I Bought Gilbert Grape's House
 

Not exactly, but something very much like it. For over a million
bucks, you too can buy a crooked house in Hawaii, in need of
foundation repairs. In one room, the built-in bookcase is adjusted by
1" side to side to make it look level. Several contractors and
engineers have visited the home and examined the crawl space. One pier
is in need of repair and some cmu's need to be replastered. At least
this is my view. Their view? Duh, up to $70,000 in repinning. This is
just a ballpark estimate. One guy recommends micropiles. Another,
Atlas screws. Each side bad mouths the other. The engineers give you a
lifetime guarantee on their plans. To you, the current owner. But
nobody wants to put this in writing. All verbal. Trust me, I know what
I'm doin'. Ever heard that line before? What is a homeowner to do?
Are there other states in the U.S. with such low standards in
construction and repair?

Litany of things I have already fixed in the first three weeks of
ownership: Wall patching, re-painting, stucco crack repair, gfci
outlet replacement, new dryer vent (the old one vented in the
crawlspace, not outside), several sprinkler heads, new appliances (the
old ones did not even fit through the door, and had to be
disassembled), weeding, stuck blinds, sticking windows, bad cable
wiring (yeah, a splitter was wired wrong and corroded to boot, under
the house), etc. This list goes on ... Give me a break.

I Bought Gilbert Grape's House
 

On Jul 9, 2:48?am, "Abe M." wrote:
Not exactly, but something very much like it. For over a million
bucks, you too can buy a crooked house in Hawaii, in need of
foundation repairs. In one room, the built-in bookcase is adjusted by
1" side to side to make it look level. Several contractors and
engineers have visited the home and examined the crawl space. One pier
is in need of repair and some cmu's need to be replastered. At least
this is my view. Their view? Duh, up to $70,000 in repinning. This is
just a ballpark estimate. One guy recommends micropiles. Another,
Atlas screws. Each side bad mouths the other. The engineers give you a
lifetime guarantee on their plans. To you, the current owner. But
nobody wants to put this in writing. All verbal. Trust me, I know what
I'm doin'. Ever heard that line before? What is a homeowner to do?
Are there other states in the U.S. with such low standards in
construction and repair?

Litany of things I have already fixed in the first three weeks of
ownership: Wall patching, re-painting, stucco crack repair, gfci
outlet replacement, new dryer vent (the old one vented in the
crawlspace, not outside), several sprinkler heads, new appliances (the
old ones did not even fit through the door, and had to be
disassembled), weeding, stuck blinds, sticking windows, bad cable
wiring (yeah, a splitter was wired wrong and corroded to boot, under
the house), etc. This list goes on ... Give me a break.

sorry you should fix the structural issues FIRST! otherwise when you
do jack and level things you just completed repairs will crack:(

I assume you checked for termites, they love your area of the country

I Bought Gilbert Grape's House
 

"Abe M." writes:

Not exactly, but something very much like it. For over a million
bucks, you too can buy a crooked house in Hawaii ... Give me a break.

You're in Hawaii and you're complaining?

Stop, you're killing me!

If I can find a place to hang a hammock in your backyard
can I move in?

I Bought Gilbert Grape's House
 

I live on Oahu and have a hard time even getting anyone in the trades to
come out for an estimate.
You might want to see what remedies your neighbors have used.

--
Remove -NOSPAM- to contact me.

I Bought Gilbert Grape's House
 

On Jul 9, 11:44 am, Dan Espen
wrote:
"Abe M." writes:
Not exactly, but something very much like it. For over a million
bucks, you too can buy a crooked house in Hawaii ... Give me a break.

You're in Hawaii and you're complaining?

Stop, you're killing me!

If I can find a place to hang a hammock in your backyard
can I move in?

LOL. Sure, if you can hang green board and fix up gutters, fascia,
plumbing, ductwork, and the like.

I think the state motto for Hawaii should be changed to: "If you can't
stand the humidity, get out of the crawl space."

I agree with John about getting contractors to come out for estimates.
The good ones are booked for months. But if you have tens of thousands
of dollars to dangle in front of them, they come running quickly.
Window replacement and re-stucco'ing easily approaches $100K. As for
the foundation, I'm going with helical screws. If you're going to get
screwed, do it big time.