# Foundation and grade issues



## 6door74 (Oct 3, 2016)

Good evening,

I'm a new homeowner and have found many unfortunate surprises that the previous homeowner appears to have merely covered up. During our home inspection, the inspector made note of an obvious issue outside the house pertaining to the landscaping around the perimeter of the house. We've fixed one of the more serious downspout issues and now i want to get at the damage that was caused along the foundation. I've attached some pictures to show my issues and have a few questions along with soliciting ideas and tips from you guys, the professionals!

I put an order for some fill dirt to try and get the soil built back up. The owner of the company came by to look at my issue as I was also interested in a quote to have it done by a contractor. He mentioned getting "heavy" fill dirt and then "sandy" fill dirt topped off with some rocks. He also suggested building/ framing/boxing off that section where the soil is going with 6x6's. All of this was pretty much a foreign language to me. Can anyone help break this down to me in layman's term and include any links to videos or other reference material please. 

I want to try to prevent any further foundation settlement which the inspector indicated by some cracks in the foundation. Hopefully by doing this and by fixing the drainage issue, I won't have to have a much bigger digging and excavating job. AKA $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Thanks in advance for your help and I'm pretty sure I'll be here quite often going forward.


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## 6door74 (Oct 3, 2016)




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## nealtw (Oct 3, 2016)

Cracks are usually caused by poor soil condition below the house at time of construction and you haven't got enough damage to worry about the foundation.
It does look like you have stucco or like product over the concrete.
Anywhere you want to add dirt, the foundation should be waterproofed  so moisture from the dirt doesn't wick into the concrete and then into the basement.
Not sure what you are talking about building with 6x6s, are you thinking retaining wall.
What would you like to see on the slope , grass,  gravel ???
Welcome to the site and congrats on the house.


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## 6door74 (Oct 3, 2016)

nealtw said:


> Cracks are usually caused by poor soil condition below the house at time of construction and you haven't got enough damage to worry about the foundation.
> It does look like you have stucco or like product over the concrete.
> Anywhere you want to add dirt, the foundation should be waterproofed  so moisture from the dirt doesn't wick into the concrete and then into the basement.
> Not sure what you are talking about building with 6x6s, are you thinking retaining wall.
> ...



Thank you very much. 

what i was talking about in building with 6x6 i guess is similar to a wall. the way it was suggested sounded like i would be boxing in the new raised soil. i picture something like a planter but again, solely for separating the new raised area of soil against the foundation. That dark line along the foundation, is that where the soil once was and is that the height i need to get it back to i don't really care what's on the slope. I just want to help ensure the integrity of the house. It was built in 1995 and I've noticed that the previous homeowner did a lot of DIY. I'm no contractor but some of his work is quite shoddy and I'm paying the price for it now. on the other side of the house, there is two "significant" crack right along the basement door and a basement window. The basement itself is finished so I don't really see anything on the inside to lend any other clues.

here's above the basement door which is right on the back corner of my trouble spot in the original post


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## bud16415 (Oct 4, 2016)

First off welcome to the forum and you did a great job posting photos and relating your problems for the group to take a look at and offer suggestions. 

I&#8217;m just a home owner like yourself and congrats on the house purchase. It is not too uncommon to get into a new place and then start finding all these issues you didn&#8217;t see at first. I agree with Neal the erosion issue is most likely not directly related to any foundation settling and cracks, the first step you took in getting the water from the gutters away and downhill from the house was major. The fact that you say the basement is dry and there are no signs of water intrusion is very good. 

I agree you want to correct the grade problems with some fill material and then get a good grass cover on that and possibly even some French drains depending on what your slope does behind you in the first photo. It looks like all your utilities come in on that side of the house as well so before any filling or digging make sure you get the lines marked by the utilities. 

To me I wouldn&#8217;t want retaining walls with the slope you show. But the buildup has to be done with materials and in a way the new fill won&#8217;t just erode right away. A good landscaper will know a lot of tricks to hold the soil in place until the grass cover takes hold. I&#8217;m sure you have seen work along highways where they stake straw bales in place and cover the ground with a fabric that holds the soil and lets grass grow after hydro seeding. 

When you get your next rain go outside and watch where the water flows to get a feel for what is going on.

Did you get any building plans with the house or do you have a way of getting them to show what was done in the way of perimeter drainage? 

A photo from the front looking back would be helpful. 

As to the cracking what did the inspector write about it? You should look into that closer and even chip away at the stucco. To me it doesn&#8217;t look to be a major problem.


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## Snoonyb (Oct 4, 2016)

The vendor may be talking about terracing, which would be a method of mitigating the volume of flow on the downslope, which a well maintained grass would accomplish, as well as an architectural element.

However, in photo#1, 3 and 4 showing the effects of soil settling and erosion, is the rear yard drainage directed to this side yard?

Also from photo #1 it appears as though the AC compressor slab is being undermined.

The staining along the bottom is indicative of the gutters being overwhelmed.


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## nealtw (Oct 4, 2016)

More info needed. Approaching any problem with out enough information can make a problem worse.
Where I live the concrete would have been stepped down the side and at floor level in the back and we call that walk out basement.
If the side has stucco over wood we want know at what elevation, and after 20 years you can *not*  trust what you see.

See if you can figure how thick the walls are from the door to the side wall measure inside and out side.
At the door measure thickness from inside to out for the back wall.

What is the finish on the inside , wood panel, drywall?
On the inside of the side wall, does that wall have ledge or a step out where the wall might be thicker?

Walkout basement


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## 6door74 (Oct 4, 2016)

Thanks for all. The help and responses. Here's a few more pictures to give you an idea of what I'm working with. We did not get any building plans and the inspector really only made note of the crack, it's size, and to keep an eye out to see if it gets worse/consider consulting an engineer for more detailed inspection. The gutters were definitely an issue when we got the house. I've been keeping up with cleaning them out and addressing some of the downspout issues. The ac unit is another issue as you can see by the slab/blocks it's supported on. I'll try to get some of those measurements tomorrow. The basment is finished with drywall.


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## Snoonyb (Oct 4, 2016)

Does the downspout in photo #1 & 2 of post 8, connect to something under ground?

Now that I see that it is a gable end, you must get a lot of rain on that side of the house for the staining to be that extreme.

Creating a swail in the back yard and sloping the fill away from the house will remedy most of the side yard issues. Keeping a well maintained landscape horticulture will aid immensely.

The local building dept. may have a set of the plans on file or micro-film, if not the original permit will be on file, from which you can I.D. the builder, who may still be in business.


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## 6door74 (Oct 4, 2016)

Snoonyb said:


> Does the downspout in photo #1 & 2 of post 8, connect to something under ground?
> 
> Now that I see that it is a gable end, you must get a lot of rain on that side of the house for the staining to be that extreme.
> 
> Creating a swail in the back yard and sloping the fill away from the house will remedy most of the side yard issues. Keeping a well maintained landscape horticulture will aid immensely.




That downspout does go underground and comes out by the tree line going downhill. That was the worst downspout when we got the house and what was probably the biggest cause of the hole along the foundation from my original post. I'll try to find the pictures from my home insoection so you could see it.


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## nealtw (Oct 4, 2016)

The downspout at the front corner feed into a pipe feeds in to a pipe, can you squeeze a tape measure in there and measure how deep that is from the bottom of the siding?


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## 6door74 (Oct 4, 2016)

How the downspout in the 1st 2 pictures from post #8 was


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## 6door74 (Oct 4, 2016)

nealtw said:


> The downspout at the front corner feed into a pipe feeds in to a pipe, can you squeeze a tape measure in there and measure how deep that is from the bottom of the siding?



Just to clarify.... Measure how far the black connector is from the bottom of the siding?


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## nealtw (Oct 4, 2016)

6door74 said:


> Just to clarify.... Measure how far the black connector is from the bottom of the siding?



No, inside the pipe how far down it goes before it turns to go sideways.
I am hoping you find a pipe going around the house about 9 ft below the bottom of the siding.


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## 6door74 (Oct 4, 2016)

nealtw said:


> No, inside the pipe how far down it goes before it turns to go sideways.
> I am hoping you find a pipe going around the house about 9 ft below the bottom of the siding.




got it. I actually had that put in. I believe "my guy" dug down about 2-3ft  and then had the pipe go towards the trees


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## nealtw (Oct 4, 2016)

6door74 said:


> got it. I actually had that put in. I believe "my guy" dug down about 2-3ft  and then had the pipe go towards the trees



Do a hunt along the tree line for another pipe that might be a perimeter drain.
I would be lower than the basement floor.


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## Snoonyb (Oct 4, 2016)

6door74 said:


> How the downspout in the 1st 2 pictures from post #8 was



Thanks. It appears different in the photo.

That the cause of the erosion and extending a section of perf-a-pipe similar to the hose from the lower outlet will correct that, until you are able to establish permanent landscaping and flow.


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## nealtw (Oct 4, 2016)

Snoonyb said:


> Thanks. It appears different in the photo.
> 
> That the cause of the erosion and extending a section of perf-a-pipe similar to the hose from the lower outlet will correct that, until you are able to establish permanent landscaping and flow.



I think that is the one he is talking about in post 15.


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## Snoonyb (Oct 4, 2016)

In 15 he's addressing the black pipe that extends from the downslope outlet.

I'm addressing the upslope downspout which empties close to the eroded section in post #1.


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## 6door74 (Oct 4, 2016)

The picture with the red circle is from the inspection report when we were in contract. The other (much clearer/present day) pictures with the downspout going underground is what I had done to fix it.


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## bud16415 (Oct 5, 2016)

I think you have 90% of any problems solved with the work you had done to your gutters already. I think what is left is get a load of bank gravel placed along that side of the house and rebuild the slope it once had and resetting the AC pad at the same time. Cover that with some top soil and sod or plant grass with erosion protection. 

I would just watch the crack for another year and if it is stable repair the stucco. If it is actively moving or opening, then you have to literally dig deeper into that problem. 

With the slope on your property there shouldn&#8217;t be any problem getting rid of water. I think the previous owner just neglected the drainage and it seem you are right on top of it. 

Nice looking house.


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## 6door74 (Oct 5, 2016)

bud16415 said:


> I think you have 90% of any problems solved with the work you had done to your gutters already. I think what is left is get a load of bank gravel placed along that side of the house and rebuild the slope it once had and resetting the AC pad at the same time. Cover that with some top soil and sod or plant grass with erosion protection.
> 
> I would just watch the crack for another year and if it is stable repair the stucco. If it is actively moving or opening, then you have to literally dig deeper into that problem.
> 
> ...



That's a relief to hear that. We came to the conclusion that the owners must have stopped caring when they decided they were going to sell and just covered up things to look nice while on the market. I can't complain too much because that did help in getting the house for under list price. 

Prior to joining the forum I stopped by a landscaping company to inquire about an estimate. They came by yesterday and said it looks a lot worse than it is. That was a little more comfort as well. I'll see what they quote us and figure out how much we can afford vs. what I can do myself vs. what I can realistically do with my work schedule myself. With regards to the AC pad, would it be a general contractor who would do that? I want to get an HVAC  tech out just to look over the system because it doesn't look like the previous owners did that recently. There's a hose that comes out of the foundation with the wires and pipes going to the heat pump. I noticed the other day that it squirted water out and I have never noticed that before. Any idea what that might be and where it leads to? I tried to follow it into the house but haven't had luck so far. I didn't get to check by the water heater just yet.

Thank you for the compliment on the house. It's a great accomplishment and although I  know there will be bumps along the way, my family and I are still very happy and blessed.


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## nealtw (Oct 5, 2016)

I agree that the landscaping is no big deal and you have solved that problem.
My concern is the wall it's self. If the side wall is concrete, good. if not, you do want to make sure that soil is not back filled against a wood structure wall.
The hint I see for some of that wall being partly wood, there is no reason to drill thru concrete for electrical and AC lines when they could have moved those up another foot and entered thru wood which would be normal.

I have put a pad under the HVAC before, the HVAC people remove and re install it including re charging the system, that could be a little expensive.
The pipe draining water is likely from the inside unit, when you cool air, moisture in the air drops out of it.


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