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Foundation Repair in gumbo clay


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I've been reading R Michael Gray PE website for information but maybe someone here can share their own experiences.

 

The house is a two story built in the early '80's in east Ft. Bend county. It's on a slab and after an independant engineer verified the cracked slab in 1997 we began foundation repair in Jan. '98. At that time I was told only the back half needed work so fifteen piers were installed across the back and part way up the sides. All was well for a while. I started noticing some cracks and doors sticking about six years ago and was told everything was OK and they (same contractor) didn't recommend anything at that point.

Now after several summers of drought it is time for more work. The contractor came out and measured the slab elevation and it needs work now. They are re-shimming the back and installing 7 exterior and 2 interior piers across the front but are not recomending any on one corner. This happens to be the zero reference point of the slab.

 

Is this normal practice in the industry?

Why not do the whole house at once?

 

Four more exterior piers would complete the job so all that would be required would be warranty work if adjustments were needed.

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W/o seeing elevation drawings and invoices:

 

Couple of thoughts. Can you find the 1997 engineer and his documentation? Be aware that some Ft Bend developments are notorious for heaving soil problems, not just settlement, and hopefully that was taken into account or eliminated as a cause when work was done. The recent drought wreaked havoc in our area. Stuff moved that had not moved in decades. Even with underpinning you have to "water" the slab. I would skip the extra piers at this point but try to maintain soil moisture esp if the drought returns this summer. 

 

Good info from M Gray. His watering system is easy to install. Just have to pay that pesky water bill. 

 

Can provide some other PE names who do foundation assessments as needed. 

 

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

OK, work complete. Now how long should I let it settle before the plumbing (hydrostatic test?) and cosmetic repairs are made. On the list include new exterior door and frame, patch sheetrock cracks and paint, repair morter cracks on exterior brick.

 

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Just had a house leveled in January. Engineer suggested waiting 90 days before making cosmetic repairs. Indeed, we have seen very slight settling over the past three months.

 

Hydrostatic test was done immediately after leveling. Since tunneling was done to effect foundation work (51 total piers, 13 internal) I had all underslab plumbing replaced at that time. It was suspended from underside of slab so no waiting was necessary for that.

 

Why did someone previously only do a partial job? I had the same situation. Previous work was discovered on only one side of the house. The best reason I can think of is the work was VERY expensive. I could have saved about 45% of  the cost of the slab repair if I let the workmen cut through the floor inside the house.

 

Since I  recently had new tile and hardwood floors installed throughout the house I opted for the extra cost of tunneling. I believe, once all is said and done, it was a wash. There is no way the repaired tile floors would have looked as nice as the original installation. Plus there would be the inconvenience of all the dust and dirt in the house and probably the cost of an extended hotel stay.

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  • 1 month later...

I buy an old house, at the time of purchase it was in good condition but after 3-4 months flooring seems to be broken and unfortunately we have to replace whole flooring. And suddenly when I start thinking that my house is absolutely fine now another problem started and my house roof need reparing. <_<

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