Cracked Foundation, Sinking Walkway

[AngieR]

Hi,

I live in one of two middle units of a 6 home townhouse block. I have a full single garage that juts out from the main house building which shares a wall with one of my neighbors. A couple of years ago I noticed a crack in the bricks where the garage joins to the front of the house at the roof line, and another crack directly below at ground level. Also, the level of the driveway has dropped about 6 from the entrance of the garage. We have a brick walkway that extends from the front door along the side of the garage to the end of it. A week ago a few of the bricks sank down enough to create a tripping hazard, and the entire area close to where the wall cracks seems to be shifting and sinking as well. Is this as serious as I'm afraid it is, and should I call an engineer, or can the walkway be back filled and repaired by us without any worry? Any suggestions are welcome.
Thanks in advance.

 

[nealtw]

Hi,

I live in one of two middle units of a 6 home townhouse block. I have a full single garage that juts out from the main house building which shares a wall with one of my neighbors. A couple of years ago I noticed a crack in the bricks where the garage joins to the front of the house at the roof line, and another crack directly below at ground level. Also, the level of the driveway has dropped about 6 from the entrance of the garage. We have a brick walkway that extends from the front door along the side of the garage to the end of it. A week ago a few of the bricks sank down enough to create a tripping hazard, and the entire area close to where the wall cracks seems to be shifting and sinking as well. Is this as serious as I'm afraid it is, and should I call an engineer, or can the walkway be back filled and repaired by us without any worry? Any suggestions are welcome.
Thanks in advance.

It sounds serious, but pictures tell a better story can you post some photos.

 

[AngieR]

I've added a few pictures cause who doesn't love a story with pictures

The cracks at the roofline and the floor of the porch are where the garage meet. Also the frame of the front door has started to pull away from the house. The more I say the more I'm freaking myself out

 

[nealtw]

I could make an argument the brick damage on the wall is just settling but watching for change would be a good idea.
The walkway is not related and that could be pulled up, re leveled and compacted and re- installed.
Others may see the wall differently than me.

 

[vinny186]

That looks very similar to what happened to my old house. The previous owners never bothered to clean the gutters or extend the downspouts so the middle of the house began to sink which was evident in tilted floors in two bedrooms upstairs and a lopsided foyer slab. Had to jack out a portion of the foyer and jack up the floors in the bedrooms.

How's the drainage in that area?

 

[oldognewtrick]

Are there any cracks on the drywall inside?

 

[AngieR]

Thank you for your advice. I really don't know what to do about this.

 

[AngieR]

There are some cracks on the inside walls, but nothing that looks scary right now. Just a small seam at the front entrance.

 

[AngieR]

The drainage seems good. I clean the gutters yearly because the neighbor has a large maple tree that hangs over my property. I do know that the subdivision is built on swamp land though.

 

[vinny186]

Next time it rains look around your foundation for pooling water.

Do you see anything similar happening in the other townhouse units?

 

[nealtw]

So tell us about your house.
Wood structure with brick for siding?
Concrete slab floor or wood floor over basement or crawl space?
Where in the world are you, do you get much freezing
Is there a roof over the front step or more house?
Have you looked threw the complex to see if others have similar cracks?

 

[AngieR]

My neighbors on either side of me have some cracking where the garages meet the house, but not as much as mine. All 6 homes though have sinking and buckling driveways.

 

[vinny186]

Do you or your neighbors know who built the units?

 

[AngieR]

OK, here goes, wood structure, brick exterior. The storage room under the garage is concrete. I'm in Ottawa, Canada, so yes we have freezing in the winter. The front porch is under one of the bedrooms. As far as other homes go I don't know what conditions they may be in on the inside. My biggest fear is that this is a bigger problem than I think it is and my home may lose a lot of value if there's not much that can be done because it's part of a townhouse. Do I need to call in an engineer?

 

[AngieR]

Yes, I know who the builder is, but they are no longer in business.

 

[oldognewtrick]

Talk to your neighbors and see if they are having issues. Spliting the cost of a structural engineer is better than paying by yourself. Do you have an HOA? What do your covenants say about issues to the structure?

 

[AngieR]

It's a free hold townhouse, so no HOA. Thanks for the suggestion of checking with the neighbors. Didn't even think of that

 

[nealtw]

The bedroom above the porch, has the door fit changed any cracks in the drywall?
Sunken walkways and driveways could be caused by frost which would mean they have water under them, that would include your porch. As the post we can see has a brick sounding it any lift there should have been noticeable in the room above.


Engineer almost always want to see a problem when some one else as opened it up.

 

[AngieR]

I haven't seen any shifting transferred to the bedroom, the door is still square in the frame. I do check regularly for cracks in the drywall.

 

[nealtw]

So, wood floor but no basement under the porch,
Have a close look at where the porch deck meets the brick under the door, any hint of movement there.