We are having some foundation issues with our house and have received 1 quote so far on the cost to fix it. First some background.

Our house was built in 1959 it is one story with a basement, 2130 sq ft. We bought the house 5 years ago, had it inspected and the only problems we were quoted were the roof needed replacing, a Radon pump needed to be installed and insulation needed to be added. Everything else was really minor. The basement is all underground and partially finished. We have 2 sump pumps in the basement one on each end of the basement ( north and south).

Now we have a big crack running from floor to ceiling and across the top of the wall (where ceiling and wall connect) on the north side of our house. Water does leak in through this crack. The rest of the house does have cracks at most of the doorways running vertically to the ceiling. Some doors will not stay shut ( south end), some stick ( north end).

The company we called said the house was settling on all four sides and we would need 19 pylons (?) places all around the house. Our front porch would have to be torn up to do this. As for the inside, they said we need a trench that runs along the walls to divert water to a new sump pump and out of the house. We would have to tear out the drywall ourselves and they would put up a new”Zenwall”- a thermal drywall that would keep water running into the trench if it get into the house.

He says our sump pumps are not working effectively, and this is causing our Radon pump to not work effectively- it is apparently spending its time pumping water out.

The quote he gave us was $38,000.00. This is just not something we can afford.

What is your opinion on what the contractor said? and what should we really be focusing on?

Thanks,
Joie

When you call a contractor, most contractors will want to recommend only that which they know how to do. They also want to come in only once, do a job, get paid, and go away and never come back, so many will use overkill as insurance, with you paying the premium. I'm not saying your contractor falls into one or both categories, but I'm not saying he isn't, either.

A better approach would be to consult a qualified design professional, who will have no vested interest in one solution over another, and who will be in a position to recommend solutions to you, prepare detailed specifications and maybe drawings, and help you obtain competitive bids from contractors, and then act on your behalf during construction.

Someone needs to see the whole picture, and be aware of weather patterns and soil conditions in your area, to first diagnose the cause of your problems before recommending any solution.

Your house presumably stood with no problems for almost 50 years. Why would it suddenly decide to settle? And why on all four sides? Do you see any cracks in the basement walls? You don't make it clear where the cracks and door issues are located. How do you know there is a high water table? Questions such as these are what a professional would ask, and many others, in gathering the information which might point toward a solution.

You need a professional first, then a contractor, who will be obligated to do what the professional specifies, no more and no less. Whatever you pay a professional will be more than saved in construction costs.

THanks for your response Richard,

I do fail to mention where the large crack is located. It is in our basement along the north wall.

The cracks above doors are all on the main floor level.

As for a design professional- I can honestly admit that I am not sure what you mean- I am new at this stuff, and my husband knows even less than I do about it all. If I were to open the yellow pages in the phone book, what catagory would I look in. For the foundation I just looked up foundation repair.

Probably a structural engineer would be best, or an architect competent in structures.

I ask again, how do you know you have a high water table?

Is the north wall a long or short foundation wall? How long has it been cracked? You should be monitoring the crack, by marking a spot on each side of the carck and measuring the width of the crack periodically, at least monthly. Is the crack the same width from bottom to top, or does it get wider at one end or the other? Are there any other cracks?

I don't know anything about a high water table- I don't recall mentioning that.

The wall with the major crack is a full wall, concrete, with drywall over it.

As for the crack, it starts small then widens as it heads towards the ceiling, about 1/2 inch at its widest. The crack was hairline up intil the winter hit, then it increased pretty rapidly. It looks like the crack probably started before we bought the house and they patched it, the area where the crack begins- near the baseboard- seems to have an extra layer of stuff on it.

As for other basement cracks, upon further inspection ther is one one in the middle of the east wall. It it looks like the ceiling is seperating from the north and east walls in the basement. The rest of the basement is pretty crack free except the little ones above the doorways.

I took some pictures last night to post but won't be able to add them until this evening.

Columbia MO typically doesn't have a high water table in most areas. The soils are very expansive and causes a lot of shifting. I would wonder why you needed a whole new basement drainage system, but I know who this contractor is based on the "Zenwall" reference, and this particular company is a nationwide waterproofer with some structural knowledge.

Our company has an office in Columbia, we are a structural repair and waterproofing company. I would be inclined to know a little more about the situation. We may be able to help and without throwing the entire "package" at you of what you probably don't need. You may visit our website at www.3dstructural.com, or feel free to send pictures directly to my email at dales@3dstructuralsolutions.com if that will help also.