What would you do with this basement/porch? *St Louis*

Question

We've got a home that has what I think they call a cold storage room?

Basically a room built under the porch. It leaks. The porch is cracked. We had a contractor submit an estimate to rip it out and brace/rebuild it. $2500. Sounds decent. I gave him the greenlight. Then before he starts he sends me an email asking for 5k instead. Claiming he didn't realize it had the basement under it.... Seriously? That's why we called you.

Anyone ever dealt with one of these? What cost should I be looking? At any creative solutions?

Porch is small. Runs maybe 1/4th the length of the house. I would say maybe a 5x5.

Peter MacKercher · Answer

Ryan Dossey

Probably a blessing in disguise that that contractor doubled their bid like that before you paid them anything.

As for the porch, I'd call a crack expert (like the Crack Team) to see about fixing the crack. If the porch is bowing and or bent/warped, you could put in a couple piers to support the slab. You also might want to look at filling in the room since no one really uses them anymore, and like you said, it's a bit of a creep dungeon.

The porch's concrete could just be resurfaced. I wouldn't spend more than $1k on this entire project.

Vincent Crane · Answer

I'd say google some examples, I've gotten some great ideas just by seeing what other people have done and pick the one that you like price/style wise the most

Barbara G. · Answer

Here is something Bob Villa wrote about your problem

http://www.bobvila.com/posts/193822-crack-in-concr...

Barbara G. · Answer

Who knows  I would try to educate my self about this problem.  I would call the original contractor and ask him specifically what has to be done on the project from beginnng to end since he did see it.  He has now deceided  it was too much work for the $2,500 bid.  I would ask what was he thinking of doing first and now what has he added to the Job.

I would then, as other people have suggested call in other contractors.

A Basement water poofing company.

An Excavator.

A concrete contractor

See what sounds like the best approach or what more people agree as to what has to be done to corrct this problem

Its an investigatory problem an you have the research to do.

Keep us informed

Ardie Mansouri · Answer

Ryan,

If you can fix your moisture problem with the above mentioned sealants, I think your best bet is to patch the spall in the bottom face of the slab with concrete and then provide some sort of strapping system (steel/carbon fiber) in the short direction of the porch on either side of it.  Tearing the whole thing out seems like it will be overkill.  How wide are those cracks on the top side of the slab, hairline?

George P. · Answer

post pics.

depending on the where it leaks (side walls or cap), you can use a guy that can fill the crack with polyurethane too.

i'd never even call that guy again. increasing his quote for "not realizing"?? dum-dum

Dan McCluskey · Answer

What a joke!  If the guy is that scatterbrained that he throws out a bid before realizing the entire scope of the job/problem, then tries coming back to double the bid, I'd seriously re-think whether I want that guy working on my property to begin with.

I'd tell the guy you'll get back to him after you get some additional bids from someone who understands the problem better and prices it accordingly.

Cold storage, or "fruit cellars" as we used to call them on the South Side, were notorious for being damp, leaky areas.  Generally, using a foundation sealer could remedy the problem unless more the foundation problem was more extensive.

What's your guy planning to do for the extra charge?

Good luck, Ryan.

Dan

Scott Keating · Answer

Ryan, is the foundation at the porch stone or concrete? Is the porch slab deteriorated or is it just cracked? Is the slab raw concrete or has it been painted previously? All of these variables can impact the options going forward. Pictures?

Ardie Mansouri · Answer

Ryan Dossey

The system that I suggested earlier would look like a steel plate that is basically anchored into the concrete along it's length with expansion or adhesive bolts.  As that slab is probably pretty thin the better option would be to do the carbon fiber strips that adhere to the bottom face of the slab.  This provides a tension layer that basically replaces the reinforcing bars that have been exposed in the spall.  Both methods are commonly used when a foundation company fixes a horizontal crack in a concrete basement wall.  Same concept, this is vertical load as opposed to horizontal though.

If you decide to fill that thing in, you may want to think about going with expanded polystyrene foam blocks.  Gravel, while most likely much cheaper, will put a lateral force on the interior basement wall which will now act like a retaining wall for all of the gravel.  Not saying that it can't support it, but it may cause some problems if that wall even rotates a little bit. Hope it turns out well

Ryan Dossey · Answer

Not wanting to create stress on that wall is a concern I had as well.

What would you do with this basement/porch? St Louis

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