Would you touch this with a 10 foot pole? Wood floor that IMO should be concrete

[Citydude]

Re: Would you touch this with a 10 foot pole? Wood floor in a job that IMO should be

He does and I want to concrete it. That was the whole point of this thread.

Oh, I'd advise your friend to hire a contractor to do the job he wants then.

 

[4570Man]

Re: Would you touch this with a 10 foot pole? Wood floor in a job that IMO should be

Since he wants to enclose the porch I think we could ignore the usual rules of not building a deck even with a door and build the deck even with the door. That would hide most of the broken brick. I’d still have to address the brick falling off the wall possibility. The water running along the back of the wall needs fixed regardless. I guess if I added some vents in the previously 100% sealed cavity it wouldn’t be a lot different than a regular craw space.

 

[pmsmechanic]

Re: Would you touch this with a 10 foot pole? Wood floor in a job that IMO should be

If he wants a wood deck, tear out the concrete one, address the moisture issues, fix the brick, and put in a wood deck. Saves you the 40 yards of fill, compaction, etc.... probably a lot faster, and much less expensive than the concrete option.

I like this idea the most so far. I'd also make it real plain to your buddy that your going to do it the safest way you can or not at all.

 

[4570Man]

Re: Would you touch this with a 10 foot pole? Wood floor in a job that IMO should be

He never suggested jacking it up. I mentioned that as a possibility but later ruled it too dangerous. He agrees 100 percent with tearing out the current slab.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

Re: Would you touch this with a 10 foot pole? Wood floor in a job that IMO should be

Earth moves with the seasons, and things in the earth move with the earth. A deck needs to be either so firmly tied to the house that they can only move together, or completely free so that they can move separately. There is no middle ground. The damage that deck has done is exhibit A as to why there is no middle ground. It's obviously not free but it's moving enough to damage the house. Unless you can find a way to tie it to the house it's not salvageable -- and I can't think of one. I suspect that even if the deck had been properly supported it would have had the same issue.

So assume that the deck has to come off and start there.

 

[4570Man]

Would you touch this with a 10 foot pole? Wood floor in a job that IMO should be conc

Earth moves with the seasons, and things in the earth move with the earth. A deck needs to be either so firmly tied to the house that they can only move together, or completely free so that they can move separately. There is no middle ground. The damage that deck has done is exhibit A as to why there is no middle ground. It's obviously not free but it's moving enough to damage the house. Unless you can find a way to tie it to the house it's not salvageable -- and I can't think of one. I suspect that even if the deck had been properly supported it would have had the same issue.

So assume that the deck has to come off and start there.

It’s not a deck. It’s a poured concrete porch. It’s poured inside of a concrete wall that has brick on the outside of the wall. If they had of cut the blocks like this they probably would have been fine, but they didn’t. It’s poured inside of a straight wall and it’s slipping deeper inside. See post 3 for the picture of the underside of the slab.

 

[jfh28]

Re: Would you touch this with a 10 foot pole? Wood floor in a job that IMO should be

this is just a disaster in so many different ways.......the entire concept was wrong to start with and now it sounds like your buddy is just trying to salvage it expecting a different outcome......follow your gut instinct....you know what needs to be done.......if your buddy doesn't want your advice then walk away.......I had a friend who was in a similar situation....he was a very reputable contractor in the area and had a friend who wanted him to do something sketchy telling the contractor not to worry if there were any problems he wouldn't sue him.......the contractor looked at him and said I'm not worried about you suing me.....I'm worried about the person who eventually buys your house down the road........I never forgot those words.....in todays society thats something to think about......Jack

 

[4570Man]

Would you touch this with a 10 foot pole? Wood floor in a job that IMO should be conc

He knows we can’t salvage slab and is good with taking it out. A 3rd party company might could salvage it, but not cost effectively. He doesn’t like the current stamped concrete slab anyway. I don’t know why. That’s about as durable and low maintenance as it gets. It’s possible to make the wood structure hood up but I feel pretty certain he’s going to neglect the necessary steps to do that. He’s known water was a problem and done nothing to handle it for years. The last picture I posted in the first post really doesn’t do the water problem just. Quite a bit of water runs across the back of the house there. That ditch is close to a foot deep from erosion. Left untreated it would eventually erode the base of the foundation and cause serious issues. He doesn’t seem concerned.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Re: Would you touch this with a 10 foot pole? Wood floor in a job that IMO should be

Just buy a case of beer, go over there and talk about it endlessly.

 

[RoyKing]

Re: Would you touch this with a 10 foot pole? Wood floor in a job that IMO should be

That whole area is screwed and from the water flow the foundation will go next. Probably no gutters and roof run off is collecting. That is a major project and would need a lot more pics of how you could manage the water. Run away