Got A New Problem At My House!

Well, the last time I was on board here, I blogged about my roof replacement and how much the extra wood needed, cost me out of pocket. Well, a week or so after the roofers left, I had my satellite company come out to "refocus" my dish, because the roofing people had to move it. Well, during that process, I'm watching the satellite guy staple some wiring to the side of my house and I note that some cracks, which had long been there between bricks, had really widened. Of course, I had not been watching them closely, but it was far worse than needing some tuckpointing. At one spot near a windowsill under a picture window, the crack was nearly an inch wide! In the main part as the crack zig zagged down to ground level, it was half an inch wide!

So, I approached a local home inspector with some pictures and he told me I needed piers put under my house and he recommended I get 3 estimates. So, I checked the Yellow Pages and found 3 companies that did helical piering and over the period of a week, got all 3 estimates, ranging from $9500 to $15,500. The $15,500 guy wanted to pier the entire back of my house with 12 helical piers, while the other two companies said that was not necessary. Just the family room had sunk an inch and a quarter to an inch and a half over it's 43 year life, while the other back corner of the house, had barely sunk a quarter of an inch at most. Something to watch the other 2 compnies said, but it doesn't need fixing right now.

So my choice was the mid price guy, about $9900. They'll put in 7 helical piers around the sides and back of my family room and raise it back up to level. After that, I can't have any repairs to the interior for about 6 months, because the house, the beams, the interior, all need to get used to the new "settings" as it were. And oh yes, the interior cracking is horrible, right in the same spot where the exterior brick cracking was going on with big splits in my drywall inside.
So I suggest you be observant of the exterior of your home, especially if you have cracking where mortar used to be between the bricks, if you have a brick exterior. And if your family room is on a slab, like mine. I have a nice basement, but a slab under that family room. Be aware, that the slab under the family room can sink, creating this cracking problem!

'Tis the season again. Seems just like yesterday that it was Christmas, 2009 and now, it's 12 months later. So from my "cracked" house to your "healthy" home, my wishes for a Happy Holiday! Seasons Greetings to all!