Messages and Online Forum Q&A

Re: leveling my house

From: info@builderswebsource.com
Category: Foundations and Basements
Remote Name: 63.198.181.43
Date: 03 Oct 2001
Time: 09:25 PM

Comments

House leveling is a tricky business and long-term success depends on several factors. If a house is leaning or sagging, as in your case, you need to determine the cause in order to provide a lasting remedy. Usually, foundations problems are a result of a mismatch between the existing soil and drainage conditions and the design of the foundation. For example, heavy clay soil will expand and contract throughout the year. This can severely damage a foundation. In other cases, the soil might be fine, but the foundation is under engineered, without sufficient footing depth or steel reinforcement.

Normally, if a house is sagging in the middle, it's possible to level it by jacking up the girders and inserting shims between the support posts...or installing new support posts altogether. Jacking a house can be dangerous work if you don't know what you're doing. Plus, you may need specialized equipment such as hydraulic jacks, steel support beams, etc.

In your case, the house is also leaning, which further complicates the situation. We strongly recommend that you leave this job to a foundation repair contractor who specializes in this type of situation. You may also need a simple geotechnical evaluation first to determine more about the soil and drainage conditions. This will ultimately determine the best way to address your condition.

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