First of all, thanks to those that responded to my previous post.

I'm preparing my house for sale and two of my basement walls will
definitely need steel reinforcement beams and one will not.

I'm having trouble deciding on the other wall. It is out of plumb by
about 5/8 or 3/4 inch tops. There is some step cracking where I can
fit a quarter through the cracks and some horizontal cracking where I
can fit a penny. I had the basement inspected 8 years ago and they
determined the wall was out of plumb 3/4 inch so it hasn't moved (The
walls I am reinforcing moved about 1/4)

If I didn't reinforce this wall, how much of a deal do you think a
buyer, and their realtor and inspector, make out of this wall?

Thanks again for your opinions.

Rob

Rob Kiz wrote:

First of all, thanks to those that responded to my previous post.

I'm preparing my house for sale and two of my basement walls will
definitely need steel reinforcement beams and one will not.

I'm having trouble deciding on the other wall. It is out of plumb by
about 5/8 or 3/4 inch tops. There is some step cracking where I can
fit a quarter through the cracks and some horizontal cracking where I
can fit a penny. I had the basement inspected 8 years ago and they
determined the wall was out of plumb 3/4 inch so it hasn't moved (The
walls I am reinforcing moved about 1/4)

If I didn't reinforce this wall, how much of a deal do you think a
buyer, and their realtor and inspector, make out of this wall?

If I was still there with a couple 'reinforced' walls, another that
was out of plumb wouldn't kill the deal.

Personally, if I was selling the house, I'd try to sell it 'as is'
with disclosure & a couple estimates. Somebody who really wants the
house will bite and get to make their own decision on the rest of the
walls. [my gut says I'd price jacking the works up and replacing the
entire basement]

Jim

On Jun 19, 4:59*pm, Rob Kiz wrote:
First of all, thanks to those that responded to my previous post.

*I'm preparing my house for sale and two of my basement walls will
definitely need steel reinforcement beams and one will not.

I'm having trouble deciding on the other wall. It is out of plumb by
about 5/8 or 3/4 inch tops. There is some step cracking where I can
fit a quarter through the cracks and some horizontal cracking where I
can fit a penny. I had the basement inspected 8 years ago and they
determined the wall was out of plumb 3/4 inch so it hasn't moved (The
walls I am reinforcing moved about 1/4)

If I didn't reinforce this wall, how much of a deal do you think a
buyer, and their realtor and inspector, make out of this wall?

Thanks again for your opinions.

Rob

They (inspectors) tend to look on the black side to cover their arses.
They (buyers) are sure to make a big deal of it in order to beat the
price down.
The normal proceedure for this sort of thing is to cement little slips
of glass across the cracks. If the glass cracks, it indicates the
wall is still moving.
As someone else said, the movement may only take place in certain
circumstances eg frost or heavy rain or traffic. ie it may occur in
fits and starts.
One thing for sure, if there are similar properties to yours for sale
nearby, no-one will buy yours except at a big discount.
You could try getting quotations for the repair work...............hm,
dunno.

On Jun 19, 8:59*am, Rob Kiz wrote:
First of all, thanks to those that responded to my previous post.

*I'm preparing my house for sale and two of my basement walls will
definitely need steel reinforcement beams and one will not.

I'm having trouble deciding on the other wall. It is out of plumb by
about 5/8 or 3/4 inch tops. There is some step cracking where I can
fit a quarter through the cracks and some horizontal cracking where I
can fit a penny. I had the basement inspected 8 years ago and they
determined the wall was out of plumb 3/4 inch so it hasn't moved (The
walls I am reinforcing moved about 1/4)

If I didn't reinforce this wall, how much of a deal do you think a
buyer, and their realtor and inspector, make out of this wall?

Thanks again for your opinions.

Rob

Rob-

A wall that is out of plump but not moving or has static cracks is
not a huge deal, unless the cracks leak.

Hilti (& other mfrs) have crack repair materials & techniques.

what exactly do you mean by....

two of my basement walls will definitely need steel reinforcement beams and one will not.

If the walls are still moving (from soil or water pressure) anything
short of a huge "steel reinforcement beam" isn't going to stop that
movement.
Trying to arrest movement involving walls & soil is very difficult.
Soil nailing, tiebacks are the real way to stop this movement but my
SWAG would be $10 to $20k

Out of plumb by 3/4" (1/2 deg) is like the upper limit of
acceptable.

You'e going to get beat up by the buyer & their hired "experts".
Better be prepared to negotiate (ie lower the price, provide money for
repair or buy insurance).
It all depends on the properties in the area, the market etc. Get a
real engineer out there to give you a solid professional repair
evaluation.
You'll have to pay a few $100's but you'll be ready with a good plan /
good info to counter whatever the buyers say.
And you'll be able to negotiate from an informed position.

Or oyu could just execute the repair plan & show the stamped dwg.


We sold a home back in Oct 2005 ....fairly well fixed up but the
buyer's inspection yielded 18 pages of snivels. I didn't even bother
to read them.
We told our realtor (who we had used on 4 other sales)....... "make
the list go away" .

On a $750k sale...... we "gave up" less than $10k (IIRC, it was a
while ago) to make the deal happen.
And I didnt raise my blood pressure by arguing the list.

Rob Kiz wrote:
First of all, thanks to those that responded to my previous post.

I'm preparing my house for sale and two of my basement walls will
definitely need steel reinforcement beams and one will not.

I'm having trouble deciding on the other wall. It is out of plumb by
about 5/8 or 3/4 inch tops. There is some step cracking where I can
fit a quarter through the cracks and some horizontal cracking where I
can fit a penny. I had the basement inspected 8 years ago and they
determined the wall was out of plumb 3/4 inch so it hasn't moved (The
walls I am reinforcing moved about 1/4)

If I didn't reinforce this wall, how much of a deal do you think a
buyer, and their realtor and inspector, make out of this wall?

Thanks again for your opinions.

Rob

Apologies for sounding harsh, but to anyone with construction background
and/or a competent house inspector, a basement like that, even
'reinforced', would likely be a deal breaker unless there was a massive
price cut, especially with the current housing market. In the case of a
basement wall, past problems are a good indicator of likely future
problems. Most realtors would be clueless- I had to educate several when
I was house shopping and discovered major defects. (They grew to expect
me wanting to see the basement before I bothered to look at the rest of
the house. There were lotsa houses where I never saw what the upstairs
looked like.)

I've seen probably a couple dozen 'reinforced' basement walls over the
years, and none of them impressed me, because nothing had been done to
solve the underlying problem. (almost always inadequate foundation
drainage/improper backfill and grading, or a slumping hill.) When I was
a wee lad, my father was building a lakeside home for someone, and his
basement contractor did something wrong, and the wall buckled. That end
of the house was held up by a crane and a spreader beam, slung from a
cable punched through the dried-in house, for a week, while that end of
foundation was totally rebuilt. My father took a bath on that house, but
he would not allow a half-ass patch job. Not sure if he went after the
sub or not- I was just a kid after all- but I never saw that guy on any
of his sites again.

--
aem sends...

In article
,
DD_BobK wrote:

We sold a home back in Oct 2005 ....fairly well fixed up but the
buyer's inspection yielded 18 pages of snivels. I didn't even bother
to read them.
We told our realtor (who we had used on 4 other sales)....... "make
the list go away" .

On a $750k sale...... we "gave up" less than $10k (IIRC, it was a
while ago) to make the deal happen.
And I didnt raise my blood pressure by arguing the list.

Around here, back in '05, you could sell any house in any condition for
at least 15% over list price. Things have changed.

On Jun 22, 6:12*pm, Smitty Two wrote:
In article
,

*DD_BobK wrote:
We sold a home back in Oct 2005 ....fairly well fixed up but the
buyer's inspection yielded 18 pages of snivels. *I didn't even bother
to read them.
We told our realtor (who we had used on 4 other sales)....... *"make
the list go away" .

On a $750k sale...... we "gave up" *less than $10k (IIRC, it was a
while ago) to make the deal happen.
And I didnt raise my blood pressure by arguing the list.

Around here, back in '05, you could sell any house in any condition for
at least 15% over list price. Things have changed.

As here in the UK!

On Jun 22, 1:42*pm, harry wrote:
On Jun 22, 6:12*pm, Smitty Two wrote:





In article
,

*DD_BobK wrote:
We sold a home back in Oct 2005 ....fairly well fixed up but the
buyer's inspection yielded 18 pages of snivels. *I didn't even bother
to read them.
We told our realtor (who we had used on 4 other sales)....... *"make
the list go away" .

On a $750k sale...... we "gave up" *less than $10k (IIRC, it was a
while ago) to make the deal happen.
And I didnt raise my blood pressure by arguing the list.

Around here, back in '05, you could sell any house in any condition for
at least 15% over list price. Things have changed.

As here in the UK!- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Sorta depends on the location. In desirable locations that only have
older homes people accept a lot. Older homes tend to have foundation
issues. They may or may not be a big deal.

If you sell you're probably going to end up paying for the
inspection. Go ahead now and get an inspector and have it inspected.
Tell him you're including his final report in the sales package. Tell
him you want to work with him to clear up anything he thinks might be
an issue. You might have to pay a little extra to get him to come
back and check the repairs. But then you'll know up front what the
inspection results are.

On Jun 22, 10:12*am, Smitty Two wrote:
In article
,

*DD_BobK wrote:
We sold a home back in Oct 2005 ....fairly well fixed up but the
buyer's inspection yielded 18 pages of snivels. *I didn't even bother
to read them.
We told our realtor (who we had used on 4 other sales)....... *"make
the list go away" .

On a $750k sale...... we "gave up" *less than $10k (IIRC, it was a
while ago) to make the deal happen.
And I didnt raise my blood pressure by arguing the list.

Around here, back in '05, you could sell any house in any condition for
at least 15% over list price. Things have changed.

Our market soured sooner... after first Q '05 things got very
"soft".
We were late listing our house by about 3 months and it wound up on
the market about five months with only a handful of offers.

My point to the OP was either implement a designed / stamped "fix" or
be prepared to "give back" off the price.

The house eventually sold for 15% below asking price and we were lucky
to get that.
Hence my motivation to "make the list go away" by throwing some money
at it.

cheers
Bob

On Jun 23, 12:43*am, DD_BobK wrote:
On Jun 22, 10:12*am, Smitty Two wrote:





In article
,

*DD_BobK wrote:
We sold a home back in Oct 2005 ....fairly well fixed up but the
buyer's inspection yielded 18 pages of snivels. *I didn't even bother
to read them.
We told our realtor (who we had used on 4 other sales)....... *"make
the list go away" .

On a $750k sale...... we "gave up" *less than $10k (IIRC, it was a
while ago) to make the deal happen.
And I didnt raise my blood pressure by arguing the list.

Around here, back in '05, you could sell any house in any condition for
at least 15% over list price. Things have changed.

Our market soured sooner... after first Q '05 things got very
"soft".
We were late listing our house by about 3 months and it wound up on
the market about five months with only a handful of offers.

My point to the OP was either implement a designed / stamped "fix" or
be prepared to "give back" off the price.

The house eventually sold for 15% below asking price and we were lucky
to get that.
Hence my motivation to "make the list go away" by throwing some money
at it.

cheers
Bob- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

The op didn't say anything about where he was or what the surrounding
homes were. You can't assume he's going to take some huge hit because
you did or because he's got some issues with the basement walls. Just
because they have shifted around some doen't automatically mean that
the house is about to fall. Could have taken 60 years to do that and
will be another 60 before it really is a problem.