complete write up certifying the repair which gave me piece of mind and covered the builder against any future liability.

If what you're finding are structural engineers that seem to be commercially focused, I'd still call them as they may do residential. If they don't, they can certainly refer you to ones that do.

I don't understand why you think I'm so resistant. I just said my preliminary search didn't come up with anything. This is FL. Most everyone is a scammer of some kind. When I find one I trust I have no issue having them check it out.

Originally Posted by DETRoadster

How about some photos. Of the crack and of that side of the house, including roof and downspouts.

Hows the drainage there? Do you have a downspout concentrating a bunch of runoff from the roof right there?

ALL conventional poured foundation houses settle over time. Unless you have pilings down to bedrock, you're going to get some settling. if you dont notice sticky doors and cracked drywall, I dont think you have much to worry about. But then again, I'm just some dude on a car forum. As others have said, get an engineer to look t it if you are super concerned. The foundation company wants to sell you a foundation fix. the engineer just wants to sell you his knowledge. No conflict of interest there. Asking the foundation company if you need to fix this is like asking the mold remediation company if you need to have a spot of mold removed. The answer will always be yes.

I'll see if I can get a pic later. The house has no gutters anywhere. The roof on that side slopes along the entire side of the house. I've debated getting gutters, but from other houses with the same layout the spouts don't seem to go out much further than the roof does. Considering running the spouts into some underground drainage tube I have in the yard to prevent flooding during monsoon season.

Being FL we never really open the windows, but I did just to make sure and no issues with windows or doors and no cracking of drywall on that side of the house.

[DETRoadster]

Originally Posted by dreamingat30fps

I'll see if I can get a pic later. The house has no gutters anywhere. The roof on that side slopes along the entire side of the house. I've debated getting gutters, but from other houses with the same layout the spouts don't seem to go out much further than the roof does. Considering running the spouts into some underground drainage tube I have in the yard to prevent flooding during monsoon season.

Being FL we never really open the windows, but I did just to make sure and no issues with windows or doors and no cracking of drywall on that side of the house.

No gutters, in S. Florida?! Where does all the rain water go? Straight into the yard no doubt. Sheesh.

So the structural engineer is going to be able to tell you if the settling you have now is a problem and will it get worse. Plus, he will also be able to tell you why it settled. Was it just the dirt compacting under the foundation or was it poor concrete. Those take very different solutions.

For what it's worth, my house was built in 1964. In 1965 Seattle had a record earthquake. We've had a few more big ones since then. I've got no foundation cracking but the house has definitely settled. My SE corner is down probably 2 inches. We have a nice drop off in the diningroom floor. Feels like you are walking downhill, because you are!

My last house was built in 1931 with an addition put on in the 90s. The 1931 half of the house was solid as a rock. The 1990s section literally broke off and started to sink. It was all in very slow and very small increments. Like a 1/4 inch crack between the two foundation halves appeared one day. We had a structural engineer come out and evaluate. He recommended "mud jacking" where you squirt concrete at high pressure under the foundation to hydraulically lift it.

Bottom line, this stuff happens and it's all fixable. Some of it you can live with and not even worry about. Keep us posted on what the engineer says.

[dreamingat30fps]

Originally Posted by DETRoadster

No gutters, in S. Florida?! Where does all the rain water go? Straight into the yard no doubt. Sheesh.

So the structural engineer is going to be able to tell you if the settling you have now is a problem and will it get worse. Plus, he will also be able to tell you why it settled. Was it just the dirt compacting under the foundation or was it poor concrete. Those take very different solutions.

For what it's worth, my house was built in 1964. In 1965 Seattle had a record earthquake. We've had a few more big ones since then. I've got no foundation cracking but the house has definitely settled. My SE corner is down probably 2 inches. We have a nice drop off in the diningroom floor. Feels like you are walking downhill, because you are!

My last house was built in 1931 with an addition put on in the 90s. The 1931 half of the house was solid as a rock. The 1990s section literally broke off and started to sink. It was all in very slow and very small increments. Like a 1/4 inch crack between the two foundation halves appeared one day. We had a structural engineer come out and evaluate. He recommended "mud jacking" where you squirt concrete at high pressure under the foundation to hydraulically lift it.

Bottom line, this stuff happens and it's all fixable. Some of it you can live with and not even worry about. Keep us posted on what the engineer says.

Thanks I'm going to keep looking for a structural engineer. I was just afraid the whole house would collapse tomorrow, however based on what I've read and what others have told me I should be ok, it doesn't appear to be a super emergency at this point.

The property slopes down where the back yard is higher up and the front yard and driveway more down. When I first bought the house the screened patio in the back yard would get flooded when it would rain for a couple of days straight or when we had really strong rain all day. The water coming down from the patio roof, plus whatever was falling in the yard would accumulate and flood the patio almost reaching up into my sliding glass door. I installed a french drain and also ran the gutters from the patio roof into some corrugated tubing under the french drain and off to the side of the house. When digging out the french drain I noticed the previous owner had the same issue because I found what appeared to be a garbage can buried with a sump pump inside that ran out to some pvc pipe to somewhere in the front yard. It was all destroyed by roots and rot so I removed it all.

However since doing that we really have no issues with rain accumulating anywhere. It just seems to flow out into the front yard/driveway/street. You can see the side of the house and the crack in the pics below.

[DETRoadster]

Oh dang, didn't realize you have stucco. I was thinking it was a foundation crack. I think hairline cracks like that in stucco are pretty normal. But definitely out of my arena of knowledge. Never owned a stucco house.

Personally, I wouldn't bother an engineer over that. I'd just patch that crack and go about my way. Keep an eye on it and worry about it if and only if it reappears after patching.

[lemetier]

Originally Posted by dreamingat30fps

I'm going to keep looking for a structural engineer.

This is the company I use (directly with the Pres) and cannot recommend anyone better in FL.

https://bis-inspections.com

It doesn't look super urgent, but it also has the appearance of being repaired previously. Definitely something you want to have looked at before it becomes a much bigger issue.

[jmg]

Originally Posted by dreamingat30fps

Thanks I'm going to keep looking for a structural engineer. I was just afraid the whole house would collapse tomorrow, however based on what I've read and what others have told me I should be ok, it doesn't appear to be a super emergency at this point.

The property slopes down where the back yard is higher up and the front yard and driveway more down. When I first bought the house the screened patio in the back yard would get flooded when it would rain for a couple of days straight or when we had really strong rain all day. The water coming down from the patio roof, plus whatever was falling in the yard would accumulate and flood the patio almost reaching up into my sliding glass door. I installed a french drain and also ran the gutters from the patio roof into some corrugated tubing under the french drain and off to the side of the house. When digging out the french drain I noticed the previous owner had the same issue because I found what appeared to be a garbage can buried with a sump pump inside that ran out to some pvc pipe to somewhere in the front yard. It was all destroyed by roots and rot so I removed it all.

However since doing that we really have no issues with rain accumulating anywhere. It just seems to flow out into the front yard/driveway/street. You can see the side of the house and the crack in the pics below.

Stucco cracks like that. Houses settle. My parent's house had that 20 years ago and the house is still standing. Get another estimate, an honest contractor might tell you the same: just keep an eye on it, if it gets significantly worse then it's time to look into it further.