The soil around one corner of my home has subsided for
about 12-18 inches. For a length of about 10-15 feet
the top of the basement wall is exposed.

Is it safe to leave it like this or should I dump a load
of dirt to raise the ground level?

On 11 Jul 2020 19:43:02 GMT, F Russell wrote:

The soil around one corner of my home has subsided for
about 12-18 inches. For a length of about 10-15 feet
the top of the basement wall is exposed.

Is it safe to leave it like this or should I dump a load
of dirt to raise the ground level?


Don't fall in !

https://tinyurl.com/yd45jgx7

John T.

F Russell wrote

The soil around one corner of my home has subsided
for about 12-18 inches. For a length of about 10-15
feet the top of the basement wall is exposed.

Is it safe to leave it like this

Depends on why it has subsided like that.

If there is a sink hole there, the whole house could
end up in the hole when it gets a lot worse.
https://www.google.com/search?q=sink...house&tbm=isch

or should I dump a load of dirt to raise the ground level?

On Sun, 12 Jul 2020 06:19:20 +1000, cantankerous trolling geezer Rodent
Speed, the auto-contradicting senile sociopath, blabbered, again:

FLUSH the trolling senile asshole's latest troll**** unread

WTF are you doing in ahr, you senile trolling asshole?

--
The Natural Philosopher about senile Rodent:
"Rod speed is not a Brexiteer. He is an Australian troll and arsehole."
Message-ID:

F Russell writes:

The soil around one corner of my home has subsided for
about 12-18 inches. For a length of about 10-15 feet
the top of the basement wall is exposed.

Is it safe to leave it like this or should I dump a load
of dirt to raise the ground level?

If that happened quickly, you may need an engineer.
If the soil got washed away you many need
gutter work.

Otherwise, the ground must slope away from your house.
Fill it in.


--
Dan Espen

On Sun, 12 Jul 2020 06:19:20 +1000, Rod Speed wrote:


Depends on why it has subsided like that.


The house was built on this suburban lot about 60 years
ago.

The subsidence has been very slow. In fact it is a not an
uncommon occurrence. Concrete driveways sometimes subside
and there are companies that offer a "pump it up" solution
as a cheaper alternative to replacement.

I'm not concerned about sinkholes. I just want to know
if exposing 12-18" of the top basement wall poses any
problem.

On 7/11/2020 3:43 PM, F Russell wrote:
The soil around one corner of my home has subsided for
about 12-18 inches. For a length of about 10-15 feet
the top of the basement wall is exposed.

Is it safe to leave it like this or should I dump a load
of dirt to raise the ground level?


I'd want to know why before you get serious foundation damage. In
Florida there has been a lot of sink holes that actually swallowed up
entire houses. You may need professional help.

If nothing else, I'd drive a long rod into the ground to see if it hits
an open spot.

You don't want water pooling near the foundation and possibly seeping in
so once you find out why it happened, fill it to slope away from the
house.

On Sat, 11 Jul 2020 16:57:52 -0400, Ed Pawlowski posted for all
of us to digest...


On 7/11/2020 3:43 PM, F Russell wrote:
The soil around one corner of my home has subsided for
about 12-18 inches. For a length of about 10-15 feet
the top of the basement wall is exposed.

Is it safe to leave it like this or should I dump a load
of dirt to raise the ground level?


I'd want to know why before you get serious foundation damage. In
Florida there has been a lot of sink holes that actually swallowed up
entire houses. You may need professional help.

If nothing else, I'd drive a long rod into the ground to see if it hits
an open spot.

You don't want water pooling near the foundation and possibly seeping in
so once you find out why it happened, fill it to slope away from the
house.

+1

--
Tekkie

F Russell writes:

On Sun, 12 Jul 2020 06:19:20 +1000, Rod Speed wrote:


Depends on why it has subsided like that.


The house was built on this suburban lot about 60 years
ago.

That wouldn't make any difference.

The subsidence has been very slow. In fact it is a not an
uncommon occurrence. Concrete driveways sometimes subside
and there are companies that offer a "pump it up" solution
as a cheaper alternative to replacement.

I'm not concerned about sinkholes. I just want to know
if exposing 12-18" of the top basement wall poses any
problem.

Slow is a good sign, I'd still want to understand why that dirt left.
A 12-18 inch hole near the house should be collecting water,
that's NOT good. Fill it in. If there is a surface water issue,
dig a trench, add gravel, a perforated pipe, etc. Check YouTube
for fixing drainage issues.


--
Dan Espen

On Saturday, July 11, 2020 at 4:51:53 PM UTC-4, F Russell wrote:
On Sun, 12 Jul 2020 06:19:20 +1000, Rod Speed wrote:


Depends on why it has subsided like that.


The house was built on this suburban lot about 60 years
ago.

The subsidence has been very slow. In fact it is a not an
uncommon occurrence. Concrete driveways sometimes subside
and there are companies that offer a "pump it up" solution
as a cheaper alternative to replacement.

I'm not concerned about sinkholes. I just want to know
if exposing 12-18" of the top basement wall poses any
problem.

Sounds like it's a hole that's ugly and can fill with water. The ground
should be graded away from the house. Fill it in. I'd check where the
gutter water is going. Get out there in a heavy rain, you may find it's
not flowing where you think it is. I had water coming into a spot in
my basement, everything looked OK outside when it wasn't raining. Went
out in a heavy rain and realized water was backing up in one of those
corrogated pipes that was pulled up over a downspout, but not high enough.
Water was gushing out right at the foundation.

On 7/11/2020 4:50 PM, F Russell wrote:
On Sun, 12 Jul 2020 06:19:20 +1000, Rod Speed wrote:


Depends on why it has subsided like that.


The house was built on this suburban lot about 60 years
ago.

The subsidence has been very slow. In fact it is a not an
uncommon occurrence. Concrete driveways sometimes subside
and there are companies that offer a "pump it up" solution
as a cheaper alternative to replacement.

I'm not concerned about sinkholes. I just want to know
if exposing 12-18" of the top basement wall poses any
problem.


If it is lower than surrounding soil and gets wet from rain it could
seep into your basement. It should be higher than surrounding soil.

On 7/11/2020 1:50 PM, F Russell wrote:
On Sun, 12 Jul 2020 06:19:20 +1000, Rod Speed wrote:


Depends on why it has subsided like that.


The house was built on this suburban lot about 60 years
ago.

The subsidence has been very slow. In fact it is a not an
uncommon occurrence. Concrete driveways sometimes subside
and there are companies that offer a "pump it up" solution
as a cheaper alternative to replacement.

I'm not concerned about sinkholes. I just want to know
if exposing 12-18" of the top basement wall poses any
problem.



I don't think exposed basement wall should be any problem other than a
little more winter heat loss. You always want the basement wall to be
above the ground level. Anything wood near the ground may rot.

On 11 Jul 2020 20:50:51 GMT, F Russell wrote:

On Sun, 12 Jul 2020 06:19:20 +1000, Rod Speed wrote:


Depends on why it has subsided like that.


The house was built on this suburban lot about 60 years
ago.

The subsidence has been very slow. In fact it is a not an
uncommon occurrence. Concrete driveways sometimes subside
and there are companies that offer a "pump it up" solution
as a cheaper alternative to replacement.

I'm not concerned about sinkholes. I just want to know
if exposing 12-18" of the top basement wall poses any
problem.


This sounds like they back filled over the construction trash and it
is rotting away. Many years ago, this was not uncommon until building
departments started managing the construction trash. Now dumpsters are
required on site as soon as the first crew starts working along with a
porta potty, unless you are out in the boonies, beyond the permit and
inspection process.

On Sat, 11 Jul 2020 22:29:22 -0400, posted
for all of us to digest...


On 11 Jul 2020 20:50:51 GMT, F Russell wrote:

On Sun, 12 Jul 2020 06:19:20 +1000, Rod Speed wrote:


Depends on why it has subsided like that.


The house was built on this suburban lot about 60 years
ago.

The subsidence has been very slow. In fact it is a not an
uncommon occurrence. Concrete driveways sometimes subside
and there are companies that offer a "pump it up" solution
as a cheaper alternative to replacement.

I'm not concerned about sinkholes. I just want to know
if exposing 12-18" of the top basement wall poses any
problem.


This sounds like they back filled over the construction trash and it
is rotting away. Many years ago, this was not uncommon until building
departments started managing the construction trash. Now dumpsters are
required on site as soon as the first crew starts working along with a
porta potty, unless you are out in the boonies, beyond the permit and
inspection process.

+1 To OP: Fix it or it will get worse. In worst case it could
buckle the wall. Like someone told me: Nature/water always
wins.

--
Tekkie