My house is sinking
 

I am considering the purchase of a house built in 1935. House has lots
of character, beautiful hardwood floors and fireplace. Here is the
catch, 2 previous sales have fallen through because each home inspector
has said "it cannot be fixed" The back corner of the house has sunk 8"
according to reports. This can be seen inside with a rise in the floor,
and on the outside with a diagonal line of bricks that have seperated
about a cm. I have photos- I need someone's opinion: can this be saved?

Crow,

In your local phonebook you will find listings for civil engineering
firms. They should be able to answer this question. Try to get a guesstimate
for their work. Ask whether the house can be saved and if this is
economically feasible. You'll need to figure out why the corner sank, how to
fix that problem, and whether the framing has been greatly damaged by this.
I think you're crazy, but maybe this house can be saved

Dave M.

Your best bet is to consider another house.

On 22 Feb 2005 16:05:22 -0800, wrote:

I am considering the purchase of a house built in 1935. House has lots
of character, beautiful hardwood floors and fireplace. Here is the
catch, 2 previous sales have fallen through because each home inspector
has said "it cannot be fixed" The back corner of the house has sunk 8"
according to reports. This can be seen inside with a rise in the floor,
and on the outside with a diagonal line of bricks that have seperated
about a cm. I have photos- I need someone's opinion: can this be saved?

"Phisherman" wrote in message
...
Your best bet is to consider another house.


Oh, come on... I'm sure those home inspectors were total dolts. The OP is
almost certain to get a far better answer for his situation from usenet
readers who have never even seen this house... ;-)

Me thinks I may smell a troll

Definitely. Buy it immediately. In fact I saw a bunch of houses in
California tonight that suffered a bit of storm damage. Was thinking of
buying those too. Always wanted a houseboat.


wrote in message
oups.com...
I am considering the purchase of a house built in 1935. House has lots
of character, beautiful hardwood floors and fireplace. Here is the
catch, 2 previous sales have fallen through because each home inspector
has said "it cannot be fixed" The back corner of the house has sunk 8"
according to reports. This can be seen inside with a rise in the floor,
and on the outside with a diagonal line of bricks that have seperated
about a cm. I have photos- I need someone's opinion: can this be saved?

In alt.home.repair on Wed, 23 Feb 2005 01:54:51 -0500 Mike D
posted:

wrote:

I am considering the purchase of a house built in 1935. House has lots
of character, beautiful hardwood floors and fireplace. Here is the
catch, 2 previous sales have fallen through because each home inspector
has said "it cannot be fixed" The back corner of the house has sunk 8"
according to reports. This can be seen inside with a rise in the floor,
and on the outside with a diagonal line of bricks that have seperated
about a cm. I have photos- I need someone's opinion: can this be saved?

OK. If we look at this thru our alt.home.repair colored glasses then
nothing exists that cant be repaired. It may be hopless, it may not be.

I see your situation as a POTENTIAL opportunity. Since you know the
seller is in a jam 'cause the last two sales fell thru you are now
in the drivers seat. Call in a foundation contractor to quote the job
and have the seller finance the fix, or have the seller knock off
the cost of the job from his/her price PLUS a few grand for your
willingness to finance the problem. If a good contractor can fix it,
then his fees can get rolled into the sale and everyone leaves
happy, and you paid a few $ less

Mike D

The OP might be interested to know that all the buildings on the north
side of the Chicago River just east of where the Merchandise Mart is
now were sinking. Their solution was to raise the street a bit and
build new entrances to the buildings on the 2nd floor. This was about
1900 and they may have done something to stop the sinking also.

But then again, the buildings were built and someone owned them
already and they had to be fixed or torn down. The OP is thinking
about buying this problem.

Still I agree with you mike, except for one thing. Don't assume what
the contractor says is the price will be the final price. I don't
think he will guarantee that. He'll tell you what he is going to do,
and that he thinks it will work, and he will probably be honest about
that, but that doesn't mean it will work. So you have to ask him what
phase two will be and how much that will cost.

It depends on how soft that corner is and how far down the softness
goes.

I think the Chicago buildings stayed upright while they sank, didn't
tip. Of course Chicago means smelly garlic and Chicago was built on
a marsh. The tall buildings are built on basements that are basically
also sealed caissons that go down 5 or 10 stories iirc, or maybe more.


Meirman
--
If emailing, please let me know whether
or not you are posting the same letter.
Change domain to erols.com, if necessary.

And don't forget, before you buy, to ask the home insurance company
about premiums for a house that has a sinking problem, and if there
are any exclusions.


On Tue, 22 Feb 2005 21:22:31 -0500, "Kyle Boatright"
wrote:


"Phisherman" wrote in message
.. .
Your best bet is to consider another house.


Oh, come on... I'm sure those home inspectors were total dolts. The OP is
almost certain to get a far better answer for his situation from usenet
readers who have never even seen this house... ;-)

I am considering the purchase of a house built in 1935. House has lots
of character, beautiful hardwood floors and fireplace. Here is the
catch, 2 previous sales have fallen through because each home inspector
has said "it cannot be fixed" The back corner of the house has sunk 8"
according to reports. This can be seen inside with a rise in the floor,
and on the outside with a diagonal line of bricks that have seperated
about a cm. I have photos- I need someone's opinion: can this be saved?


If engineers can save the Leaning Tower of Pisa then someone can surely save
your puny little structure.

Well, considering that entire buildings (and large ones) can be picked up
and moved, yes, it can be saved. The only question is how much money are
you willing to throw at it in order to save it? When I was a child, I
recall a neighbor who jacked up his entire house in order to put in a full
size basement. The only limiting factor is as I mentioned before...money.


wrote in message
oups.com...
I am considering the purchase of a house built in 1935. House has lots
of character, beautiful hardwood floors and fireplace. Here is the
catch, 2 previous sales have fallen through because each home inspector
has said "it cannot be fixed" The back corner of the house has sunk 8"
according to reports. This can be seen inside with a rise in the floor,
and on the outside with a diagonal line of bricks that have seperated
about a cm. I have photos- I need someone's opinion: can this be saved?

I assume you are going to have a bank help finance the purchase.
They are not likely to approve a loan unless they get a clean bill of health
from an inspector.

Charlie

wrote in message
oups.com...
I am considering the purchase of a house built in 1935. House has lots
of character, beautiful hardwood floors and fireplace. Here is the
catch, 2 previous sales have fallen through because each home inspector
has said "it cannot be fixed" The back corner of the house has sunk 8"
according to reports. This can be seen inside with a rise in the floor,
and on the outside with a diagonal line of bricks that have seperated
about a cm. I have photos- I need someone's opinion: can this be saved?

Mike D wrote in
:

wrote:

I am considering the purchase of a house built in 1935. House has
lots of character, beautiful hardwood floors and fireplace. Here is
the catch, 2 previous sales have fallen through because each home
inspector has said "it cannot be fixed" The back corner of the house
has sunk 8" according to reports. This can be seen inside with a rise
in the floor, and on the outside with a diagonal line of bricks that
have seperated about a cm. I have photos- I need someone's opinion:
can this be saved?

OK. If we look at this thru our alt.home.repair colored glasses then
nothing exists that cant be repaired. It may be hopless, it may not
be.

I see your situation as a POTENTIAL opportunity. Since you know the
seller is in a jam 'cause the last two sales fell thru you are now
in the drivers seat. Call in a foundation contractor to quote the job
and have the seller finance the fix, or have the seller knock off
the cost of the job from his/her price PLUS a few grand for your
willingness to finance the problem. If a good contractor can fix it,
then his fees can get rolled into the sale and everyone leaves
happy, and you paid a few $ less

Mike D

Sometimes it works. And sometimes it doesn't.

A fellow I used to work for bought one of these problems, had it fixed,
and lived in the home for maybe ten years. Then a larger portion of the
hill gave away, and he lost the house, and all of their equity. Bad
news.

Ten years later, they have a more modest home, three blocks away. On a
more solid lot.

The wise man built his house upon a rock...

Patriarch

Patriarch wrote:
....

The wise man built his house upon a rock...

And probably not one inclined at 30 degrees w/ an unstable (read mud
when it rains) slope above... :)

That is EXACTLY what the professor said to Gilligan, and look how that
turned out.

"Charlie Bress" wrote in message
...
I assume you are going to have a bank help finance the purchase.
They are not likely to approve a loan unless they get a clean bill of
health from an inspector.

Charlie

Not true, at least in my area of the world. I'm in the Atlanta area, and
banks could care less about whether a home inspection is done. Here, they
are only done to give the buyer peace of mind.

Duane Bozarth wrote in news:421CE40B.D18CEE81
@swko.dot.net:

Patriarch wrote:
...

The wise man built his house upon a rock...

And probably not one inclined at 30 degrees w/ an unstable (read mud
when it rains) slope above... :)


Oh, so you've seen the place? ;-)

Patriarch