Hi. I’ve read a few threads and know you are the ones to ask.
I own a brick house from the 60s with a cinder block foundation. It’s a walkout - first floor to the north and west and the walkout to the south with a slope to the east. On the north side of the house in the basement is a crawl space. It is a poured concrete floor. On one side, the side on the east where the ground slopes to a ravine has a stair step crack in the cinder block walls. You can tell the house has “settled” and from the center of the north side (wheee there is a crack in the brick, to the stair step, things are off by about a brick.
When it rains, we get some water - not terrible - a cup, two cups - on the footer in the crawl space on the north side.
Two foundation companies are suggesting piers. But that won’t fix the water, just the settling.
I’m suggesting fix the water. If we excavate the foundation, water proof the cinder blocks and put in a proper drain tile, the crawl space will stay dry. But I’m also thinking that moving the water out in a drain tile will also help battle against additional settling.
My thought is that while the stair step is a little shocking, that’s old news. The house is 60 years old. We are new owners and there’s no way to know how much had happened and when. Someone caulked up the stair step at some point; the caulk is no longer “closing the crack” - either it failed after 15 years or the house has settled more.
You guys are the best. Thank you for reading this far.
Most homes built on terra firma settle. That is fact.
How much settlement? Was it uniform or differential?
Uniform settlement may be considered normal. The structure of the home is not under adverse uni directional loading.
Differential settlement. Has a section of the homes foundation broken away and settling?
As for soil, slope and bulk and groundwater.
Sounds like a lot slope and perimeter drainage deficiency situation.
Quick fix, sump pit at the area of concern and sump pit drainage. Natural or mechanical.
Best fix.
Retain several quotes to see how many feet of perimeter drainage field requires replacement.
In the video, I didn’t show you a crack inside the crawl space from the stair step in the wall to the area below the sister. The concrete floor of the crawl space has “settled” along with the rest of that corner of the house.
My plan is to dig down to the footer, waterproof the exterior, add a drain in some rock at the footer, and backfill.
The big question is - is it enough to relieve the water pressure to “save the house” or should we consider piers?
I have to take some time to watch the video.
It does not appear to me, the lot slopes to the foundation. There are areas that require corrective measures,
1: Red flag: You have downspouts discharging roof water below grade.That is a big roof. How many square?
I hope others come to the thread.
I will come back later on.
Rob, From your video I see the shallow crawlspace footing, combined with years of poor drainage combined with that garden/mulch bed next to the house as a recipe for settlement. Over the past 40+ years as a structural engineer 95% of all foundation problems are the result of too much water saturating the soil under the footing and/or saturated soil pushing the foundation inward. On rare occasions during an extreme drought the lack of water dries the soil down below the footing causing settlement when the empty voids in the soil collapses. Foundation piers can hold the foundation in place, however the foundation companies want to sell you three times more piers than you need. My advice is start with the low hanging fruit which is reduced soil moisture by improving drainage around the garage foundation by piping as much water away an improving soil slope away from the foundation and replacing the mulch beds with a more impervious material.
Totally agree. Unless there is a plumbing leak or other obvious source of water, your basic first step in remediation of saturated soils in or around the crawlspace is to call in a landscaper to correct any and all stormwater drainage issues.