Thread: Settling
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aemeijers aemeijers is offline
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Default Settling

wrote:
On Aug 16, 3:26 pm, Tony wrote:
wrote:
About 10 years ago we replaced carpet in the downstairs living room
with vinyl plank. The installers had to use a lot of mud to level the
floor and it looked great when they were done. Now, we see waves
under the flooring and cracks in the patio tile just outside.
My wife and I are wondering if the rate of settling is likely to
increase over time costing lots more to fix in the long run if we put
this off.

I can't answer your question but the problem may be fixed much better
using concrete jacking. (they drill holes in the floor all the way
through the slab, then pump concrete under the slab filling in any voids
and lifting any low spots.) But you would probably need a new floor
after that.


Wouldn't concrete jacking just be a temporary solution? It seems that
if they fill the current low spots with concrete, new ones would
develop as settling continues over the next 10 years. No?


It depends. What you need is a site survey by a real foundation repair
company, that has an actual engineer on staff or retainer. A house that
old should be done settling, unless there has been a ton of rain, or an
extended drought, or some work at the neighbor's place or out in the
street, that has changed the subsurface water flows. Do you have any
windows or doors that seem (more) out of square since the problem came
back, or any fresh cracks inside in the walls, or outside in the brick?
When it rains, does water pond against the house anywhere? If you live
in frost country, do the cracks and low/high spots change in winter or
spring? The engineer will have a whole list of questions, and poke
around awhile. Almost always the answer is pretty obvious, but it is the
kind of thing where you need trained experienced eyes right there.

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