Large job, what happened.....

[Bruce A. King]

Lets see who can decipher all this.

I'll tell the story later........

[Scott Gilligan, CMI]

I'm going to guess termites ate the joists.

[Marc-Andre Beauchemin]

Not termite!

It looks like a new foundation is coming in. Brick veneer mortar is always in contact with soil.

[Tom Leahy]

Mother earth decided to leave the area.

[Scott Gilligan, CMI]

The wife didn't feel like packing so they are moving the entire house.

[Joe Funderburk, CMI]

What's going to keep the bricks from falling off when she's moving down the road???

[Joe Funderburk, CMI]

Bruce, the gutter downspout is missing an elbow!

[Joe Funderburk, CMI]

Looks like a front load garage...how are they going to move that with the house?

[ROBERT V. YOUNG]

I would have like a bit of a clearer question.
Was this a problem or a retro fit.
If a retro fit. I will say a basement was installed.
If a problem I will commit to 2 answeres.
I can not see enough of the topographical view and I also see tree roots.
1:That ground shifted and the foundation and wall here being repaired.
2: that a tree damaged the foundation wall and a retro fitting has taken place.
I might be installing a basement in 6 weeks. WOOO my back hurts already.

[Scott Gilligan, CMI]

Originally Posted by jfunderburk

What's going to keep the bricks from falling off when she's moving down the road???

Guess the sarcasm didn't come through too well in type. I was only joking with my post.

[KEVIN WOOD]

It looks like they are trying to move it from above the rim joist. This would tell me that the rim joist is filled with termites or roted. However this house will not be able to be moved if this is just brick veneer without rebuilding a support joist.

[KEVIN WOOD]

Japan's use and enforcement of strict building codes and its efforts to retrofit older buildings to make them earthquake-resistant are being credited for saving buildings and lives. In the U.S., some are looking at those efforts and suggest taking steps for more earthquake readiness. "Congress should resist its current temptation to strip funding from the Pacific warning system." Western states should be updating their readiness. New construction should adopt Japan-style quake-proofing in vulnerable regions.

[Jeffrey R. Jonas]

Bruce, (pic's 1 & 3) Were the footings poured on that layer of organic matter and then was backfilled? Too difficult to judge depth in pic 1. Also don't know if basement or crawl. Pic 4 looks as if half the lot was cut out of the hill, and the other half was filled in, leading to pic 1 & 3.

[ROBERT V. YOUNG]

Attachment 43169Bruce all photos are showing all the equipment to lift a home. Its the reason that is troubling me. You show evidence of a root system. I work using excavators now and then and do not understand the question you are asking to interpret in the photo #3 of the roots system in that in sandwiched in the laom layers..
The nearest I can suspect is that there was land movement and the home is being repaired.

[Bruce A. King]

Yes, that layer of organic material visible in picture 3 caused the house (crawlspace foundation) to settle badly. The story is that some rock excavating was done in the past and backfill added before the development was started.

The builder is out of business and the owner had to hire a foundation repair company but their fix did not last since the stable earth was so deep the posts used to stabilize the house just leaned over as the house moved sideways and downwards.

Now they hired a contractor who in turn hired a house moving company to level and stabilize the house. Since the repairs require digging down really far they are going to add a basement under 2/3 of the house. Even with the large beams that will be used in the permanent plan, the basement ceiling height will be around 9 feet under the beams.

Could this have been figured out during construction?
Yes, but soil tests are not real common around here on pier and curtain wall construction as is with slab on grade.

A good footing contractor would have figured it out even though the organics were several feet below the depth he was digging to by paying attention to the sound of the backhoe engine while digging. A good footing contractor learns to notice how hard the machine is working which translates compaction of the ground to the sound of the engine. In other words, if its easy to dig, you have a problem.