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RE: need advice about bowing basement wall - 4/21/2008 12:03:48 PM

sirvoluble

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Joined: 4/13/2007
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I'm a PE and I agree with Padriag, call a liscenced professional with a liability insurance bond to come out and estimate the work, jack it up, reinforce it, and make sure the house down't collapse down on you and your family. The tree idea is not a good one, as root intrusion can shatter sewer tile, crush cinder block, and and further aggrevate the situation.

Long term, divert the water that is likely causing this away from your foundation - but a good contractor will do that, as part of the structural repair.

If the bowing gets any worse than 4 inches, I would not recommend remaining in the house. Once that corner collapses, depending on what kind of construction the home is framed in, there's no telling how unpleasant a roller coaster ride it will be on the way down - and what walls and roof supports could come down suddenly in the process, hopefully without you under them. Some cinder block is only 8 inches wide, while others can be a foot wide. 4 inches of buckling is not benign. 6 inches of buckling, you'll be lucky it is still up, and 8 inches of buckling.... won't last.

I hope that helps. Let me know what you finally end up doing to mitigate the issue.
SV

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RE: need advice about bowing basement wall - 4/21/2008 3:12:30 PM

needsadvice

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thanks for all the info i am def not going to have the bracing sytem done, which seems to just be a bandaid

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RE: need advice about bowing basement wall - 4/21/2008 4:20:27 PM

Griswold

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quote:

ORIGINAL: needsadvice

oh maybe is masonry then. the house was built in the 40s or 50's im not even sure.

Oh...it's concrete.

Might be masonry.

Could be clay.

Might be earthquakes.

Could be my neighbor.

Is it a tree?

(Now do you understand why you need a contractor to give you some viable advice?)

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RE: need advice about bowing basement wall - 4/21/2008 7:33:44 PM

ForBabyGirl123

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Joined: 1/10/2007
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Some guy saying the job cant be done in two days... I will lay a new basment block or concrete in 3 days... Sorry, i only work a side men.. The rest i fire..Put your money where your mouth is...I do it all the time... 100,000 dallors i can dig a whole 8 feet deep by 30 feet long in 4 hours illinois dirt. I will even do it in august if you like... With a tiny little spade and shove.. Just dont stand to close to the bank.. The dirt comeing out will burry you if you stop to drink a beer.
I own backhoe's but some times you cant get a backhoe in peoples yard...She knows i am not hitting on her.
Just call a contractor from your town. some of these people do know what there talking about others dont... To many chiefs and not enough Indians...

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RE: need advice about bowing basement wall - 4/21/2008 10:23:05 PM

DDraigeuraid

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Joined: 4/3/2008
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na, the water table in that part of the state shouldn't be that close to the surface. Check your gutters to see if the water is coming back to the house instead of away from it. I'm guessing that you have a leak above the problem area. That will also need to be repaired if you want this to be a long term rental. Protect your investment.

BTW, is the oil pump museum still in operation, or have they taken them all out of mothballs and are using them out in the fields. Back in the eighties the price of Kansas crude was about 18-20/bbl. and the drillers couldn't make any money.

Dragon

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Post #: 45

RE: need advice about bowing basement wall - 4/25/2008 8:40:19 PM

mstrj69

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First off, let me say, the bracing needs to be done if the wall is to be replaced or repaired. Somehoe the corner of the house has to be kept up and not falling in on you while the work is done.

As for whom to get, do not try to do this in house and do not act as your own general contractor. If you want a concrete guy to do it ok but make sure that someone is taking total responsibility for the house staying in place while the work is done. Otherwise if the house caves in, you may be arguing with three or 4 different people in court as to who owes how much and how much is your fault because you did not tell them correctly what they had to do.

As you will have to get city permits or county permits or both for the construction, have the inspector/engineer come out and inspect the house to determine what they feel needs to be done with the basement and are you doing too much or too little. They should not charge you as they get paid through your real estate tax dollars.

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RE: need advice about bowing basement wall - 4/25/2008 8:49:19 PM

DesFIP

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Joined: 11/25/2007
From: Apple County NY
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Ouch.
Structural engineer will diagnose it and give you the correct way to fix it.
Unfortunately this is not cheap.

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RE: need advice about bowing basement wall - 4/26/2008 4:27:31 PM

needsadvice

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thanks for thoughts those who helped and didnt send stupid emails about i cant ask that here...and the strangest thing, people posted here and then emailed me hateful things quite puzzled but proves even more how hateful people are when they think no one can see it...anwyays off topic means just that people, i can ask anything i want (that isnt illegal); read tos to get a clue....anyways thanks to all who gave me good info of where to search and things to take into account :)

< Message edited by needsadvice -- 4/26/2008 4:30:20 PM >

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RE: need advice about bowing basement wall - 4/26/2008 4:46:48 PM

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