Sloped house...foundation issue?

[mfstructural]

Hey everyone,
I looked at a house the other day to determine the condition of the residence and foundation. The floors of the house were sloped from front to back about 2 degrees. Walking around, I could actually feel the slope. It was a split level type house, and you could see the ceilings sloping with respect to the door casings in the basement. The interior finishings of the house appeared to be old, wood paneling and the such, most likely at least 20 years old. There were no cracks or separations at the interior of the house. This leads me to believe that the house most likely settled a while back and has not moved much since.

There was also an interesting buttress type of foundation at the exterior corner that was lower than the front of the house. This particular corner seemed to be the lowest corner in the house even though the entire rear foundation wall had settled. There were some cracks in the side foundation walls, presumably from the bending stresses imparted on them as the rear of the house settled. there was paint within the cracks also leading me to believe the cracks had been there sometime. Maybe these were poured in an effort to reduce settlement?

I'm trying to determine the cause and safety concerns with the house. It is definitely sloping and it is very noticeable when walking around. You are kind of "pulled" to the rear as a result of the slope. The fact that I didn't see any new separations and all the gypsum board junctions were clean was an indication that the settlement was not recent. That being said, the house was recently purchased by the homeowner back in January and there may have been repairs performed right before the sale. Another thing I should mention is that the gutters discharged adjacent to the house, so water could pool against the foundation, causing possible settlement. it's also unknown what the subgrade is (maybe it was over excavated and improperly compacted).

I don't think the house is a life safety hazard or about to collapse, but it is a serviceability issue. I'm not really sure what to say about it, it's sloping. As far as repairs how would one repair something like this? You would have to jack up the entire rear foundation uniformly right? Also, in your experience what's the cost of that?

I included some pictures:

This is the only stress crack in the house

Foundation reinforcing

 

[civeng80]

Yes I have seen something like this and its actually a house used by a Lawyer who has been practicing in there for close to 40 years. Settlement slope is very noticeable as are cracks. I always wonder if it will one day just fall down (just hope I'm not in there when it does). I think a good geotech would be the person to ask advice on this one.

 

[dragstrut]

An old house, with a sloping floor. could it be the foundation? bad original framing? bad install of flooring?

has the house stood fine for the last 100 years (past proven performance)? if so, does it mean that there aren't serious issues present?

Are the owners going to allow you to remove all of the finishes to have a real look at the structure? no? but they still expect your $300 visit to include some sort of a letter, right?

these visits are usually a waste of time for everyone involved.

 

[mfstructural]

dragstrut that's exactly the issue...everything is covered so you can't be certain about the condition of the structure. And yes they want a letter talking about the condition, which in this case is filled with a lot of presumptions, "ifs", and disclaimers. It looks like it's been stable for a while but I still don't know what's going on underneath, especially the condition of the soils.

 

[Jerehmy]

I would mention something about monitoring the conditions. It's not going to fail overnight. Come back at 6 months or a year and see if the conditions have changed. Or leave it up to the homeowner to monitor the conditions. It probably hasn't moved in years but that's the only way to know for sure.

 

[JStructsteel]

"My inspection was limited to what I could see, without any removal of finishes or destructive testing"

Standard note for alot of inspections I do.

 

[SlideRuleEra]

Another thing I should mention is that the gutters discharged adjacent to the house, so water could pool against the foundation, causing possible settlement.

Reading your post, that sentence really caught my attention. IMHO, non-uniform soil moisture is the root cause of a large proportion of shallow foundation differential settlement. I would get elevations of the ground around and near the house. Would not be surprised if surface drainage causes soil at the rear of the house to alternate between wet and dry.

http://www.SlideRuleEra.net

http://www.VacuumTubeEra.net

 

[dragstrut]

They want a letter, not to lock away in a box somewhere, but to use. How they use it, impossible to know. Insurance? Lawsuit? Bargaining chip?

Either way, big decisions will revolve around whatever paper you give to them - disclaimers or not. If something isn't what you guess it is, you are still held to your presumably educated, informed opinion.

I hate it when I get called out "for a look at something" and it turns out like this. You want to charge your 300$, but nobody wants to pay you without being given something to read. How can you write a letter about the condition of the structure without seeing anything?

The line I always use is "A dentist won't give you an opinion on the state of your teeth if you refuse to open your mouth for him to have a look"

 

[oldestguy]

Any trees outside? Is the ground likely to be clay? If so, trees take water and the ground shrinks. Sometimes in cycles. The cracks may be new after old ones were covered over and then repaint the walls. How old is that paint job?

As to a letter, I'd say the only way to give some useful information you have to have at least a year to observe things. You will have to use reference marks at the cracks to measure width and displacements periodically. Draw a short line across the crack and place marks on it 2 inches apart for reference. I'd also want to know at least a general idea of soil condition,ground water changes, etc. How about any trees?

Floor elevations periodically are also needed, even if carpeted. You can do this on the main floor rather easily. Take a garden hose, attach fittings on each end to which you attach clear plastic hose about 2 feet long. Fill the hose with water and remove all air, checking it by placing ends side by side to see equal elevation. With two yard sticks, hopefully in feet and inches or other convenient designation. Hold one yard stick at the bench mark and go about the house, mapping it, by recording both yard stick readings of water elev, above the floor, the difference being elev. diff. For carpets secure a spike to the one stick to penetrate thru to the wood, remembering the length increase due to nail.

There may be other things to measure from time to time, such as foundation cracks. Use the marks across the crack there also. That buttress might just be some handimay's idea of fixing things.

These records would be vry useful if the owner some day wants to sell. Right now I'd not give any good news.