Foundation Repairs

Well, thought I would start a new blog to document the foundation repairs that are necessary on my old house. We have had several contractors submit bids and provide their recommendations. There are actually two foundations on the house, the first is the original house foundation and the second was for the addition that was added some time in the 70’s we think, not really sure when. The newer foundation has been having blowout at several points, which one contractor showed me was due to the foundation bolts being improperlly positioned, to close to the outer wall of the foundation vice in the middle.




The one photo shows how the foundation bolt rusted out, swelled and pushed out the cement. All contractors reported that this is an easy repair and can easily be corrected by installing a newer stud into the remaining foundation and then use a hurricane style strap to tie the new foundation bolt to the floor joists.
The next pic is of the original foundation and really shows the exterior decomposition of the foundation walls.

This actually looks worse than it is, the interior of these walls are all fine underneath the house; so the exterior can be repaired and resurfaced. There are also about 5-7 cracks that will need repair and filling on both foundations. The job will also require new piers and posts and possibly a new support beam to help support the old section of the house that needs it. We have one room that has a noticable dip and rise in it. Still waiting for one more bid to come in before we decide which contractor to go with and who we think will do the best work for our needs. Also found that the back house wall siding and window trim boards had excessive gaps, which I thought was caused by the failing foundation but turns out I was wrong. So I will have to replace all that siding and re-install the two windows due to water and termite damage-I see another blog series in my future, uuuggghhh.