Repair house or tear down?? Who to talk to.

   / Repair house or tear down?? Who to talk to. #1  

dirtyb115

Bronze Member
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Jun 11, 2007
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70
Location
Southwest Ohio
Hi all. I have a small bit of acreage that i purchased recently and on it is a small block house built in 94. It is a 1 story with a walk out basement. The floors all slant, and when looking at the main support beams in the basement, some of the floor joists dont even touch, while others are shimmed ect...
Im wondering if the foundation might be sinking as there is a crack on one side of the house that runs from top to bottom. It is compltetly gutted as well, so to fix it (if it can be fixed structurally) it will need all new everything.
Im trying to figure out whether i can fix it or if it would be better to just build new. Who should i contact regarding the foundation/support issues? Ive been going through the phone book conctractors but not sure who to talk to really. Any advice/suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks all !
 
   / Repair house or tear down?? Who to talk to. #2  
I would start with a Structural Engineer and/or a Architect before calling general contractors.
 
   / Repair house or tear down?? Who to talk to. #3  
You need the PE/Structural Engineer to advise you on what is wrong and what its going to take to fix it. He/She might not be able to tell you what it will cost to fix but I would hope they could tell you if the cost will be $1,000 or $1,000,000. Once you know what needs to be fixed you can get a better cost estimate from the contractors.

A coworker had some settling issues in his new house years ago. The PE cost him a few hundred dollars to look at the problem and come up with a solution. The solution was a few bags of concrete set in the crawl space and some 4x4s.

Later,
Dan
 
   / Repair house or tear down?? Who to talk to. #4  
The Structural Engineer will probably need a Geo technical Engineer for the dirt part.:D:D
 
   / Repair house or tear down?? Who to talk to.
  • Thread Starter
#5  
Sounds good. I am looking through the phone book, trying to find some structural engineers to call, however most seem to deal with commerical buildings. Hopefully ill find something. Thanks for the advice.
 
   / Repair house or tear down?? Who to talk to. #6  
Eeek!

Sit down. Ready....

How much money do you have available? Got a good strong heart? Mental health OK? How are you at dealing with ---- things?

Repairing a house, after you get the engineers to look at it, notice that was plural, and the subcontractors to look it over (plural again) will uncover issues you never expected.

If your looking at a tear-down at least you know where to start, and the flow of building can be accomplished by most anyone.

A repair is like a puzzle, take one piece out, and you may or may not get the results expected. Money will be an issue, because you may uncover other issues that need attention.

I use the word issue, a lot. Having just been through a three year reconstruction proces, and never wanting to do a "repair" over again. Another thing to factor into the "repair" is if the house is worth something emotionally, or historically? One should not let emotions drive this process, but they do. Emotions will uncover -or- cover a lot of issues.

So, get the engineers to give you their assessment.

Figure out how much money your talking about. Then double that.

Make the choice on repair or start over. And....

Good Luck.
 
   / Repair house or tear down?? Who to talk to. #7  
I'm a General Contractor and I can tell you that trying to fix a foundation is just about a total waste of money. There are all sorts of ways that they have come up with to try to do this, but the problem is in the dirt and the failure to prepair the pad properly before pouring the concrete, and/or pouring the wrong type of foundation for the soil that's there.

Tear it out and be done with it. Don't waste any money on hiring an expert or trying to fix it. Trying to fix it will cost you more then removing it and building brand new.

If you decide to build in that same spot, be sure you get somebody who knows dirt and foundations before you do anything else.

Good Luck,
Eddie
 
   / Repair house or tear down?? Who to talk to. #8  
Home inspection companies may be a place to start. Their services should be around $400. While these guys are not engineers they can give you a reasonably complete assessment. They also should have contacts with engineers who could provide more detail on the structural part of the equation.
I am currently doing a quick renovation on a place that will essentially be torn down and rebuilt over the next two years. This place was an easy decision. The floors are a write off and the foundation has big issues. I'll tear down the wood and fix/rebuild the foundation. Then I'll build the house I want on top.
 
   / Repair house or tear down?? Who to talk to. #9  
Food for thought, can you stay here when another house is being built? Is the structure good enough, could it be used as a shop after you build a proper house?
Good luck! Dave
 
   / Repair house or tear down?? Who to talk to. #10  
Hi all. I have a small bit of acreage that i purchased recently and on it is a small block house built in 94.

By block you mean cinder block?
Bob
 
 
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