Basement Foundation Repair - How involved might this job be?

Question

I'm considering placing an offer on a house that has an issue with the basement foundation. The Point of Sale inspection has an item that simply states "replace damaged foundation." Here in the Cleveland Ohio suburbs, the POS inspectors are notoriously vague with their reports, and I'm not a foundation expert so I'm trying to judge how big of a risk this job might be. I do plan to have a contractor come out to take a look before I make an offer, but I wanted to see if anyone here on BP might have some good insights into what I'm looking at and what might be involved in fixing this.

To me, it just looks like some water damage, but nothing major. Maybe dig up the outside of this corner and waterproof, then clean up the interior and seal any cracks with hydraulic cement or the like.

Thanks!

To me, it just looks like some water damage, but nothing major. Maybe dig up the outside of this corner and waterproof, then clean up the interior and seal any cracks with hydraulic cement or the like.

Thanks!

Russell Gronsky · Answer

@Paul Smetona, these are horizontal cracks which are the worst kind. And it looks like they were not taken care of when they first started and they have now made their way around to adjacent walls. The entire structure of this house is now suspect. I would have a company specializing in foundation repair come look at this AND I'd have a structural engineer look at it as well.

These cracks look deep and not something that can be fixed with cement.

As a side note, it looks like there is likely leaks in between where the slab and wall meet so on top of doing significant foundation repair, you'll need to install an interior or exterior french drain.

I am only going off 3 pictures so I could be wrong but this does not look like a cheap and easy issue to fix. Do NOT take this issue lightly. This looks quite serious. Get specialists to look at this, not just a GC.

Frank Geiger · Answer

Does the home have a sump pump? That's some pretty bad cracking. My guess would be all the pressure on the concrete is forcing it to shift and crack. Walls are a lot harder to fix than the slab. I paid 3k for a slab repair with pump installation but that's on the cheaper side. I believe the area was 20'x15'.

Eric Wagner · Answer

There are so many houses for sale in Cleveland you might just want to keep looking instead of dealing with this issue.

Account Closed · Answer

Paul,

Through the years we have looked at many projects with cracked foundations, our area is mostly clay and most houses built in the 70's have foundation issues. When looking at damaged foundations we will always bring in a foundation specialist for a consult, that event alone has saved us 10's of thousands.

Aaron Robertson · Answer

It was hard to tell just from seeing the corner pictures but that wall didn’t necessarily look that bad to me from those pictures.  Horizontal cracks generally are where the was has deflected inward, vertical cracks are where you have settlement in that specific spot.  Our basements around my area have numerous problems due to being unreinforced and having poor drainage away from foundations.

My day job is being a contractor that specifically deals with foundation or structure related issues so these are the type of flips I am always trying to find near me. Good luck on your search.

Cathy Svercl · Answer

agree with @Russell Gronsky.  as an Architect, i recommend calling both a structural engineer (first) and a foundation repair contractor.  the engineer should charge you a fee, but it could be the best $500 or $1,000 you spend.  the contractor can give you an idea of construction price and time schedule.

Paul Smetona · Answer

Thanks for all the feedback guys. This house was to be a flip and and the margins didn't support a ~$10k repair and still give the margins I am looking for, so I passed on the deal.

Thanks again!

Mark S. · Answer

I am just wrapping up a reno on a house that had foundation issues that required the type of work you might need, judging by what can be seen in the pictures. In my case we punched holes in the foundation just below the sill plate on either side of the house, inserted an I-beam, cranked that up a bit and dug out the foundation underneath. Put a new footings and block, sill plate and set her back down. Waterproofed  and insulated the exterior and interior, and backfill. Whole job cost me about 9000. That may be what you are up against.

Don Meinke · Answer

The key question is," how is the outside slope against the foundation, every portion of it?  Has it settled and allowing moisture in the 2' closest?"

It LOOKS like the outside had excess moisture which froze and expands the soil pushing the wall in.  Freezing and thawing continues the evil forces of nature vs. foundations.  Exaggerated fill (6 inches higher on wall than out 2 ') usually keeps this area dry enough not to continue.  Then application of what they used to call "Surewall" in the old days.  It is white white in color and has fiber strands  to hold it together in a back-plaster type application both inside and outside does wonders to repair minor damage.  IF their is still excess water to deal with drain tile and rock is best method to remove along with a sump pump if needed

My thoughts are not necessarily in order. But a total 'look' would be in order.  Usually there is a puddle that spread and fueled a larger area to be too wet due to defective gutter and downspout issues AND backfill settling over 30-50 years.

Joe Splitrock · Answer

@Paul Smetona I would have it repaired from the inside. Assuming the wall is not bowing and the foundation isn't sinking, it is a surface repair mostly. Patch and then treat with watertight paint. You will want to install an interior drain tile that has wick at the wall, so any water that does get in will run down to the drain tile.

Basement Foundation Repair - How involved might this job be?

Most Popular Reply