Fixing foundation slope
Can anyone recommend a contractor or construction company to ‘stabilize a sloping foundation’? I had a structural engineer do an assessment and he recommends piling or underpinning to keep my house from continuing to move. This is not a sagging-beam-issue since it’s not a wide wood frame brownstone. (it’s a brick townhouse) I ask for…
Can anyone recommend a contractor or construction company to ‘stabilize a sloping foundation’? I had a structural engineer do an assessment and he recommends piling or underpinning to keep my house from continuing to move. This is not a sagging-beam-issue since it’s not a wide wood frame brownstone. (it’s a brick townhouse)
I ask for recommendations since every company i’ve called claims the job is ‘too small’ or else doesn’t do this kind of work.
Ask an old-timer in the neighborhood, ask your neighbors what their experience is in their homes. We did, and learned every similar house in the neighborhood has a slump in one part the same as we do, and knowing that we felt less worried. It might be a quirk of the way the house was designed or built, not necessarily a “problem” that needs fixing.
OP here:
There is no evidence of it having gotten worse…there is only concern from the engineer that he does not want it to EVENTUALLY get worse.
Fine line…yes?
It does make me wonder because it seems many buildings in bklyn have a foundation slope…and by my search on brownstoner forums i have found that it’s not a hot topic so i’m figuring that no one actually fixes the slope?
if your foundation ‘is working, don’t fix it’
Underpinning is not a small job but there is a lot of risk involved. There are a lot of brownstones that have sloping foundations. Most of the time this is not a big deal. The foundation settles and then does not move anymore unless there has been some kind of disturbance to the land around you. e.g. a building coming down or going up. If you have not noticed that the problem has gotten worse over time then probably not something to worry about. If your engineer thinks that this it is getting worse, what evidence does he have of this?
It was a visual inspection. Felt like the 2nd level of a home inspection, yet this time was more focused on structure. He prepared no safety plan, documents. It was just a list of problems and necessary repairs, no info on how to accomplish them.
The engineer had no recommendations on companies to fix the issue.
Does this all seem weird?
The structural engineer first of all needs take more steps than just an assessment if by this word you mean visual inspection. You shouldn’t just call a contractor directly and ask him to start underpinning the foundations of your townhouse.
Your engineer would need to prepare specifications for the work (including safety plan), filing documents, and there is a process required for underpinning to notify your neighbors of the work, etc. Your engineer should be able to recommend an appropriate company that has experience in this work once the filing is in place.