Hi,

Welcome to the Fall 2007 issue of The HomeTeamKC Report.

This occasional report provides REALTORS^® and Homeowners with helpful information about residential homes from a home inspector's perspective.

This month’s newsletter provides some helpful tips from Don Carter, a licensed structural engineer and one of HomeTeamKC's most valuable resources.

Many of you have used our office staff, through 913 642-3515, to book appointments. You may recall we just added this service during the past month, and I must admit it has definitely reduced chaos from my perspective. Please continue to give me feedback on our service, both pros and cons. And again, feel free to call my cell phone directly if you prefer. I’m not trying to get away from the personal touch, just trying to make things a bit more manageable.

Thanks for your interest and call or email us anytime with any questions you may have.

Mike
The HomeTeamKC

P.S. If you have problems viewing this newsletter in your email browser, click this link to view this and past newsletters from our archives.

The archives are becoming a treasure trove of good information about homes. Be sure to pay a visit now and again: you are sure to find something of interest. Archives

·Basement Floors
·Who You Gonna Call?
·Quick Access to Our Current Pricing Sheet

BASEMENT FLOORS

Previous Home Front articles described methods of basement wall stabilization and ways to align a crooked house. This final piece in the basement series covers floor restoration.

Basement and garage floors,along with patios and sidewalks, are known generically as slab ongrade construction. That’s appropriate, because they are concrete slabs cast directly against the ground (grade). That these floors will crack is a virtual certainty based on the economics of home building. Commercial construction specifies mechanical soil compaction under slab floors, using a technique similar to a meat mallet on round steak. Instead of being tenderized, the soil gets its voids pounded out—voids that eventually will collapse from slab weight, leaving the floor undersupported.

Home builders can’t afford to compact soil, because we homebuyers are not inclined to see enough value to pay extra for it. Further, commercial floors have something known as “control joints.” These are score lines cut into the floor’s top surface to accommodate unplanned movement and stresses. Control joints are not typical in home construction because, again, there is no perceived value to the buyer. Absent the two fundamental safeguards of compaction and control joints, basement and garage floors are destined to shrink, crack, and then rupture.

The good news is that slab-ongrade floors are non-structural. You could remove them and the house wouldn’t care, because it has its own independent support system. We occasionally see homes with dirt basement floors, built in a time or town where codes didn’t mandate concrete. I know of no jurisdiction that requires repair of slab-on-grade floors, so if you make repairs at all, it’s for cosmetic or resale reasons.

We recommend pressure grouting to realign severed floor segments and float them back to design elevation.

In homes more than 30 years old, it is prudent to have the sewer line scoped before undertaking floor repairs. Why? First, older sewer lines made of cast iron or clay tile are often breached by corrosion or tree roots. If you pump grout under the floor, it will flow into the sewer line and plug it up. Second, a leaky line may have oversaturated the soil, causing it to heave. Once the leak is corrected, your floor may go back near its original contour, negating the need for repairs.

Do not confuse mud-jacking with pressure grouting. The terms are often used interchangeably, and some will claim that they are the same. But there is an important difference: Pressure grouting uses a cementitious mix with Portland cement or lime dust as a binder. It will solidify and stay together after the mix water evaporates. Mud jacking is often just that, soil and water. Both systems use a mixer, pump, hose, and pressure nozzle to force mix under the slab through predrilled holes. Early results are alike, with the floor gently floating back to rejoin severed sections and realign to the original contour. The problem is that a mud-only flotation often drops back over time.

As with other basement repairs, slab jacking is only as good as the person doing the work. Shop carefully and insist that bidders write into their proposal what they intend to pump under your floor. And beware of double-speak. I heard about a contractor who claims to use “select earth elements with cellulose binder.” You and I would know that as dirt and sawdust.

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WHO YOU GONNA CALL?

In our first column, we noted that some home repair companies oversell their services. I have seen this happen many times with foundation companies who, through intent or ignorance, will promote much more repair than a home really needs. With over 75 foundation repair advertisements in the Yellow Pages (several with really impressive color ads) how does one make the right choice?

• Recall that there are no perfect houses. Simple plaster flaws or an occasionally sticking door are no cause for panic. However, damage that includes a break in the wallboard, leaning or split basement walls, springy floors, doors that won’t open or recurring water leaks require attention and should be evaluated. If you are lucky enough to know someone who has professional training or experience in home construction, ask them to look at the damage. Even if they aren’t sufficiently schooled in codes and practices to evaluate your damage, they may be able to refer you to someone who is.

• It should surprise no one to learn that I favor using a structural engineer for damage assessment. Licensed engineering companies are empowered by the state to evaluate and certify buildings for safe habitation. No other discipline has this authority. Engineers are also bound by a code of ethics to restrain side stream business deals that return money for referrals. In short, engineers who have nothing to sell but their expertise only recommend what is essential for the stability and safety of a house. Recently, a colleague of mine we’ll call Bill was asked to look at a home described by the caller as “severely damaged”. She referred to her house as a “disaster”. Bill used a laser beam level to define wall elevations and found that the back wall, center I-beam and side walls all measured within 1/2” of each other—well within accepted limits. When he measured the front wall though it varied over 2” in one corner and this condition was broadcasting damage symptoms throughout the entire house. When Bill left, the owner had a clear picture of where the problem was and equally important, where it wasn’t. She got a written repair plan that was focused and specific to her situation. Finally, she was given information on repair companies that Bill knew had a reputation for satisfying their customers and from which she could obtain bids specific to her needs. When all of the bids have been received, Bill will review them to make sure they address the exact problem and nothing more.

• Do not have your primary damage assessment done by someone who also sells repairs. Ask before you set an appointment. It’s not unusual for an advertised “inspector” to have silent affiliations or financial interests in a repair company.

• Ask for referrals, then call them. I know of a client who was given three referrals that were each long distance numbers. Presumably the contractor felt she wouldn’t call if it cost money. She did call and got negative feedback from two of the three. Check with the Better Business Bureau.

• If you have internet access (available at the library), read company profiles before you call. Feist has web addresses in its book.

• Do not pay up front fees. Agree to a payment schedule that starts with delivery of materials and has final payment only after work is satisfactorily completed.

• Many Yellow Pages contractors were not in the book two years ago and some will not be there two years from now. Warranties are only as good as the company that stands behind them. Ask how long the contractor has been in business under the present name.

The metropolitan area has some very competent and trustworthy foundation repair contractors. Finding and directing them is fairly easy when you do your homework. Evaluate first, then make your repair selection from a position of knowledge. The better informed you are, the more gratifying your results will be.

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