Have you ever seen this before? Foundation question...

[rockstate45]

Hey guys, I've been doing some house hunting lately and stumbled across a very interesting basement. It's a beautiful home upstairs and has been fully renovated but the basement has some cracks in the foundation and has about 4-5' of concrete surrounding the walls for bracing.

The seller's disclosure mentions water but since it was a flip, they don't know how much or the volume at which it comes in.

What do you guys think of this basement? Run? Can it be fixed?

Pics to come soon...

 

[rockstate45]

 

[45Kevin]

That looks like a 75 or hundred year old house, at least.

I've seen that kind of work done to crumbling stone foundations before, it's not a big deal since the basement will never be developed.

As for water, hard to tell. I see that the furnace is not up on blocks, so maybe water is not a big issue.

 

[rockstate45]

That looks like a 75 or hundred year old house, at least.

I've seen that kind of work done to crumbling stone foundations before, it's not a big deal since the basement will never be developed.

As for water, hard to tell. I see that the furnace is not up on blocks, so maybe water is not a big issue.

House was built in 1920 so you're spot on with that assessment. You're also right on not developing the basement. I don't think it's something I'd do. The furnace is brand new. I think the renovators had it for 6 months, so there's no telling if it was done right for the situation with water in mind. The rest of the home appears to be done well though. Kind of an odd setup and I don't know if it's the house that I'll end up purchasing (at least right now).

 

[half k cruiser]

RUN AWAY !!! I looked at a lot of houses like that when I was in the market. The problem is they are usually charming older homes with kickass trim and solid wood doors, etc. Stuff you won't find in newer construction that makes them very appealing. The rock foundations however are a mess, it will be very difficult to keep that thing dry. Also the giant concrete monstrosity that they poured doesn't appear to be reinforced, which is why its cracking so badly. I'm not sure what the 4x4's are in there for, are they shoring up a floor joist, or are they shoring up the monster ?

 

[rockstate45]

RUN AWAY !!! I looked at a lot of houses like that when I was in the market. The problem is they are usually charming older homes with kickass trim and solid wood doors, etc. Stuff you won't find in newer construction that makes them very appealing. The rock foundations however are a mess, it will be very difficult to keep that thing dry. Also the giant concrete monstrosity that they poured doesn't appear to be reinforced, which is why its cracking so badly. I'm not sure what the 4x4's are in there for, are they shoring up a floor joist, or are they shoring up the monster ?

Thanks for the response! That's pretty much what my old man said too... Run away haha. And Rob when I told him about it.

I'm not sure on the supports. I could see how that would be the case after seeing the upstairs but don't know for sure

 

[2fpower]

Run, don't walk.

 

[FZJ80 in KC]

Agreed, run away. We bought our house last year (built in '73) and it has had some updates. It had some settling at one point, so some of the upstairs doors don't fit very well in the frame, but we had it all inspected by an engineer and the foundation looks good.

I can tell you though, little things that you settle on when buying a home have a way of nagging at you after a while. I find myself always looking for new cracks in the drywall or signs of any more shifting. The wet basement and monstrosity of concrete would keep working on your sanity over time, I think.