Foundation Advice

Hi,

I have a 15 y.o. ranch house built on a slab in Indianapolis. The slab has concrete blocks around it which the frame of the house rests on. The exterior is vinyl siding except for a small section in front that is brick.

Outside
None of the blocks around the house are cracked but almost every joint between the blocks is cracked. Some are very small hair sized cracks but some the mortar has completely fallen out. None of the closest 15 houses around me have this problem.

Inside
There are three rooms where there is a gap of about 1/2 inch between the slab and drywall of the wall that is on the outside of the house. A mildew smell and occasionally bugs come from these gaps.

I am going to hire someone to come out but I have a few questions if you don’t mind?

  1. Can any home inspector look at the problem?
  2. About how much will it be?
  3. Can I put something in the gap between slab an drywall to stop the mildew smell?

Thanks,
Doug

Sorry no one responded to you sooner, Doug. Do you happen to have any photos you could post?

Doug,
We need detail photos to help you out and provide some meaningful information.

Get an experienced foundation repair contractor to come out and look at it for free. Not a neutral third party, but you can usually tell by the explanation if he’s trying to take you for a ride. This could be something as inconsequential as mortar applied during cold weather. I’d worry more with visible cracking or displacement of blocks (CMU).
The gaps/musty smell/bugs could have a variety of causes. The gap may be the result of poor building practice, inadequate compaction after original construction, or soil subsidence for some other reason. Source of moisture may be snow/rain infiltration of the vinyl siding. A good inspector might be able to identify. Cost would vary with inspector to examine just that condition.