Trying to level my house and the wall is pulling away from the floor. Yikes!

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buttress from the outside and gradually push it back into place? Then maybe find some way to secure it on the inside at least temporarily. This is just a suggestion up for discussion.
 
Things bow, bend etc. because all the forces in the house want to reach equilibrium. Starting out your house was at a state of equilibrium over many years of a genital pull of all the weight of the building left it where it was. Over time the wood also took a set and the change slowed down.

If you go in and make a point or even 6 points of load around one area all the weight of the building starts moving thru the structure. If a bent beam straightens it gets longer and everything attached to it has to stretch and move with it things that can’t move have to break or separate. That’s why your wall pulled away. Pushing that back will cause other things to move as everything is attached to everything.

My advice has always been to work super slow and don’t try and fix many years of movement in a day or two. In fact I always felt it better to stabilize things not level them and then do what it takes to make it livable. If you start lifting an area and its moving back into place and not causing damage in other places that’s one thing and I can see putting it where it goes and then securing it. But if it’s tearing the house apart I don’t think you are doing things any good to keep going.
 
nealtw said:
Replaced, as in cut out removed and replaced. The old sub floor went under the walls, the question is how did they attach new to old. If they did a questionable joint there that will explain alot.
When You were under there did you happen to take not of the joint between the two or anything to hint at what they did?
I have had a few plans on how to pull the wall back but I keep coming with reasons they won't work.
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The beam and rim joist look to have pulled away by the door and had been patched previous to me. Their patch has failed.
 
bud16415 said:
Things bow, bend etc. because all the forces in the house want to reach equilibrium. Starting out your house was at a state of equilibrium over many years of a genital pull of all the weight of the building left it where it was. Over time the wood also took a set and the change slowed down.

If you go in and make a point or even 6 points of load around one area all the weight of the building starts moving thru the structure. If a bent beam straightens it gets longer and everything attached to it has to stretch and move with it things that can’t move have to break or separate. That’s why your wall pulled away. Pushing that back will cause other things to move as everything is attached to everything.

My advice has always been to work super slow and don’t try and fix many years of movement in a day or two. In fact I always felt it better to stabilize things not level them and then do what it takes to make it livable. If you start lifting an area and its moving back into place and not causing damage in other places that’s one thing and I can see putting it where it goes and then securing it. But if it’s tearing the house apart I don’t think you are doing things any good to keep going.
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I have been back and forth on the house. I love the location and the only thing it needs is to be level and a big bath put in. I have the room for the bath. It is paid for and I can spend a little here and there and make it what I want then great. That's what I am trying to do.

On the other hand the house may never be what I want and renting it out will pay a good bit of the note on another place.

At this point I feel I have opened Pandora's box and have to finish what I started regardless!

I do like the idea of slowly raising it and not the full 7inches. However if I get a pro to do it. The job will be done in a day or up to 3days. Done their way. I am still getting bids.
 
When you say 7 inches, that is over how many feet? If you took a transit and shot the house is the whole house tilted equally over the whole length or does it have rise and fall? You could take a string level and draw a line around the house using some reference height like the inside floor or the plate or some such thing and would the house be on a tilt as a whole. That would be one condition. The other would be where just parts of it fell and other things are plumb and level still. If the second case is true things have to give in the process. Stuff like drywall and roofs could have been done after it had sunk and thos things like your wall might come apart.

If you could stabilize it could you level the floors as required by adding to them?
 
7inch over a 28 feet the other corner is about 6inch over the same 28 feet. I added a bit of material after ike but that's as much as I want to do topside. The floor is fairly new.
 
Donny said:
The beam and rim joist look to have pulled away by the door and had been patched previous to me. Their patch has failed.
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You said the subfloor had been changed, do you think they changed the joist to while they were at it?

Either way, I think the wall was not attached to the floor.
I am still thinking if you lower the beam again the wall will go back in place fairly easily, don't force it just use a bigger hammer.
You may have to play around with the floor and the wall until they line up on the same plane and then find some way to attach the two, over kill the patch, what ever it is.
And then solve the pivit point problem, when youy jacked it up the beam leaning out and ony pushing up on the outside of the wall made the wall lean. that has to be solid bearing. You have to figure out how to bet the beam sitting level before you jack it again.

In fact under each side of doors and windows where the jack and kings studs are there should be solid blooking inside the rim joist to give better bearing for the extra weight they carry. All that means is double joists in thoses areas for 5 or 6 inches on each side of every opening.
But on this house anywhere you want to jack you also want to double up the rim on the inside so the push is even and not just on the outside like here.
 
Yikes. Sounds like a complicated job. I'm sorry that I can't contribute but I really hope you get things straightened out without serious damage or extreme cost.

Isn't there some way to create footers? Like don't they sell some tubes that look like cardboard that you sink in to the ground and then fill with cement as a small foundation to help prevent the pillars from sinking?

I'm trying to remember how deep they have to go, but I don't know what their load capacity is.

I'm thinking of something like the thing on the left
deck-footings.jpg


Also, not sure if this is helpful or not:
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84qplcTbIBU[/ame]
 
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Looks like I am going the contractor route. It is not a done deal yet,he still has to draw up the contract. He is the lowest bidder...As a precaution I plan on being at home the first day. I also have him breaking up the usual half upfront and half after into 3 payments. As to have a slightly better money leverage.
 
Ok. You checked to make sure he's licensed and bonded with insurance right? Because if something goes wrong, you want to make sure you can be compensated.

Good luck! I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you.
 
zannej said:
Ok. You checked to make sure he's licensed and bonded with insurance right? Because if something goes wrong, you want to make sure you can be compensated.

Good luck! I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you.
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I honestly think only one of the contractors out of 5 that bid this job was bonded and insured. He was not the one hired. None of the contractors inspired to much confidence. That's one of the reasons I will be on site!
 
slownsteady said:
Did any of the contractors discuss the wall problem with you? What was their thoughts about it?
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The concensus seems to be that this is an easy house. None seemed to think this is much of an issue. They have all seen much worse.

The fellow I plan on hiring said that the whole house settled at the same time and it all has to be raised at the same time. Right now the wall is holding up to much weight. The other beams don't have much weight on them. The front wall is holding up the entire roof.
 
Thanks for answering. I would have been grilling all the guys for as much info as I could get on the situation. Maybe that's as much as they have. Any contractor is going to say "sure, no problem". i was wondering how they're going to pull it back in.
 
Wait a minute: We understand the front wall is holding all the weight of the roof, that is the design of that house. They have to address why the wall pulled away from the floor, if theyt do not see that as a special problem, keep shopping.
 
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