Reprinted Articles

There are some initial questions to ask about the foundation of the house your thinking of purchasing: 1. How old is the house? Older homes tend to have more damage to their foundations due to poor quality materials. 2. Was the house built by a licensed contractor or the homeowner? 3. Did the builder follow the applicable building codes at the time of construction?

The majority of single story houses have been built with adequate foundations for at least the past 40 years. A visual inspection of the exposed portion of the wall will show any significant cracks. These cracks can be caused by the presence of what are called “soft” or expansive soils under the footing. When water is present these types of soils can move under the weight of the house and cause the foundation wall to crack. Once the concrete has failed it is only the steel reinforcement that is holding the wall together. Sometimes the amount of movement will cause the frame walls above to move as well.

It is always a good idea to inspect a foundation wall if there are visible cracks. If the crack is large enough to insert a small object, like the tip of a pencil, you may have a water infiltration problem. This water can cause further damage to a basement or crawl space and the crack will need to be sealed and made watertight. Even if the crack appears small you should check the walls above to see if any damage has occurred to rest of the house. Look carefully at the openings inside the house above where the foundation wall has moved. If there are cracks in the finish around the openings that means the wall framing has moved as well. This type of damage can be old and there may not have been any more since that time. If there is recent paint and the crack has reappeared, then the wall is still moving.

If the damage to the footing is severe enough to need repair, where do you start? It is both risky and cost prohibitive to remove the soil beneath the footing and try to replace it with adequate support of any type. The only practical way is to bridge the settled area with some structural support. This can involve jacking up the floor under the settled floor framing and providing a cross support to keep the framing above in place. This is an area where a local engineer can help solve the problem. It does not take long and the cost is usually quite low to have a proper structural solution to the problem that will actually work and keep the settlement from reoccurring. Just patching and painting over the sheetrock or plaster cracks will only hide the problem temporarily, and the cracks will soon reappear.

Single story houses do not impose significant loads on the foundation, but soft soils can be a problem anyway. Especially if there is a high water table present as well. The combination of water and clayey soils can cause significant movement in foundation walls. Should there be a crack in the wall large enough to cause the framing above to move you will need to provide a support for that portion of the framing. It is advisable to enlist the help of an engineer for that type of work so that the support you install will perform properly. Shop around for the best price and service as not all engineers are interested doing that kind of work. Two story houses place larger loads on the foundation and deserve a closer look. Any damage will need to be evaluated for the cost / benefit ratio to determine if you should proceed or move on to another house.

Finally, I would recommend that if you are uncertain about whether there is costly damage to a house you are contemplating buying, get another opinion. Ask an engineer if they would mind stopping by and taking a look at the foundation. Quite often they will do so for no charge. The peace of mind alone is worth the time and effort.

Tags: Investing