Hello, the downstairs slab of my 1985 house is sinking diagonaly. It has sunk 2~3 inches, doors in that area don't come close to shutting and the frames are starting to twist. The inner walls are floating and the upstairs walls are cracking bad in a few places (1 inch gaps). Is it common to get my insurrance company involved? What can I expect? Any help appreciated

It would help to know what state you are in if you are the first owner of the house.

I'm in Colorado. We aren't the first owner though. We purchased the home in the summer of 2005

Why was I going to guess "Colorado"? It sounds like an expansive soil problem (or actually expansive soil contracting)...has it been unusually dry there in the time before the sinking began? How suddenly did the sinking occur? Is it still sinking? I don't see any reason why you shouldn't try your insurance company for relief.

There was 'normal' movement signs (2~3 hairline paint cracks) when we got it. Seems to have gotten REALLY worse over the past 6 months to a year now. I temporairly moved out due to a seperation and was going to move back in after I renovated the place. Last saturday when we went to look at possible renovation projects we noticed how bad it really is. Ultimately I was going to move in for a few years, wait on a better market and eventualy sell. But it seems this needs to be addressed before anything is started.

There are methods which can cure this problem, but which method is best for your house is a question best posed to a structural engineer or a soils engineer in your area, who is familiar with local soil conditions and remedial methods. We in the northeast have little or no experience dealing with expansive soils, which are common in your region, so I, for one, am not qualified to comment further.