Foundation leveling

[oldag]

Slab is intact, but tilting toward one corner of the house. A few inches low compared to the other corner.

Not causing any significant issues.

I am trying to decide if this is worth the $25k + to have the foundation leveled. Would have to replace the tile in some rooms where they would go through the foundation to install piers. That would probably add another $3-5K.

Plus they will probably hit the sprinkler system at in at least one or two places, for which they are not liable.

Thoughts?

Repair or let it be?

 

[Brains]

The couple times I've had it done, they didn't need to go through the slab. They dug under the perimeter beam and used bottle jacks. But, I was only out by an inch and a half center to edge, and wanted to prevent bigger more expensive problems down the road. Any house I consider buying I pay an inspector to map the slab for the same reason.

Personally, if it were my house, I likely wouldn't leave it. It's not going to get better on its own, and eventually the slab could fail costing you a whole lot more and potentially introducing a host of other problems. Water incursion through the crack, plumbing breaks, pest problems, etc. If it fails, and you want to sell, that's also going to be tough.

$25k sounds like you either have a pretty bad problem, or you've got an expensive company. The procedure isn't terribly complex, they put a water level around and map the slab, and then dig holes around the perimeter in the low spots. They jack up the house and use its weight to drive concrete cylinders into the ground until they provide enough resistance to support the structure. Then drive some wedges between the piers and the slab to achieve level, fill back in the holes, and off they go. The last time I did it the company charged me a flat labor charge, plus some dollar amount per pier. Came out to like 5 grand.

 

[Ozzman]

If this is your house, and you plan on living there for more than 5 years I recommend you repair it ASAP.
You will see progression in deformation during each rain and after each dry spell.

$25k sounds like a lot, but it is much less than having to buy a new house these days. As you said, the slab is still intact but once you get foundation failures and 45-degree cracks that price jumps up pretty quickly.

 

[oldag]

The couple times I've had it done, they didn't need to go through the slab. They dug under the perimeter beam and used bottle jacks. But, I was only out by an inch and a half center to edge, and wanted to prevent bigger more expensive problems down the road. Any house I consider buying I pay an inspector to map the slab for the same reason.

Personally, if it were my house, I likely wouldn't leave it. It's not going to get better on its own, and eventually the slab could fail costing you a whole lot more and potentially introducing a host of other problems. Water incursion through the crack, plumbing breaks, pest problems, etc. If it fails, and you want to sell, that's also going to be tough.

$25k sounds like you either have a pretty bad problem, or you've got an expensive company. The procedure isn't terribly complex, they put a water level around and map the slab, and then dig holes around the perimeter in the low spots. They jack up the house and use its weight to drive concrete cylinders into the ground until they provide enough resistance to support the structure. Then drive some wedges between the piers and the slab to achieve level, fill back in the holes, and off they go. The last time I did it the company charged me a flat labor charge, plus some dollar amount per pier. Came out to like 5 grand.

Piers on the interior will be needed.

Price is about the same for other reputable companies. There are some cheaper fly by nights, but I am not going that route.

 

[oldag]

If this is your house, and you plan on living there for more than 5 years I recommend you repair it ASAP.
You will see progression in deformation during each rain and after each dry spell.

$25k sounds like a lot, but it is much less than having to buy a new house these days. As you said, the slab is still intact but once you get foundation failures and 45-degree cracks that price jumps up pretty quickly.

Some good points.

This occurred during the great drought, and I have not seen any signs of additional movement since. But you never know.

 

[Ozzman]

Piers on the interior will be needed.

Price is about the same for other reputable companies. There are some cheaper fly by nights, but I am not going that route.

Hopefully, that is it. Sounds like soil heaving and uneven settling are causing your issue.
You may have to replace some of the clays around the foundation and/or lime-treat it.

Electing to not fix it may interfere with plumbing and sewer lines over time. Thankfully, it has not.

 

[mongoose]

Is your slab post tension, conventional SOG with rebar or wire mesh? I've seen Brains method used and I have used bottle jacks (scarified the jacks) poured spot footing unround them and then bored holes in the slab and pumped in concrete to fill any voids. If the company is pouring piers, where are the beams to support the slab. I would also get a soils report of your building lot to see if you are dealing with a soils problem. If the soil is settled as much as it's going to, some slabs are designed to " float ". If you have not had any major cracking of sheetrock or concrete, you may be OK.

 

[mongoose]

Piers on the interior will be needed.

Price is about the same for other reputable companies. There are some cheaper fly by nights, but I am not going that route.

Again, how are piers alone going to support the slab? How long do they warranty their work?

 

[Sam7sf]

Thoughts?

Pound some beers

 

[oldag]

Again, how are piers alone going to support the slab? How long do they warranty their work?

Lifetime. Forty piers.

Piers are driven into the soil.

 

[oldag]

Hopefully, that is it. Sounds like soil heaving and uneven settling are causing your issue.
You may have to replace some of the clays around the foundation and/or lime-treat it.

Electing to not fix it may interfere with plumbing and sewer lines over time. Thankfully, it has not.

No heaving, just settling.

Am somewhat worried that raising the foundation may cause piping issues. Everything works now.

 

[Axxe55]

No heaving, just settling.

Am somewhat worried that raising the foundation may cause piping issues. Everything works now.

CHECK THE COMPANIES REFERENCES AN PRIOR JOBS AND CUSTOMERS MOST SLAB FOUNDATIONS HAVEPLUMBING THAT RUN THROUGH OR UNDER THE FOUNDATION

 

[mongoose]

Lifetime. Forty piers.

Piers are driven into the soil.

Good warranty if it is a good company. I still dont understand what the piers are spanning in order to support the slab. Piers are generally poured to support beams which intern support a structure.

 

[OutlawStar]

40 piers is A LOT of piers for a foundation repair especially if its only down in one corner. That sounds like the entire house is getting piers/jacks. My understanding is just the lowered corner gets the piers, so I'm a little confused on that scope. But whole house pier leveling with 40 piers is about right for $25k. Most homeowners I talk to get repairs of a handful of jacks in the lowered area (determined by a manometer survey) in the neighborhood of $4k to $15k depending on what is needed for leveling.

Make sure its a lifetime transferrable warranty should you ever decide to sell the house. That is a decent selling point for anyone in TX. Additionally, most foundation repair companies that I have talked to state you MUST do a leak detection on both the supply lines and the drain lines to obtain the lifetime warranty since pipes often break when the foundation is shifted that quickly (repaired over a day versus 10 years of slow movement).

If you do go through with the foundation leveling, wait 6 months to a year before repairing tile, drywall, whatever else that indicates you have damages. I've seen some houses get repaired, tile replaced, then 6 months later as the house re-settles the tile cracks again. Usually repairable but no sense in re-doing the floors only to repair them shortly after. Also remember to buy a few boxes extra of tile for spot repairs, you never know when accidents happen and tile doesn't go bad sitting in your attic.

Out of curiosity, where in TX are you, and how old is the house?

 

[popper]

Mine ran about 1K$per peir, 12 of them in the front of the house - 1-12 yrs ago. Many companies provide lifetime warrenty but don't stay in business long.