Beam And Pier Foundation Settling In Two Corners

[Michael Campbell]

Hey Guys,

I just picked up a new 1920's Craftsman and after noticing some slopes in two different corners of the house, I decided to take a closer look under the house. Interestingly, out of all of the inspectors we had come through the house, none really took the effort. Anyway on the one side I investigated I confirmed that the concrete footing is cracked in the middle, and it slopes out to the corner. It looks like someone actually poured concrete on to the crack, but I can't seem to figure out how that would have helped.

Here's the crack:

I'm assuming there is something similar occurring on the other side of the house.

I spoke to someone who can jack the house up and he gave two options - 1. Jack from under the concrete and 2. Jack the house free from the concrete. The second one is much cheaper but I'm not clear what implications I should be considering. Thoughts?

[Derek W.]

I have repaired many sloping houses over the years. Sometimes I have my guy jack up the house, replace a warped or rotted beam, insert a pier here and there, and get the house pretty level with no other problems. Costs me under $1,000. Other times, windows break, stucco or siding gets damaged, doors no longer close. It ends up costing double to fix the damage created by moving the house, and the house doesn't always end up level. I tend to put my money toward other repairs nowadays and simply supply the tenant with grappling gear to get out of sloping rooms.