Foundation Problems? Simple steps to take before you spend thousands!

I was trying to think of a good crossroads between my professional life as a geotechnical engineer and this blog.  For background, geotechnical engineering is a part of civil engineering that deals with the engineering properties of soil and rock.  As a geotechnical engineering consultant, I explore the subsurface conditions at sites and make recommendations for the design of foundations, retaining walls, roads bridges, levees, dams, etc.  That’s a long way of saying that I play with dirt professionally.  I’ve been playing with dirt my whole life and now I’ve made a career out of doing so for more than a decade..

So where does dirt engineering cross paths with the quest for Financial Independence (FI)?  Well I am happy you asked.  I figure many on the path to FI have some exposure to real estate, either as homeowners, rental property owners, flippers, wholesalers, real estate agents, contracting, or other forms of real estate investment.  If you own your home or run in these real estate circles you dread the following words:

“You Have a Foundation Problem”

To most, these words are usually followed closely by “Aww F&^K!” or Are you S^&%g Me?!” and thoughts of homes falling into a sinkhole or sliding off a cliff, or other catastrophes, never-ending change orders and severe construction delays.  Foundation issues kill real estate deals and prevent countless deals from occurring in the first place.   These issues are often VERY expensive to repair with costs easily in the $3,000 to $10,000+ range.  Living through a foundation problem can be quite rough: sticking doors and windows, basement flooding, mold, utility disruptions, and possibly condemnation or revocation of occupancy.  Living through the subsequent repairs can be just as bad, if not worse, with heavy construction inside an occupied home, which may render the house unlivable in the short-term.

Examples of Foundation Problems, Typical Causes, and Common Repairs

• Settlement of Foundations or the Floor Slab – usually caused by settlement of poorly compacted fill or soft natural soils, may require underpinning and possibly a replacement of the floor slab
• Cracking of Walls – due settlement or rotation of foundations, seasonal volume change of soils, build up of hydrostatic pressure (lack of drainage behind the wall), or poor construction, may need epoxy injection, sump pump and perimeter drain installation, and possibly underpinning
• Bulging of Foundation Walls – from hydrostatic pressure build up due to lack of drainage behind the wall, may need a sump pump and perimeter drain installed and possibly installation of tiebacks or deadmen to restrain the wall.  Extreme issues may necessitate construction of a new wall behind the bulging one.
• Water Intrusion into Basements or Crawlspaces – due to high water table, poor drainage, or plumbing issues, typically includes sump pump and perimeter drain installation and application of waterproofing to the foundations
• Voids Below the Floor Slab – due to settlement of the underlying soils, erosion, or washout from drainage or utilities, may require grouting, or mudjacking, possibly the replacement of the affected slab
• Heaving or Shrinking Soils – clay soils susceptible to excessive volume change with variations in moisture, could require removal and replacement of the slab and underlying soils and/or underpinning of foundations
• Slope Instability – due to uncontrolled fill, poor slope preparation, excessive slope inclination, poor retaining wall construction, erosion, or problematic soils such as shale.  Repairs can be wide ranging, require extensive study and design, and can reach six digits in costs.  I’ve also seen some with repair costs in the millions.
• Foundation Undermining – due to karst topography (sinkholes), subsided mines, collapsed or dis-jointed utilities, or irresponsible excavation.  Repairs can include underpinning, grouting of the problem, installation of shoring.  A great example is the Corvette Museum (look it up).  These are also among the most expensive problems to solve

Well that does sound scary now doesn’t it?  These are real problems that require real solutions.  But what does this have to do with chasing FI?

It’s my opinion that many people pay for (or overpay for) fixes to foundation problems that may not need fixing!  Even worse, people unknowingly buy properties with massive repair bills waiting to happen!

Why does this happen?  Most foundations exhibit some cracking or otherwise have visible signs of some distress.  To the untrained it is very difficult to discern between a major, run away screaming, issue and a common construction occurrence that requires no action.  In my experience this also applies to many building inspectors, real estate agents, and even many structural engineers…. these are the people most of us rely on when making decisions to purchase a property.

Most end up turning to foundation repair contractors (who will come out for free) to look at the issue and provide a cost estimate for the fix.

Let that sink in…. have the guy or gal who stands to gain financially from fixing your problem diagnose the issue.  Using another example: If you go to a used car salesman complaining about the problems with your car, they are gong to recommend you buy another car!  This is the same concept!

Don’t get me wrong, there are experienced, ethical contractors out there.  But if you are an expert in only one or two repair methods, then your view of the issue can become biased.  To hammers, everything looks like a nail!

So I should just hire a geotechnical consultant to look at and diagnose my issue then right?

Not so fast my friend! That sounds great, and I recommend it where possible, but in practice you will likely find that not many geotechnical consultants work with residential clients, particularly would-be buyers or sellers.  The reasons for this include:

• The very short time-frames in which real estate deals occur that prohibit a proper study of the issue,
• Concerns over fees and collecting payment – having an engineer perform a site visit and prepare a letter is easily $500-$1,000 and if exploration or in depth analysis is needed this can easily reach $5,000-$10,000.  Spend several thousand dollars and you haven’t even fixed it yet?  Who budgets for this?
• Fear of litigation – most of the lawsuits I’ve been privy to are with homeowners.  When you are a homeowner you are living with the problem every day, when you come home from work, it’s staring you in the face, there is no escape.  These issues can stress someone on a deep level.
• The abundance of more lucrative work on larger projects.

Geez, so you’re telling me that if I have a problem that most of the people looking at it won’t know what they are looking at, that contractors will give me biased feedback, and that the so-called experts probably won’t work for me?!!?  What the hell?!

Sure sounds crazy doesn’t it?  So, what’s a person to do?

A little bit of knowledge goes a long way to equipping you as the property owner, buyer, or seller to make a quick evaluation of the foundation issue.

I will caution you that Googling foundation issues is much like searching the internet for a diagnosis when you feel sick… the answer is always “cancer”.

Most websites that come up are for foundation repair contractors, and naturally, they push a repair using their patented system for your issue.  But with some basic knowledge you can assess whether the issue you are faced with is no sweat or requires expert intervention.

Know When to Hold’Em…

Let me start with a disclaimer.  While I am a practicing professional geotechnical engineer, do not make decisions solely based on the suggestions that follow.  The intent is to inform you of common characterstics, and typical solutions, not to make specific recommendations for your particular issue.  As always, seek out a local geotechnical expert, as needed.  With that out of the way…

If you are considering purchasing a property, you need to be VERY thorough during your walk through and inspection.  If you can, bring another person for a second set of eyes.  I can’t stress this enough… if there is a hill, walk every inch of it!  If something looks out of place, photograph it!  I recommend taking as many photos as possible to make sure you didn’t miss anything.  You may notice an issue later on as you review the photos.

Most houses have cracking at the corners of the foundations and hair line cracks in the basement walls.

Often these are the result of shrinkage of the concrete during curing.  If water isn’t leaking through these cracks and the walls appear vertical, with no bowing then this is most likely a non-issue.  Save your money.

Settlement due to soft soils or poorly compacted fill typically is complete within about 8 years following construction.  So, a 30 year old house with small, level cracks in the foundation or floor slab isn’t very scary.  Keep in mind that many smaller cracks open and close with the changing of the season or variation in moisture.

If you have time (weeks or months) it can be very helpful to periodically measure the crack width or install a crack monitor  if there is any change.  I’ve used the Avongard model in the past.  Avongard Standard Tell-Tale Crack Monitor (Heads up… this is an affilitate link. you won’t pay more to buy through this link but this blog may receive a commission)

Ideally, you could track the movements through each season.  If the crack doesn’t grow, the repair guy can go!  And he can take his quote for $5,000 to $10,000 in underpinning or mudjacking with him!

As for water leaking into the basement:  First note where the water enters and when.  If it is coming through a single spot and only during/after heavy rains, then first go outside (grab an umbrella) and look around.  The majority of water intrusion issues are the result of poor surface drainage (i.e. water flowing towards or ponding against the foundation.  Note any low areas, downspouts that may be pointed at the issue, or overflowing gutters.  Always address water issues from the top down first!  Fill low areas and slope them to drain away, redirect downspouts and clean gutters… these repairs can be done for pennies on the dollar compared to dropping $3,000 to $6,000 on a sump pump and perimeter drain trench.

Another common issue is ruptured water lines from exterior spigots due to freezing during the winter.  If water is coming in at a single location near a spigot (also known as a silcock), then shut off the water to the spigot (or house, if necessary) to see if the leak stops.  If the leaking spigot is accessible you may be able to replace the entire assembly for about $30 by buying a new spigot and a Sharkbite fitting (a coupling used to connect 2 copper pipes without having to sweat them together) and a small pipe cutter to remove the leaking spigot.  I’ve had this very issue crop up in our current house.

Research for scary things you can’t see.

Some of the scariest foundation issues are undermining from sinkholes or subsided mines.  The good news is that the locations of a large number of these a features (or at least problematic areas) are known and mapped and publicly available.  As an example, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) has a program called Geostrat where you can find Google Earth overlays showing known sinkholes and mines.  If you can find maps such as these for your area, and see nothing within miles of your location, you should have some comfort that your house has a very low risk of issues associated with these features.  IF something shows up in your yard or your neighbors… well, that could be an issue.

…And When to Fold’Em

Unfortunately, some scary looking foundation issues are just that… scary.  The following signs are good indicators that you should run away screaming as fast as you can, or proceed knowing you have some large bills coming:

• Water pouring in around the entire perimeter of the basement.  You probably need a sump pump and perimeter drain.  (Pro-tip, if your house has a walk out basement, see if the sump installer can run the drainpipe to drain by gravity on the slope behind house, thereby eliminating the pump.  You can avoid recurring pump replacement costs and you will never have to worry about power outages shutting off your pump).
• Diagonal cracks larger than 1 inch in width with large vertical offsets for floors or horizontal offsets for walls.  This also includes obviously bowing foundation walls.
• Several doors and windows are stuck and won’t open or close.
• Foundations and slabs that appear to have dropped more than 1-inch.  Most structures are designed with an allowable settlement of 1-inch.  Larger movements can lead to structural issues above the foundation.
• Large depressions along the side of the house near manholes.  This could be a collapsed sewer.  If the sewer is public then perhaps the sewer district can assist, but if it is private then look out!
• Scarps or large cracks along slopes.  These are indicators of slope movement.  A couple examples are shown below.

  

  

• Any of the above issues combined with known/documented sinkholes or mine subsidence.

In these instances you will likely need to retain the services of several professionals including a geotechnical consultant, civil engineer if a slope or sewer is involved, and possibly a structural engineer.

In summary, knowing just a little bit about foundation issues can help you avoid thousands in repair costs… More importantly, a little knowledge can help you avoid buying problems that will cost you tens or hundreds of thousands!

What are your experiences with foundation issues?  Any specific concerns I missed?