innerlooper

This is unusual and you need to first investigate the possibility that there is an underground drain line that has failed and is letting soil and surface water to slowly wash into the drain, hence lowering the yard. This could be a sanitary (sewer) drain or a stormwater drain from the yard or gutter discharge. Try to figure out where your main house sewer is running, or get an investigative plumber to do a hydrostatic test and/ or run a camera down the drain. Or you could dig in the lowered area and see what turns up. Washouts are not uncommon. There was a time that the city would do a smoke test on the sewers to make sure folks weren't using the sanitary lines to drain yards (illegal) but I think they stopped because of complaints.... smoke coming out in homes that had dried out traps etc. Let me know what you find. Thanks.

I am a real-estate related business that has been mentioned in the forums here (positive comments). I don't want to use the site for advertising and prefer to stay anonymous if that's OK. This allows me to offer more frank opinions about the current scene. Have been around old house for many years and I hope I can of service here. Innerlooper

Of course your inspector should have seen any deficient conditions when you acquire the house. What was on the report? On a two story the loads are quite large and you need to be proactive. Its not an ASAP situation but the longer you wait, the more distorted wood structure and flooring will get, and bent wood may not ever come back to its original shape. There are decent honest P&B foundation folks out there. I would get several proposals and compare. There are also artists out there who will sell a widow on $12,000 worth of "repairs" that don't need to be done. Unless extra beams are added or replaced, and the crawl space is reasonably accessible, adding or adjusting a couple of interior piers should not cost more than $2000. It depends on your specific situation though. John Pfister (281-480-6684) has been around a long time and does good work. He doesn't do huge house lifts but this sounds like his kind of job. Murley is a larger outfit that does work in the Heights +. 281-447-3507. Some sheetrock may need to be patched but that is cosmetic. If you have a structural issue under the house, that is more important. Right now it hasn't rained in a while and most crawl spaces in town are nice and dry. Perfect time to do foundation work. After a couple of weeks of rain there will be a lot of ponding down below and jobs will have to be put off, as jacks will just bury themselves in the muck.

Roof: if you are tearing off a couple of old roofs, and wood shingles, and going back with OSB or plywood, then the overall weight change will be negligible and your roof system will be somewhat sturdier, as you will be creating diaphragms that resist racking. I would take a look at your attic though before doing the roof. You probably have 2x4 (undersized) rafters and may not have very good purlin bracing under the longer spans. Get with a framer and add bracing before the roof job if possible. Braces should bear down on load-bearing wall plates only. No braces down on ceiling spans (which probably are 2x4 also and undersized by today's standards). Changing out the roof should have no bearing on the foundation. Also if you are tearing off wood shingles, half of them will end up in the attic and create a mess and be a fire hazard. Maybe lay down some tarps before the crew gets going. I assume when you say "deck" you mean new roof sheathing/ decking and not a new deck out back? Depending on how dramatic the foundation adjustments were, it can take months for the house structure to readjust itself to the new conditions down below.

I would be glad to answer questions about old house stuff, in particular Pier and Beam construction. At no charge

I beg to differ on how common Hot/ Cold is reversed on water heaters. Most licensed plumbers will not get this wrong. Homeowner and his drinkin' buddy on Saturday afternoon will, however. Its easy for anyone to check.... run some hot water at a faucet, and feel the connectors on the top of the heater, and if the right side connection (embossed "C" on top for Cold) warms up, then you have reversed H/C. If there is an outstanding permit on the heater, it needs to be cleared. You can also check the status of the permit online. Start here: https://www.pdinet.pd.houstontx.gov/permits/index.asp Its best if you have the permit number. Searching by address sometimes does not find an existing permit.