EddieWalker
Epic Contributor
The wall moved from loose soil. Two things now make me even more concerned. Loose soil will hold more water then compacted soil. It takes years for loose soil to compact on it's own. The first thing that concerns me is what will happen when you get heavy rains? That loose soil is going to be one big massive sponge for all that water!!!! If you have a lot of water in the ground, and you will have more of it with loose soil, then if the ground freezes and the water expands, you have even more pressure on the sides of those blocks. This is when well built, in perfect condition, retaining walls fail. This is when solid concrete foundations on homes fail.
The second concern is that you are putting a band aid on a serious wound. While I don't have the experience that Robert does, I do question the reasoning of relying on the framing of the house above the wall to hold the wall in place. It might be that my lack of knowledge of basements and how they work makes me ignorant of this, but in my experience, it's all about the basics. You dig a solid footing, you build solid walls, and you go from there. Right now, you have a wall that is bowed. It is not solid.
Ask yourself this question. If you had unlimited funds, would you tear it down and do it over again?
Then ask yourself this question. If you were buying the house, would you still want it if you read this thread about the foundation wall?
The last question that you need to ask yourself is when you go to sell the house, and you might one day, will you tell the buyers about the wall?
If you are unsure of any of those questions, hire an engineer to see what he says? I would never trust the opinion of a guy who pours concrete or hauls it. While there are those that might understand soil engineering and soil movement, or how to build a retaining wall, it's not a chance that I would take witout any credentials.
Sorry, it just doesn't seem like a chance that I would take with everything that you have planned for the house. It also might be that the original wall wasn't built properly, and that you should have used a different block, with rebar in it and the concrete poured inside the block at the time of the build. Something is very wrong, and to do it right, you need to figure out what went wrong and what it takes to make it right.
Good luck,
Eddie
The second concern is that you are putting a band aid on a serious wound. While I don't have the experience that Robert does, I do question the reasoning of relying on the framing of the house above the wall to hold the wall in place. It might be that my lack of knowledge of basements and how they work makes me ignorant of this, but in my experience, it's all about the basics. You dig a solid footing, you build solid walls, and you go from there. Right now, you have a wall that is bowed. It is not solid.
Ask yourself this question. If you had unlimited funds, would you tear it down and do it over again?
Then ask yourself this question. If you were buying the house, would you still want it if you read this thread about the foundation wall?
The last question that you need to ask yourself is when you go to sell the house, and you might one day, will you tell the buyers about the wall?
If you are unsure of any of those questions, hire an engineer to see what he says? I would never trust the opinion of a guy who pours concrete or hauls it. While there are those that might understand soil engineering and soil movement, or how to build a retaining wall, it's not a chance that I would take witout any credentials.
Sorry, it just doesn't seem like a chance that I would take with everything that you have planned for the house. It also might be that the original wall wasn't built properly, and that you should have used a different block, with rebar in it and the concrete poured inside the block at the time of the build. Something is very wrong, and to do it right, you need to figure out what went wrong and what it takes to make it right.
Good luck,
Eddie
Which is what caused all the problems. He recommended a few support walls inside to aid in retaining the walls integrity. I will do all of the above.