Home foundation repair - Spreading my lesson

[Escape08]

I just want to spread this around. I have some minor cracks on the brick side of my house. 2 of different companies I called came in and did inspections and measurements. Both said I needed a repair work. Today, a guy who owns a foundation repair came in, looked at the cracks on the bricks and said, "Nah, you don't need a foundation repair". "That is what you called MOVEMENT of the house." He brought some high tech equipments with him ( the 2 previous inspectors didn't have) and he didn't used it all. But instead, he used an I-Beam level tool (placed it by the window) and told me "look... your house is level (level bubble indicator is on the middle) to the ground". He recommended to buy a Garden Soaker Hose and place it on the ground besides the home foundation during dry months of summer. He gave me his calling card and left.
My lesson I want to spread out., Don't get FOOLED by others in draining your wallet.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

I just want to spread this around. I have some minor cracks on the brick side of my house. 2 of different companies I called came in and did inspections and measurements. Both said I needed a repair work. Today, a guy who owns a foundation repair came in, looked at the cracks on the bricks and said, "Nah, you don't need a foundation repair". "That is what you called MOVEMENT of the house." He brought some high tech equipments with him ( the 2 previous inspectors didn't have) and he didn't used it all. But instead, he used an I-Beam level tool (placed it by the window) and told me "look... your house is level (level bubble indicator is on the middle) to the ground". He recommended to buy a Garden Soaker Hose and place it on the ground besides the home foundation during dry months of summer. He gave me his calling card and left.
My lesson I want to spread out., Don't get FOOLED by others in draining your wallet.

The joy of living on expansive clay soils. Unlike the wetter summers in the northern midwest which also have similar soils the hot/dry summers in Texas cause the ground to contract which allows some movement of the house. The soaker solution will keep the soil moist and prevent it from contracting.

 

[tmorris1]

We had a severe drought maybe 10 years ago that caused a lot of foundation cracking and footing damage. That was the first I heard of the soaker hose method to prevent cracking and shift. I would say the guys knows his stuff.

 

[Lubener]

I believe you. Sometimes I have wetted down the soil at my house during extended dry periods. When that is the case, you should see a gap between your foundation and the ground which pulls away. However, in many cases settling occurs when footer tiles either cave in or fill up with dirt and do not direct the water out towards the storm sewer via a sump pump. I don't know your construction but don't get over confident.

 

[Fitter30]

Want to see if a foundation wall moves or a crack. Kids caulk 3/8" round x4" " with liquid nails and glue it over the crack. Basement wall glue caulk to floor joust hanging down over edge of wall. Caulk breaks crack or wall moved.

 

[ecotourist]

One of our neighbours (in a past neighbourhood) suggested "watering our foundation" one dry summer. I thought he was joking but it's a real thing. Prevents a clay soil from pulling away from the foundation.

 

[Number_35]

The general rule here, where 85% of concrete basements are said to have at least some cracking, is that vertical cracks are not too bad but horizontal cracks are serious.

A few years ago we had a very dry span of about a year and a half in which dry clay soil shrank, resulting in a lot of basement problems.

 

[ecotourist]

The general rule here, where 85% of concrete basements are said to have at least some cracking, is that vertical cracks are not too bad but horizontal cracks are serious.

A few years ago we had a very dry span of about a year and a half in which dry clay soil shrank, resulting in a lot of basement problems.

Our experience with "watering the foundation" was in Winnipeg.

We looked at a lot of older homes in Winnipeg and most (maybe all) had cracks in the basement. Seems they're normal there. Home inspectors there seemed to be used to them; our lovely house in Winnipeg (which had cracks in the basement) got a clean bill of health from the home inspector.

In Edmonton on the other hand, basements don't have cracks. A home inspector would red flag them. Edmonton has a sandy soil. Winnipeg has a clay soil.

 

[Number_35]

Our experience with "watering the foundation" was in Winnipeg.

We looked at a lot of older homes in Winnipeg and most (maybe all) had cracks in the basement. Seems they're normal there. Home inspectors there seemed to be used to them; our lovely house in Winnipeg (which had cracks in the basement) got a clean bill of health from the home inspector.

In Edmonton on the other hand, basements don't have cracks. A home inspector would red flag them. Edmonton has a sandy soil. Winnipeg has a clay soil.

Was your home in River Heights? That area is particularly bad for foundation problems.

What part of Edmonton were you in? I lived there for four years as a teen.

 

[ecotourist]

Was your home in River Heights? That area is particularly bad for foundation problems.

What part of Edmonton were you in? I lived there for four years as a teen.

Yes to River Heights. Nice neighbourhood, lovely houses.

We lived in 3 different areas of Edmonton. Our first place was a basement apartment in Glenora. Our first house there, in old Riverbend, was built in about 1969. Our second house, in new Riverbend, was built in 1998.

 

[Number_35]

Yes to River Heights. Nice neighbourhood, lovely houses.

We lived in 3 different areas of Edmonton. Our first place was a basement apartment in Glenora. Our first house there, in old Riverbend, was built in about 1969. Our second house, in new Riverbend, was built in 1998.

Four years in Grandview Heights for us. My parents rented for a year, and then bought in the same area.

My wife's parents moved the family from New Zealand and settled in north River Heights in a big 1920s home with a rubblestone foundation.

 

[tnt_motorsports]

IMO the moral of this story is to get more than 1 opinion.

We had a front porch issue a couple years ago that a contractor tried to convince me was “sinking.” After questioning him and showing him some key points he purposefully overlooked I said thank you for your time. They wanted $75k to pillar the foundation. Turned out $2,000 of mud jacking fixed the issue.

Just my $0.02