Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Foundation repair ? ?

Even if all building specs are followed and in order, something as simple as a gutter downpipe draining next to a foundation wall can cause the issue you have.

The video posted above by cash is an exellent one.

This a footing on grade (NOT excavated)... WHY?

The material under the footing is pure rock and no way to excavate that rock... AND if excavated (i.e. code required?)... the disturbance would be horrific and the original compaction under the footing impossible to re-obtain.

SO... I did a footing on grade... added a course of block. Back filled to the top of the footing with positive drainage away from the footing to mitigate frost heave.

All of the footings were done this way.

Frost heave is no joke... but so is footing settlement because a backhoe excavated footing leaves pathetic compaction (often, but not always). Pick the lesser of the two evils.

To each his own...

The whole project here bottom to the top... link below

Put a picture between the various projects just to keep them separate for now... as you look at them in the link below.

First 1,000' is Metal Building #1

Second 1,000' is "Baby Bear"

Third 1k feet is Metal Building #2... This is the building related to the picture above Picks about 3/4 way thru the link.

Forth 1k feet is "Mama Bear"

https://photos.app.goo.gl/D3EVwsEsLJMVdgDz9

1k foot designations are the daisy chain of electricity up the mountain toward the summit.

Without seeing pics that is hard to say... BUT I have a tendency to speculate that the footing was dug with a backhoe... and NOT RECOMPACTED at the bottom (i.e. loose material) afterwards... over time water (groundwater or gutter water) found the loose soil under the concrete footing and dissolved it (i.e. wet it enough to settle back to natural compaction... thus leaving a void under the footing that the footing could not bridge... thus the footing sank or "settled".

But again... only a guess without pictures.

Uncompacted soil is a real killer for many many buildings.

If you can walk in a backhoe excavated footing and leave footprints... your compaction is NOT SUFFICIENT.

Cash, you've got some very nice property there!


Did a lot of footing/foundation work early in my construction career. Those footings that were backhoe dug always got compacted with a jumping jack.

Thank you Sir...

100% agree that they SHOULD always get get jumping jacked, but have seen plenty that didn't... I'm sure you have seen similar shortcuts... most homeowners have no idea many times.

Integrity in construction is good stuff.

Every footing around here in mid TN is excavated with a back hoe or mini ex. In large part, there are no issues with compaction underneath the footing.

Footing’s are 24” wide here too for wood framing

Find someone with a laser, set up out front and check it side to side, then do the same in the back. Should be able to figure out pretty easily which end or corner is settling.

Have you ever run the math on loading?

2' wide x 100 linear feet (assume a 25' x 25' house) = 200 square feet of bearing surface that the footing causes.

200 sf x 144 sq inches per foot = 28800 square inches

Weight of concrete (assume 8" thick) = 200 x .67 x 120 per cubic foot = 16,080 pounds.

Weight of wood framing and siding plus roof trusses plus shingles = 4,000 pounds max

Piano, sofa, people and all of their chit = 8,000 pounds max

Total weight on the footing 16,080 + 4000 + 8,000 = 28,080 pounds

28,0080 pounds bearing on 28,800 square inches is less than ONE POUND per Square Inch.

Walk outside and stand on one foot.

Your boot is 3" wide and 10" long... that is 30 square inches (assuming the boot is dead flat (no heel)) and you weigh 210 pounds...

That is 7 pounds per square inch.

SEVEN times more bearing load than a 24" wide footing.

Code is stupid like that...

Settlement from lack of re-compaction is what fuggs up buildings that settle... 90% of the time.

In the case of my metal buildings... lateral (wind load) was the primary concern.



Bearing was 28k IIRC... that translates to a lateral load (wind blowing the build over) of 134 mph wind.

29 gauge sheet metal comes off at 109 mph.

Once the pallet racking is installed (AND attached to the building structure... AND loaded)... I will exceed a Cat 3 hurricane... BUT will still have 29 gauge sheet metal that will fail at 109 mph.

It's all just math... and identifying how chit fails.

Agree... but pictures would really nail the problem. Probably.

Sorry for not getting back to you guys - and I really appreciate the feedback., Like you - maybe $4k ...okay, can do ....$20k...gonna live with it.

A ball on the floor doesn't roll but many doors do swing open.

I will post a few pics here after a bit. I do know there is a bit of a list.. just not sure when one has to get it fixed vs just live with it and patch\paint.


oh yeah- on slab, no basement. 2 story home.

Hi boys- here is what I could get to show you.


From Kitchen corner at stairs to back door.
Next to Return air ( this may have gotten wet years back)
Above bathroom on 1st floor to second floor wall- attic
Drywall seem in stairway.

I'll get back here later with some thoughts about this . . .

I'm back . . .

Back in the day I worked for a structural engineer. He was hired to do many foundation inspections. The first thing he did (after initial visual visit was) to establish a level line around the house from corner to corner and in between several times over the course of weeks or more to see how much, if any, change there was. He would then come up with possible remedies and procedure(s) to fix the problem(s). Solutions were as simple as changing the drainage around the house and as labor intensive as digging and under-pinning the footing or mud-jacking to level. One house. about 5 years old. was out of level by about 10". Turned out it was built in an area that had been improperly graded for the development . . . no grubbing and benching prior to filling, compaction and building. Extensive work was needed.

We always had a wet front yard and a neighbor on lower ground behind us thought we had a leak. I think we have some natural water under us although this last dry year it seems to be dried up. They put a new water valve in front- not sure that contributed but the meter is not constantly under water like it was. I had that water tested a few times and chlorine was never found. Last year , on advice, we added gutters to the north side of our house which is a low spot between two roof valleys- mine and my neighbors. Now their is a lot less marsh-ness on that side since..

There are a plethora of foundation repair companies and I don't mind having some take a look but don't want to be snookered either.

So- do these pics warrant a call to a foundation repair guy- or just a good painter who knows how to mud?

That does not look like a foundation issue to me - just typical cracking due to slight movement of the various parts. I repair that kind of stuff all the time for my customers. Stairways and vaulted ceilings are very susceptible to cracking, regardless of the quality of the construction.

You still need to do this. It would be great if you had a laser to shoot your outside foundation but most homeowners don't. Is your floor reasonably level and/or your walls reasonably plumb? first check.

Can you feel an issue walking on the floor?

With your pictures and door swing, foundation is down the list of culprits, roof load stress is the most likely.

I'd patch and paint, watch it for a year or two, I don't see anything major.

Kent

Not being able to grasp the entire project, those cracks are not necessarily from settling. I agree with the possibility of some structural improvements in your roof structure. We oft times would see this type of separation in drywall and some of it can be rectified in the initial drywall install, but repairs are not that tuff if one does their homework!

PM blackheart.

He's an expert on foundations.