Foundation repair options

[Lauren Rangely]

I’m sorting out best options for a house that my husband bought in 2008 which has been a rental for years now.  It’s currently vacant and we are considering selling, but the foundation will be an issue.  It probably needs to be addressed to keep the house safe to inhabit long term even if we keep it as a rental.  

The house had some signs of foundation settlement when he bought it which were chalked up to age, however it's clear now that there has been more recent movement (some of this may have been due to an earthquake a few years ago) causing about 3 inches of settlement along this very small house. It's a 2/1 750 sf house built in the 1920s with a concrete wall foundation and partial basement. ARV is about 375k. We had a structural engineer evaluate and he recommended installation of piers to stabilize the foundation. From what we can find, houses with piers in the neighborhood have largely had to go very deep (90-120 ft), so estimates from local foundation contractors are ranging from 70-130k. That cost is for 17-18 piers - this was consistent between the 4 contractors we got bids form and we are waiting on a response from the engineer about how many he feels are necessary.

Are there any repair alternatives we should look into?   We can pay what we need to, but putting 1/3 the sale cost of the house into a foundation repair doesn’t seem like a good option unless there’s absolutely no alternative.   We’ve considered just disclosing and selling as is, but I suspect the buyer pool would be very limited knowing the issues and risks.  The small lot and setback requirements mean that it would have little to no value as a tear down.  

[Bruce Woodruff]

I am not an Engineer.....but having done this^^^ a few times, here is my take... You do not actually need to go that deep to repair this problem. I would just excavate a few 2'x2'x2' (or larger if possible) spot footings, w rebar and Simpson hardware,under the house (you will want to take up the floor to make this easier to do). Place these footings strategically after you have jacked the house up to proper level. Then do a 'seismic strapping' to aid in halting further movement.

IMHO this should cost closer to $20,000. FInd a good old school General Contractor and forget these engineers. They have to go overkill crazy like this in order to cover their butts.....

Once again, this advice is worth exactly what you paid for it.....