lifting a house? / plumbers?

[onthebay]

I'm new to the forum, so I am hoping that I am posting in the right category.

I live along Galveston Bay in Seabrook, and am looking for a company that can raise (lift) my home that sits on concrete blocks. We were blessed not to have flooded in Ike, but our 55 year old frame house has settled and needs to be lifted, not just leveled. Anyone in the bay area know of any reputable people to do this work?

Also, anyone know a good plumber in the Seabrook area? Last week, we had a cold water pipe under the house break under the house when the neighbor's dog went crashing under the house. The crawl space is very small, but a local plumber (who will remain un-named at this point) crawled under the house to fix it. His repair estimate was $400 - $500, but the bill was $1000. That's not the end of the story however. The same plumber has had to come back out 3 times now (charging each time) to repair his "fix." I think we need a new plumber....we've been without water for almost a week now....uggh!

Any suggestions?????

Great forum! I found as searching for plumbers and house levelers....

[rbarz]

How high do you need it lifted?

I would have never paid the plumber more than his first estimate... How tough is it to come out from underneath the house and let you know that the first estimate was wrong?

[onthebay]

Thanks for replying RBarz.

I want to lift the house (it's about 1900 sq.ft) approx. 2 - 3 feet (two or three bricks?). In the back, the house, the sills are almost down on the ground (less than a foot); the back was an addition, and most likely the entire house should have been lifted then. More for the health of the house than for flooding---but after Hurricane Ike you never know. I know Cherry House Moving does not want the job (too small and they are too busy)...but I do not know where to call for bids.

Regarding the plumber: I agree not to pay more than the estimate, but what do you do? You come home from work, and they are still there, then return the next day as it still leaks, claiming the pipe broke a "few inches away".....even without crawling under the house myself, I know better. I just got an email and they are back out for another repair....I cannot afford $500/day to fix (or even replace) a cold water line every three days. Surely they will not bill us again??????

How high do you need it lifted?

I would have never paid the plumber more than his first estimate... How tough is it to come out from underneath the house and let you know that the first estimate was wrong?

[GREASER]

I would ask if they knew WTF they were doing...then have them fix whatever they started and leave. I wouldnt pay any more. There are alot of people doing repairs now that have just started in the buis, after they were laid off.

Edited April 14, 2009 by GREASER

[Geoff8201]

Sounds like the plumber is and isn't cheating you, and may or may not know what the hell he is doing. Good sub contractors are hard to find. I make it sound as if I'm stating obvious possibilities, so I'll elaborate on those possibilities.

While him doubling his estimate shows a total lack of job planning based on what he looked at, the fact the pipe keeps springing leaks is a good sign the whole run may just need replacement. Either that or the plumber is an idiot. Is it a company, or just a guy? If its a company request they send someone else or a supervisor to check whats going on at no further charge, and if it's just a guy... well find a new guy. It is possible however to repair one area of pipe and just by working on one area disturb the run just enough to cause another leak, especially if its galvanized, or a low grade copper (something under Type M or Type L).

Speaking of which what type of pipe is it? And "fixing" a leak can be as simple in the short run as placing a piece of rubber over the hole and securing with a hose clamp. In the long run an entire section or the whole thing needs replacement regardless of the material (except usually PVC).

[onthebay]

Thanks Geoff,

I agree on the cheating/not cheating aspect. The plumber is a company in our area. After the fact, find out from neighbors, they are not that great, but then it is too late.

Here's the scenario: neighbor's 80lb. dog runs under our house banging and jumping on/over/through pipes...one pipe springs a big leak. Yes, it is old galvanized 1/2" pipe. Yes, it is old, so a break is not too surprising. Turn off water, call plumbing company close by. They show up, two hours later tell us what's wrong and boss says "$400 - $500, certainly less than $1k." Come home next day to $800 bill....paid it, I can deal with that--sometimes things show up as you work. That same night, pipe leaks/breaks, call plumber...told "another pipe" broke....bill for "coupler and labor" $300, paid it too (what else can you do?). Two days later, the same pipe breaks either at the same place the repairs were made, or very close from what I can observe without crawling completely to the leak under a very low house. Another call; yesterday come home from work to a $400 bill, and they finally cut out and replaced 10' of pipe that I cannot find an obvious leak in (but personally have not pressure tested). Now I am up to $1500 for a job he quoted at $500ish. I think they should have fixed it right the first (or 2nd) try. And should not have charged yesterday for the work that could/should have been done earlier. The workers looked very ashamed yesterday morning...they knew that did not do a good job on the 2nd and 2nd try, but hopefully the job is finally completed and done professionally.

Thoughts/comments are welcome...

* edit: I'm not so much griping about the cost (but it is a lot of money to me) but the fact that a "pro" was hired based on a need and a quote given, then having to continue to pay every few days to fix / repair things that could/should have been repaired right the first time. I feel like I am paying to repair his repairs, if that makes sense.

Now, if we can find a company to lift the house....<smile>.

Sounds like the plumber is and isn't cheating you, and may or may not know what the hell he is doing. Good sub contractors are hard to find. I make it sound as if I'm stating obvious possibilities, so I'll elaborate on those possibilities.

While him doubling his estimate shows a total lack of job planning based on what he looked at, the fact the pipe keeps springing leaks is a good sign the whole run may just need replacement. Either that or the plumber is an idiot. Is it a company, or just a guy? If its a company request they send someone else or a supervisor to check whats going on at no further charge, and if it's just a guy... well find a new guy. It is possible however to repair one area of pipe and just by working on one area disturb the run just enough to cause another leak, especially if its galvanized, or a low grade copper (something under Type M or Type L).

Speaking of which what type of pipe is it? And "fixing" a leak can be as simple in the short run as placing a piece of rubber over the hole and securing with a hose clamp. In the long run an entire section or the whole thing needs replacement regardless of the material (except usually PVC).

Edited April 14, 2009 by onthebay

[onthebay]

OK...plumber is gone; letting the bank account cool off. Another expensive lesson learned.

So, on to the next project: Does anyone have recommendations for a house lifter in the bay area?

1900 sq. ft. house, one story wood frame, on blocks, sitting low, needs to be raised a couple feet and leveled.

Anybody have experience having their house lifted, costs, suggestions????

Thanks in advance!

[rbarz]

The last foundation I did on a home needed a lift also. The house was 3400 SF on slab and was about 6" lower in the back. I hired the same foundation company I always use and they leveled and raised the home 9" (so a total of 15" at the rear of the home). They pumped a concrete and soil mix under the house for three days after fixing all of the plumbing. I don't think it is that big a deal, you just need more jacks and more men. Of course with a slab, the plumbing is toast, but with a pier and beam house you should be able to add extensions and there is no time consuming labor intensive fill to add under the home. I would give you the number to the company I use but they only do slabs.

If I were you I would call regular foundation companies and ask if they can raise the home to your desired height and make sure you tell them you want everything raised at the same time, no piece meal, because ever sheet of drywall in the house will crack if they don't. You will still have cracks just not as many and certainly not as severe. I know Olshan and Atlas would do it, but they probably want about a billion dollars for it... last I heard they were charging like $425 a pier just for leveling (the going rate is around $115-$155). Let us know what people are bidding it at, I am curious... I would guess a decent rate would be around Olshan's leveling price (for everything - plumbing included).

Edited April 16, 2009 by rbarz