I have an addition that was added on to my house (prior to purchase 3 years ago is all I know) It seems to be settling away from my house. Cracked dry wall and ceiling as well as pulling away from the roof. Anybody ever had something similar happen, if so who did you use to correct it and how much did it cost?
Settling foundation
- Thread starter cybychoice
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It's possibly going to cost a lot and it's going to be a mess. I have a friend who is in a similar situation. He has one corner of his house that's dipping. He's in the construction business and his estimates are all coming in around $15,000. The only way to solve the problem, at least for him, is to dig in under the foundation and drive pilings down until you hit rock. Then, they'll jack the house up from there to bring it back to it's original position.
I hope this isn't the case for you, but I've seen a couple situations similar to this and each one ended with this solution.
I hope this isn't the case for you, but I've seen a couple situations similar to this and each one ended with this solution.
As useful as CF is, I don't know that you'll get much help here as the amount of work needed and the estimates could be very different. It could be $2,000, it could be $20,000.
Get a couple of company names (which you can get from here) and start ringing some phones.
Get a couple of company names (which you can get from here) and start ringing some phones.
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You want a foundation company or a company specializing in foundation repair. Pretty sure my in-laws used this company: https://anchoredwalls.com/about
Thanks for the responses, I have midwest basement systems coming in 2 weeks to take a look. Hoping since its only the addition and not the whole house that it runs on the cheaper side and not the 15/20k side.
We ended up going with Iowa Foundation Repair over Anchored Walls and Midwest Basement Systems. It wasn't for a settling Foundation though, more of a bowing cinder block wall. I remember midwest Basement Systems wanting to put piers down to bedrock like someone else suggested, but that wouldn't have fixed our problem. If I remember correctly, they also wouldn't quote an exact price because they didn't know how far down bedrock was.
I had a really good experience working with Iowa Foundation Repair. They ended up putting 7 anchors in our walls. We also used them to mudjack up an attached shed a previous owner affixed to the house.
I had a really good experience working with Iowa Foundation Repair. They ended up putting 7 anchors in our walls. We also used them to mudjack up an attached shed a previous owner affixed to the house.
There is something called mudjacking that is suppose to work in this situation. It sounds like the OP has found someone to look at it.
Was a building permit obtained for the addition, or was it "pirated"? Located in a fairly new subdivision, or out on a residential estate or whatever? Would the possible cause of the settling seem somewhat obvious if you knew what to look for, or is it not readily apparent?
It would be wise to determine what the problem is, before throwing solutions at it. It would be rare for it to be necessary to drill down to bedrock for a single-family house in Iowa, although in the southerly half of Iowa bedrock will be encountered by standard construction, NOT a great situation since lots of it is expansive shale.
Start with the City, and from there it might be wise to have the situation investigated by a professional soils engineer, someone like Allender Butzke, http://abengineers.com .
According to your post you're located in Ankeny, and if it was permitted and inspections were requested, the City would have at least looked at the foundation excavation/pour. First and foremost, that it's below frost depth. One might think that frost can't move a house addition, but it can and will raise it in the winter and settle back down in the summer. It's not a straight up and down process, and the addition will gradually separate from the house to some degree. Expansive shale does the same thing, but via wetting and drying. I'd not think that you'd encounter shale in Ankeny, but MAYBE, not knowing exactly where your house is.
Secondly, there're assumptions made about typical soil bearing capacity, and there are "standard" foundations constructed for the typical soil conditions. If your conditions are atypical, the "standard" foundation design/construction wouldn't have been appropriate. If it's a new subdivision, everything within your lot probably was controlled grading BUT that my have only been done for the anticipated footprint of the house, and not for where the addition is located. That could result in different soil bearing capacities.
If the prior owner/their contractor just dumped fill to build up the location for the addition (hard to compact it properly next to a basement without caving in the basement), that fill is probably being compacted now by the weight of the addition, causing the addition to settle.
If your lot slopes, the area of the addition could be sliding due to the addition's weight, whether because they created a level spot for the addition via fill that's lot integral to the original soil, or because the foundation didn't go deep enough to be below the slope's "angle of repose".
Lots of Ankeny is wet, originally wetlands prior to farming, high organic content that could compact under the weight of the addition, maybe "dewatering" the soil will stop or at least slow the settling.
That's long enough to tell you that there are lots of potential causes for your apparent problem, and correspondingly lots of correct and incorrect solutions. Start with the City, then depending on what you find out, probably retain a professional soils engineer, so you only spend money once, on a real solution.
Can you tell if it is still settling or if it has stopped? My house has an addition that has clearly settled, but I've been watching it and trying to improve the drainage, and it hasn't done in anything in the 5 years I've lived there. I expect potential buyers to be concerned about it, but will cross that bridge when it comes to it.
^ This. Starting with the city to see if plans were submitted and permit issued is a good plan. If it was inspected you can at least know it was to frost depth and maybe they will have information related to assumptions on the soil in the approval. Than see your geotechnical engineer, better 2nd step than going to a "repair" company.
Would be interesting to do some soil probes and compare the soil from the main house to the addition. I used the hand probe from the geotech guys at work to obtain some samples before I went to building my big addition. Addition soil samples were pretty consistent with the original structure that hadn't budged since 1960 so we didn't anticipate any issues or do any lab testing. Used the geotech and structural guys down the hall for free consultations more than once but also hired a structural engineer for the plans....lots of post and beam spans and cathedral ceilings that were not the typical stud wall generic framing designs.
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Just don't let Fran McCaffery work on the foundation, it will be close to a decade and you'll still be dealing with major cracks.
So its a 10 ft x 14ft addition that sits on concrete block. The rest of the house is poured foundation. The back yard does slope, but its pretty gradual. I think the biggest problem is there is a downspout thats right in the area where the cracking is, that I have no idea where it discharges. It goes down into/under the deck, and I have never seen the discharge area. I may be pulling some boards off the underside of the deck and trying to see whats under there. I have no faith that anything was built properly in this house with all the nasty surprises I am finding while gradually remodeling.
To backtrack a little, cracked drywall and ceiling joints aren't necessarily indicative of structural issues. Pulling away from the house is much more indicative, and I assumed that the drywall/ceiling cracking is happening where addition joins the original house, and therefore the cracking "goes together." with the pulling away.
If the cracking is happening in a number of locations it could just be a poor drywall job, OR lumber that wasn't completely dry at the time of construction and that moved some as it did dry.
When lots of construction is occurring, or "restarting" after a time like the Great Recession, the lumber that the suppliers get often isn't as dry as it really should be even though it complies with specs. The drywall ends up holding the lumber in place as it dries and everything turns out mostly OK, but some shifting can occur and that can be enough to crack the joints and maybe cause doors/windows to go a bit "out of square". OR, the joints might not have been finished well (maybe a do-it-yourself job to save some $, not the least bit fun and a do-it-yourself'er might not do it correctly or put in enough effort), and they may crack later. If the cracking is kinda happening everywhere, that may be what's happening and if so the cracks would mostly cosmetic issues, spackle/redo joints, texture as needed and repaint.
BUT, the addition pulling away from the house, with the cracking at the joint between the house and addition, that's indicative of a structural concern.
A poured foundation is usually better, and about the only way to construct a basement with 9 or 10-foot walls as has been common for quite a while, but using of block doesn't itself make the addition's foundation inadequate. Block kinda suggests the addition may have been built by a small contractor or the former owner, poured foundation pretty much has to be done by a foundation contractor whereas block CAN be done by someone who is "handy" but not maybe not as knowledgeable as they perhaps should be. Which can result in "we always do it this way" when that's not appropriate for the conditions, OR building a footing that looks good enough but is simply too narrow or shallow for any and all conditions, such as less than frost-depth . Again, footings and foundations aren't fun. A footing that is too narrow, whether for special conditions or nearly anywhere, will put too much pressure on the soil and cause it to compress, thereby causing the addition to settle. Getting below frost depth requires more rows of block. Foundation too shallow, footing too narrow, those are not cheap and easy to rectify.
A roof drain that outlets too close to the house/addition definitely isn't helpful, and can affect soil bearing capacity, but unfortunately rerouting the drainage probably isn't the complete solution. Certainly would be good to do, but.
But again, contact the City and find out if the addition was permitted, and what other information they can provide. Good news or bad, you need to know that first, and go from there.
Hope that helps, killed lots more electrons in that post.
If the cracking is happening in a number of locations it could just be a poor drywall job, OR lumber that wasn't completely dry at the time of construction and that moved some as it did dry.
When lots of construction is occurring, or "restarting" after a time like the Great Recession, the lumber that the suppliers get often isn't as dry as it really should be even though it complies with specs. The drywall ends up holding the lumber in place as it dries and everything turns out mostly OK, but some shifting can occur and that can be enough to crack the joints and maybe cause doors/windows to go a bit "out of square". OR, the joints might not have been finished well (maybe a do-it-yourself job to save some $, not the least bit fun and a do-it-yourself'er might not do it correctly or put in enough effort), and they may crack later. If the cracking is kinda happening everywhere, that may be what's happening and if so the cracks would mostly cosmetic issues, spackle/redo joints, texture as needed and repaint.
BUT, the addition pulling away from the house, with the cracking at the joint between the house and addition, that's indicative of a structural concern.
A poured foundation is usually better, and about the only way to construct a basement with 9 or 10-foot walls as has been common for quite a while, but using of block doesn't itself make the addition's foundation inadequate. Block kinda suggests the addition may have been built by a small contractor or the former owner, poured foundation pretty much has to be done by a foundation contractor whereas block CAN be done by someone who is "handy" but not maybe not as knowledgeable as they perhaps should be. Which can result in "we always do it this way" when that's not appropriate for the conditions, OR building a footing that looks good enough but is simply too narrow or shallow for any and all conditions, such as less than frost-depth . Again, footings and foundations aren't fun. A footing that is too narrow, whether for special conditions or nearly anywhere, will put too much pressure on the soil and cause it to compress, thereby causing the addition to settle. Getting below frost depth requires more rows of block. Foundation too shallow, footing too narrow, those are not cheap and easy to rectify.
A roof drain that outlets too close to the house/addition definitely isn't helpful, and can affect soil bearing capacity, but unfortunately rerouting the drainage probably isn't the complete solution. Certainly would be good to do, but.
But again, contact the City and find out if the addition was permitted, and what other information they can provide. Good news or bad, you need to know that first, and go from there.
Hope that helps, killed lots more electrons in that post.
Mud jacking can work great, however be absolutely sure that any movement/settlement has stopped. If not mud jacking or any injection type grout will cause a rapid increase in soil pore water pressure and can actually increase the settlement dramatically.
Also underpinning a foundation with helical or push piles don’t necessarily need to be at bedrock. Helical piers (screw anchors) develop torque and can support foundation bearing weight. Push piles can develop bearing strength based upon the underlying soil. As many other have noted geotechnical information is extremely important.
Finally you can lift a foundation back into place. Not always easy nor does it work out well in all attempts. Remember it may be easier to stop the movement and secure the foundation first and not lift. A structure when moving will take a new shape, pushing it back can and will cause other damage.
For reference I did a bit of foundation underpinning and heavy foundation work in an earlier life.
Also underpinning a foundation with helical or push piles don’t necessarily need to be at bedrock. Helical piers (screw anchors) develop torque and can support foundation bearing weight. Push piles can develop bearing strength based upon the underlying soil. As many other have noted geotechnical information is extremely important.
Finally you can lift a foundation back into place. Not always easy nor does it work out well in all attempts. Remember it may be easier to stop the movement and secure the foundation first and not lift. A structure when moving will take a new shape, pushing it back can and will cause other damage.
For reference I did a bit of foundation underpinning and heavy foundation work in an earlier life.
Sorry for bumping an old thread, but I found your comment by searching the forums a few months back and gave Iowa Foundation Repair a call. They did such a good job that I wanted to second your post above in case anyone else finds this later. We also picked them over Anchored Walls and Midwest Basement Systems.
When they got here I think the task was a lot more complicated than they originally thought and they probably ended up losing money on the deal, but not once did they take a shortcut and they didn't ask for more money at the end.
The brothers Todd and Brett were great guys to work with and I would highly recommend them.
I've been looking at a house to buy but some foundation settling and other signs they skimped on original quality have me waiting. A full PC basement with ~9 walls and a deck off the back. The deck is only about 6' wide but has clearly settled with the outside like 1-2' lower than the house. Not a big deal by itself. However, a vaulted ceiling inside has a clear settling crack and some others around the doors. Then I noticed a larger crack in the floor along the wall near that deck. It has a drain nearby but the wall settled enough that it would drain away from the drain. A wall anchor certainly isn't going to fix the problem because it's either going down or away from the structure.
I see this is an old thread that was revived, but somewhat related to issue my HOA is dealing with at the moment. Learn from our experience.
In dealing with a townhome unit that is having several noticeable settling issues (basement floor, walls, garage floor) we are learning one VERY important lesson --- If you are having settling issues such as many described on this thread, bring in a structural engineer to access the problem and recommend fixes.
**Do NOT rely solely on an "expert" who has a financial interest in solving the problem(s). ***
In our situation, the unit owner brought in one of the companies mentioned on this thread. They recommended a series of corrections that would have cost in the neighborhood of $15,000 - $20,000.
The HOA paid for a structural engineer to come in and evaluate and recommend. Their subsequent evaluation and report basically negated almost every single recommendation made by the basement repair company both on the grounds that the company's proposed fixes in some cases were for things that are just normal settling (no concerns) and others for simply recommending fixes that were not most effective or cost efficient way to address the issues.
It was a real eye opener.
In dealing with a townhome unit that is having several noticeable settling issues (basement floor, walls, garage floor) we are learning one VERY important lesson --- If you are having settling issues such as many described on this thread, bring in a structural engineer to access the problem and recommend fixes.
**Do NOT rely solely on an "expert" who has a financial interest in solving the problem(s). ***
In our situation, the unit owner brought in one of the companies mentioned on this thread. They recommended a series of corrections that would have cost in the neighborhood of $15,000 - $20,000.
The HOA paid for a structural engineer to come in and evaluate and recommend. Their subsequent evaluation and report basically negated almost every single recommendation made by the basement repair company both on the grounds that the company's proposed fixes in some cases were for things that are just normal settling (no concerns) and others for simply recommending fixes that were not most effective or cost efficient way to address the issues.
It was a real eye opener.
