Foundation Settling

[GHoosdum]

I have been experiencing problems with my front door over the summer. At first it began binding in the frame. After a while the latch wouldn't meet the striker any more, as the striker side of the doorframe had dropped about a quarter inch.

I investigated this yesterday and I found that the foundation of the house has been experiencing new settling in this area. This is extremely disconcerting to me because the house is over thirty years old and I'd expect that it would have finished settling long ago, unless something else is wrong. I noticed some separation in the drywall joint above the door as well as some hairline separation cracks at the joints in the cinderblock foundation.

Does anyone have any experience with this or recommendations on what I should do? Consulting a professional right now is a little bit out of the question because of budgetary reasons...

[Kwitko]

GTFO quick.

[GHoosdum]

I totally would if the housing market would bear a sale. I'd be out of pocket on a sale of the house right now though.

[Lincoln]

Get a termite inspector in there asap. Our patio door "settled" such that it would not slide open and cracks appeared along the wall. It was from termite damage. By the time it was taken care of, the back part of the house might have just needed a good kick to go :eek3: All fixed now, at least.

[GHoosdum]

I'll get it checked for termites. I don't consider it highly likely, because it's a concrete block section that is troublesome, but you never know, so it's worth a check.

[Kwitko]

Check for water leaks. Maybe a broken pipe is leaking into the surrounding ground. Do they use cesspools or straight sewer lines by you?

[RADA]

Check for water leaks. Maybe a broken pipe is leaking into the surrounding ground. Do they use cesspools or straight sewer lines by you?

You may want to get a soil/ground inspection done.


Have you had a lot of rain lately?, or is there construction going on anywhere near your house? This can displace the natural ground water table, forcing it into areas under your property. They might have broken a pipe quite a distance from your house, yet it will still affect you. Check the 'net or the papers, huge sink hole swallowed a street and 4 or 5 multi-$M dollar homes down in San Diego.. City KNEW it was happening, but did nothing, 'cept patch the cracks in the street...

If this is the case, you may be able to go after the city/town/state if its a government project, or after the contractor/developer if its a private project.

[GHoosdum]

Well the closest new development is a couple miles away.

We've actually had drought conditions this year, so the ground in front of the house, rather than being wet, is strangely powdery and very dry.

[Buddy J]

My co-worker here at the paper just purchased a house with settling problems. She says it costs $500 - $800 per pier for repairs. I don't know if the rate is different in your area, but it sounds like something you should have checked out. All the major companies offer free inspections. I'd get one (or two) to know what you're up against.

I watched something the other day where a slab was leveled with expanding urethane foam. A small hole was drilled through the slap at a certain point and a nozzle was threaded in. A small pump then injected expanding foam under the slap, which expands and lifts the concrete. Because of the minimal prep and materials involved, I think it could be an inexpensive process, although I don't know if it'd work in your case.

[Sledgehammer70]

check for water leaks... is your water bill higher than normal?

[GHoosdum]

It is slightly elevated from normal, but I attribute that more to the fact that my parents moved into my basement and our water usage tripled than to a possible leak.

I'll climb under the stairwell and see what it looks like from the inside, to see if there's anything unusual or any leaks.

[MiracleManS]

It just so happens I have a little experience here. We've had to fix a few basements that settled, had cracks etc. at the construction company I worked for.

My first suggestion is that you look for any real structural problems besides the door. Is the block chipping, cracking, or showing water damage more than you noticed in the original inspection? If this is the case you'll want to get someone in to take a serious look at this.

Next step, if that all checks out, is to take a good look at the walls on top of the concrete block. If those are starting to sag you'll need to have a serious look about the structural integrity of the house. Is it rafters or engineered trusses for your roof? What style roof do you have? If you have a set of blueprints check to see if its a load bearing wall you're dealing with. If it is you're going to want to make sure to have it re-engineered for the shift in weight.

Next, I'd check outside at the grading along the foundation. Is the grading sloping away from the house as it should, so that water doesn't flood down beside the concrete block walls? If not, you might be able to stop this from continuing by properly backfilling and making sure the grade is secure.

I've heard of this happening over time, even more than this much. I'd go through all the steps of checking everything I listed and maybe even more than that. It's probably going to be expensive to fix if it's an entire wall section. Best case scenario maybe the door itself has just settled in that area and not the whole wall. Worst case, like Buddy said, is that you'll have to get the piers/support structure repaired.

[muddocktor]

GH, is your house on a slab or on piers? If it's on a slab, you might be experiencing problems due to the drought you are having. My oldest brother went though this several years ago with his house. We had a pretty severe dorught (for this area at least) and he also had trees fairly close to his house too; a live oak and several birch trees. The drought, combined with the trees lowered the water table significantly under part of his house and the slab settled and had much the same problems that you are experiencing. He ended up getting the pro's to come in and they actually injected cement (I think) under the house and pumped her back up level. He also took those trees out that were close to the house too, to keep them from sucking the water out of the soil around the house. I don't know exactly what it cost him, but I'm pretty sure it was several thousand bucks. :(

[GHoosdum]

My house is a bi-level. The bottom floor, while it is half underground, is on a slab. I also have trees very close to the house.

Yikes!