Any foundation experts on here??

[KHoes203]

I am purchasing a home and still in the option period and just want to see if what the foundation company said seems normal to someone who knows more about it.



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[jrfan]

Did you have a structural engineer look at it or a foundation company? I usually recommend having a structural engineer come out to my clients.

[Charles]

What's the question?

jrfan offered solid advice.

[KHoes203]

Not an engineer just the company. An engineer did the intial work which was done a year ago. Here is a picture with the measurements which were taken after before work was performed. They came back out and remeasured last week and everything was in their acceptable range and no actions were needed. My main question and confusion is the positive numbers in the A,D corner. If there was 2.5 inches of movement there would have to be some significant structual damage done one would think or am i wrong?




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[White Falcon]

Might have had a water leak in the bathroom and kitchen between R1 and R2. 2.5 is a lot of movement to me!

[Stuck]

Not an engineer just the company. An engineer did the intial work which was done a year ago. Here is a picture with the measurements which were taken after before work was performed. They came back out and remeasured last week and everything was in their acceptable range and no actions were needed. My main question and confusion is the positive numbers in the A,D corner. If there was 2.5 inches of movement there would have to be some significant structual damage done one would think or am i wrong?




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Those numbers do not represent 2.5" of movement. It says that portion off the slab is 2.5" higher then the reference point of the compulevel. If they shot elevations a year ago, they are comparing the measurements to last year and they are saying there has been no significant change I foundation.

[Bill M]

Something else to consider is 1) was the slab (forms) completely level when poured and 2) there is an acceptable range in the performance standards of high and low spots over a specified distance.

Hopefully if there has been any kind of damage caused by the movement it was disclosed. If not, I wouldn't be too concerned.

[Wits_End]

Were those numbers before or after the foundation company installed piers, the statement above is not clear. I would typically expect them to be before foundation was lifted, but don't want to assume that.
Do you have recent elevation numbers?
Is this a slab or a pier/beam? I don't think it is clear one way or the other?

[jrfan]

With the raised deck I was assuming it was a pier and beam foundation. Is that correct?

[KHoes203]

It is a slab foundation. Those numbers are from before the piers were installed from my understanding. The company said thier tollerance for concern is more than 1/2 since they installed piers. Which since they installed the piers it has moved less than 1/8th of an inch in the left rear corner.

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[KHoes203]

Also the right side of the house is uphill and left side is down hill prob a 3 foot drop in grade from side to side. I do not have the current numbers as they have not sent the report to me yet. All the areas that show signs of movent match up to where it shows on the drawing as the current owner never had anything fixed after work was completed.

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[topduarte]

Where is this located? I can located at my soils map and tell you what soils you have.

Manny

[KHoes203]

New Braunfels. East of 35. The area is known for foundation issues.

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[Wits_End]

If it hasn't moved more than an 1/8 of an inch over a year I would consider it stable as-is. I personally would like to have another elevation map done to show exact numbers as it paints a better picture. Based on these numbers, the slope is pretty consistent across the foundation, seem large, but no particular area is way out.

Without good exterior pictures around the house it is really hard to guarantee whether the left side sunk or the right side is raised up. Going off of pier placement they must have thought the back sunk, seems the most likely case. The pier placement and quantities are good if that was the case. Putting piers directly in a corner is not the best, but with a few extra piers than needed, its ok.

One other thing to think about and figure out an answer would be why it failed in the first place? Is there a large tree on the back left side, several large bushes? Is it possible the right side is collecting water as it runs down the hill into the house and keeping the right side far more saturated than the left? Was there ever a water or drain leak in the kitchen area? Is the soil eroding from the back left? Is the back left side the west side, gets hot west sun which is drying out soil more?

In general the most common reason a foundation failed is due to water inconsistencies across the foundation, whether from poor drainage, large water sucking trees, plumbing leaks, etc. Once you figure out why it failed you can then figure out if there is still a problem or whether it will be good.

[KHoes203]

There is a large red oak on the left side and the left side faces west. It sounds like it was just a little bit of combination of things that lead to the issue. They do have a soaker hose placed around it to keep the foundation watered. The left side sank because there is a set of steps on the left that were not repaired.

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