The home is 1.5 stories and after installing a gutter along the east side of the house, due to a mold problem, the east side of the home has dropped and the interior floors are dramatically unlevel. A stone wall in the crawl space is the main support and the home appears to be sagging at all outside points. I have considered slowly jacking up the outside of the home, however I am concerned about damaging the exterior brickwork in the process and need some guidance in where to set the jacks and how to keep them from sinking into the soil. I know that the home has never had gutters, due to some original trim work on the eaves. The house is located in a semi arid climate in Colorado and faces south.
2007-01-01 08:06:56 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Home & Garden ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
You should have a professional do the jacking and redo the foundation so it won't settle again. It's not a job without danger and the professional will know how to do it safely.
After it's been levelled, you will have to have the bricks where they have seperated repointed, again best done by a professional. But the brick work will be okay, if there is a broken brick, the mason will just replace it.
Thankfully brick houses are the easiest to repair, if you had a frame house or ones with modern siding, it could mean major repairs to the house's structure.
I called a friend of mine whose old brick house (140 years old) settled and she had a fairly large crack in one of the walls. She said getting a proper foundation that is suitable for the soil conditions and one that stands up to water is a must and you need to contact a soil\foundation engineer for the foundation and he will tell you what kind of foundation is needed. Also she said that foundation has to have the ability to resist water, which field stone may not do properly. You might also need "tile work" done. She said tile work is essentially an underground drain system that keeps the earth underneath the foundation from become too wet.
Before the house is jacked, you should have a structural engineer look at it to see what damage the jacking may cause. Sometimes they can fix some of the things needed before the house is jacked. She also said that since your house was older, the existing structural damage is much less than newer homes because they used different construction techniques that are more sturdier than what is required today.
Lastly she said it's best to consider it a good investment. A brick house over 100 years old that has had it's major problems fixed in such a way that they will not occur again will increase the value of the house more than you think. She said over time the value of an old house that is structurally sound gets a large premium price compared to newer homes with the same size, in the same location. She said it's essential that you get a soil and foundation engineer and a consult a structural engineer before any work is done. It's money well spent. But when you sell the house, you will get a lot more back than you spent.
When I answered your question I was using my memory of her experience, but I thought it would be best to go straight to the source of someone who has had it done.
2007-01-01 08:15:54 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
put boards under jacks & jack it very slowly over 2 - 3 weeks, a very little bit @ a time, place the jack under main support beams. bye the age of the house, you shoulden have too much trouble with the bricks, but inspecked everywhere after each jacking. Your houses interal frame work should all be level & straight before repairing interal wall plaster, you have a big job on ur hands, maybe more advice here
http://www.doityourself.com/page/home
2007-01-01 08:19:32 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Fieldstone Foundation
2016-10-04 21:59:45 · answer #3 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ah, I LOVE my old houses, but they do get "wrinkles" just like us.. :)
You need to hire a pro, sorry, it's not something you can even rent the equipment for to do properly. (I tried, forget it)...
They will come in with an industrial jack, open up the foundation where it needs it and bit by bit level the house from the floor braces up, installing new treated lumber to hold it in place.
You can't do it yourself, just saying that one more time! Don't try, the little bit you save up front will cost you double down the road.
2007-01-01 08:44:01 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Phone Ipod Wallet Keys
2016-05-23 03:41:07 · answer #5 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You really need to consult a professional. The work needs done in stages. Don't risk ruining your home-- get prof advice.
2007-01-01 08:15:42 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is something a engineer and a contractor need to work on.
Each job like this has to be worked out on site.
2007-01-01 08:18:44 · answer #7 · answered by zen522 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋