# Sinking Foundation



## iskellythere (Sep 23, 2010)

I am the owner of a 100+ year old house in Minneapolis MN.  I purchased the home in winter and it passed inspection without mention of the any sinking foundation.  Unfortunately the house next door is so close the narrow space between to two was filled with a few feet of snow. 

I have been here 2 years and just this summer noticed the roof line drooping on one side of the house. 

The foundation is visibly deteriorating on that side of the house so I suspect that is the culprit of my sloping roof. 

Other theory is that it is from a massive ice dam that accumulated last winter and weighed down the roof damaging the structure.  I have no access to the attic space as this was an addition to my home.   

I've been told the repair method would be to jack up the house on that side to repair the deteriorating.  I have no idea how intensive this process is or what the costs. Or even if this is the only way to fix this.  

So I guess the question is what is the most inexpensive way for me to take care of this issue.  Or something I can do in the mean time to prevent it from getting worse while I try and find a way to pay for it.  Any help is much appreciated.  Thanks


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## nealtw (Nov 9, 2010)

Kind of foundation?
Is there a pony wall under the house or is the floor sitting on a sill plate on the foundation?
Do you have room to work under your house?
Is there any proof that this is new damage, probably not ?
How far down is it?
What ever else you see wrong, this the right place start. Fixing this will make what ever else you want to do a lot easier


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## oldognewtrick (Nov 10, 2010)

Also, do you notice any new cracking in the drywall? Post a pic of the foundation if you can.


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## GBR (Nov 11, 2010)

You need to get in the attic at the ice dam and air seal there. BSD-135: Ice Dams &mdash; Building Science Information

Add rigid foam insulation over the exterior wall plates. Welcome To Home Energy Magazine Online

Dig a sloping trench to a dry-well getting the surface water away from saturating the earth there.  Drywells for Landscape Drainage, how to install, drain time information

Make sure the attic there is ventilated to remove the heated air: UMass Amherst: Building and Construction Technology » Preventing Ice Dams

Gary


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## gmicken (Nov 15, 2010)

Is this something that just happened? The fascia is raised, but the window is not. The first place I would look is the roof. Remove the soffet and look to see if the rafters are still attached to the plate. Look for broken rafters from snow load. Set up a transit and shoot the top plate, window sills, bottom plate and the front of the house. Depending on the area, some 100 year old houses are balloon framing and the corner post gets eaten by bugs causing it to let the top plate fall. It looks like the gap above the window is larger on one end than the other. Once again, check the roof rafters.


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## cline (Mar 23, 2011)

Is there a foundation wall or slab?


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## epox (Mar 28, 2011)

From your pics it appears to not to be from foundation settlement...If this room was an addition, check the rafters ...they probably used 2x4 rafters and they are sagging.


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