On Sun, 28 Apr 2013 02:20:32 -0400, "CraigT"
wrote:



Interesting. When I first saw this I assumed that there was an option when
houses were built to where people could have gotten a larger doorwall, so
they just framed in the sides to accommodate a smaller doorwall. That ledge

I've never heard "doorwall" before, but from what I can find, it seems
to mean a door that dominates a wall. At least a sliding glass door
with 2 segments. Guys, does he mean "doorway" in those places where
he says doorwall.

the sill plate is sitting on is the footing the basement walls were poured
on.

So why did they use wood, and did they use it only in this one spot?

Any excavation of backyard would not be easy. The house faces on to a pond
and the slope away from the house is kind of important.

Any excavation would only be one or two feet from the house, 3 at
most, and would be refilled after it was fixed. I wonder if you
have a claim against the builder. Not worth it if it is only 2 linear
feet involved, but what if it is more?. If you ask, be sure to say
what state you live in. State laws vary. Maybe even a joint claim
(or class action?) I'm not big on suing, but depending on what some
pro's say, if it's more than what the pictures show, this seems very
bad to me.

I am not a builder, a carpenter, a cement man, or a general contractor

Looking out from that doorwall: http://i.imgur.com/zccgcSe.jpg

View of the house from the back: http://i.imgur.com/fIMddGR.jpg


So far I think my best bet is to cut that sill plate out, pour concrete to
make it higher, then reinstall a new higher sill plate on top.

Unless you plan on selling soon and want to keep this a secret, you
should bring this up at a meeting of the homeowners association, or
talk to all those who have grade level basement doors, like the ones
in the first picture above. You still seem only concerned about
your doorway

I might be
able to do some local landscaping around that doorwall too.


I'll admit that keeping water away from the rocks under the deck might
help a lot. My downspout drained into a cement splash block, which
emptied 18" from the house. But the splashblock wasn't really under
the downspout and enough water filled the soil that 5 feet down on the
inside, inside the cinder block basement wall, my 18" wide sheetrock
molded and rotted. up to 6" above the floor. Someone talked me into
extending the downspout 6 feet, and maybe the whole thing is dry now.
I really should check. (The rotted spot is on the other side of the
room and behind a big chair, so I don't really care.)