foundation repairs

[CareBearStare]

I am a first time home buyer, and have found a great home. I'm realistic that this home will not be a castle, so take that into consideration with my question.

This home is in a good area (hard to find a home- period- in that area,) and is going for MUCH less than the other houses in the area.

It's listed as "needs basement repairs to be done by buyer." My agent and I looked over the basement, and found nothing but a slight 3/4 in. bow in one block of the foundation. There is a slight crack, but my understanding is that's easy to repair. I was told I would need a metal pin to keep the foundation in place. The stairs are made of concrete, with a porch-like cement area just to the left when facing the house. That area is cracked (unsure if it is sinking or not,) and I believe that is what's causing the slight bow in the foundation. So I would have to take out that entire area (and I would probably make a small wooden porch with bushes in place of that area.)

There is also a slight bow of the foundation on the outside of the house (maybe 1 in. or less,) and that would need to be repaired.

There were 2 assessments when I viewed the house, and one quoted $23,000 with a $6,000 mark-down as a sale. My agent (who used to do rehab on houses) told me that was a ridiculous amount, and she reasoned if these contractors were going to take the $6k off, then why didn't they just do it in the first place (instead of trying to make unsuspecting people think that's a good deal.) The other assessment was $14,900.

I'm realistic and am willing to do the repairs on the house, but I just want some opinions as to what others think about this. Am I wasting time and money? Is this too much to do? Is it even worth it?

I don't know a lot about these things, but I surprise myself sometimes by knowing more than I think. I'm not asking because I'm having second thoughts; rather, I'm asking so I can be as educated as possible about this. I just want to know if there are more pros than cons.

Thank you.

[Mark]

If you are really serious about this home, have a foundation engineer/contractor look at it. It may need more repair than is obvious to you, and may cost a lot more than 6k. Or, it may be nothing at all, but only a professional could tell you for sure.

[Mark Bower]

I'm assuming your basement is built from blocks. How old is this basement? I've worked on many basements, and generally the customer doesn't call for major repairs until they think the wall is about to fall in. I'm not saying that you should do this, but perhaps you could live in it a good many years before anything serious would need to be done.

If your basement isn't that old, code should have called for rebar every 30" or so. If you have rebar, your basement can do quite a bit of moving before it would give out.

Before you close on the house, I would do like Mark suggested and have someone knowledgable look at the basement. But from what you described, I'd let it ride and watch it for a few years. Small cracks can be filled. When you start seeing big cracks, then it's time to do something.

Mark
You gotta see my repair manual!

[CareBearStare]

We just had a basement inspection (not a regular all-over inspection,) and the inspector said I would need to replace the gutters and such because the problem is the water getting in. We could see on the ground where the water pounded as it went right over the gutter. There's also only 1 downspout. If I decide on the house I would get another one underneath (have to take out that cement porch.)

This gentleman quoted me at about $7k (being conservative because he said $6k.) I'm willing to put the effort and money into that, but I'm just concerned about something that might happen along the way- something we can't see with the naked eye. I asked him about that and he said I could pay a couple hundred to have someone put holes in to check on the tiles.

At closer inspection, I saw that 3 walls have cracks in them. The main front wall has a long crack in it (don't remember how it was caused- not a handy person here.) Then the 2 much shorter side walls have minor cracks. Now, I don't know what's minor and what's not.

I took pictures of the joint so I could show anyone who was wondering. I would GREATLY appreciate some more opions on this.

He said the wall was 3/4 to 1 inch in. There's a bow on the outside of the house on one of the sides, above the dirt, but it looks like it was caused by a huge beam. The inspector didn't touch on that.

[Mark Bower]

Cracks in basement walls is nothing new. If you can stick a finger in the crack, then I'd worry. Of the three type of basements, block basements are my least favorite as they seem to develop problems first. Poured cement is the strongest. I've also had real good luck with treated wood basements.

You can e-mail me the picture if you like. Just click on my name.

Mark
You gotta see my repair manual!