Daily Southtown

Replacing foundation requires right pro

- By Tim Carter

Q: I’m thinking of buying a house that has a crawlspace. The foundation is in very bad shape. While the house looks quite bad, it’s got good bones. Is it possible to completely remove a bad foundation and install a new, taller one? What’s involved? Whodoes this type ofwork? What would youmake sure gets done if you’re going to all thiswork?

A: Anybody buying such a dilapidate­d house needs to negotiate a really good deal. The good news is that the old foundation can be removed and replaced with a new cast-concrete foundation, creating a full basement. The task is not much different than eating an elephant. You just take one bite at a time.

This question reminded me of a fascinatin­g time early inmy building career. Fresh out of college, I had just rehabbedmy first house in Cincinnati. It didn’t need a new foundation, but itwas otherwise in pretty bad shape. Four months ofwork transforme­d the house back to its former glory.

About a half-mile away, a developerw­anted to put in a small shopping mall, but therewere about 10 houses and an apartment building in theway. Not only did he buy all these properties, but he proceeded tomove them about amile away on some wooded land he bought at the end of a street. I rememberwa­tching these houses, and parts of houses that were cut in half, creeping down the road to their new foundation­s.

The reader in question needs to contact different foundation contractor­s to see which ones have done exactly what shewants to do. Not all foundation contractor­s have the expertise towork underneath a house that’s suspended above the

work site, sitting on cribbing made with timbers the size of railroad ties.

These foundation contractor­s will also knowthe names of the different house-moving companies in the area. The first step in the process of tearing out the old foundation and installing the new one is to prepare the house as if it’s going to bemoved to a new location. House-moving companies do this like you might brush your teeth. It’s just another job for them.

I’d consider several things if thisweremy job. For starters, I’dwant to make sure the housewas lifted high enough so there was positive drainage away fromall sides of the house. The building code’s minimum standard is 6 inches

of fall in the ground in the first 10 feet of horizontal distance away from the foundation. I feel 12 inches of fall is much better.

If the budget allows, I’d also try to pour the new foundation­walls as high as possible so a true 8-foot ceiling height might be achieved in the basement. You’ll also need to make sure a great high-performanc­e vapor barrier is installed under the new basement concrete floor.

I’d also install interconne­cted perforated 4-inch pipes beneath the new basement slab to capture radon gas that might be seeping up fromthe local bedrock. A riser pipe that connects to the below-slab pipes should then be extended up to the roof to

vent the radon.

Q: I’m about to install ceramic tile on a concrete floor of a 40-year-old house. The concrete floor has cracks in it. This is a DIY endeavor, and I don’t have the extra money to install the expensive membrane that I should use. Aremy newtiles going to crack? What would you do? What about grouting the tile?

A: This reader’s got spunk. I applaud their spirit, and they can achieve success if they do a few simple things. There are different crack-isolation membranes that uncouple the tile fromthe actual concrete slab. They might price all of them to see if there is one they can afford.

There’s not a doubt in my mind that the new tile will develop cracks directly on top of the cracked slab if no membrane is used. Since the reader’s budget is tighter than a banjo string, they might take a chance using two layers of 30pound felt paper. This is a very affordable material, and while I’ve never used it as a tile crack-isolation membrane, I feel it’s got a fantastic chance of performing quitewell.

If the cracks in the slab are wider than 3/16 inch,

I’d first try to bond the concrete together by injecting a high-strength epoxy into the crack. This will go a longway to prevent future cracked tile.

I’d then install the felt paper just as youwould one of the fancy membranes.

This requires a bed of thinset adhesive that you then cover with the first layer of felt paper. Smooth the felt paper using a rented linoleumro­ller. Be sure to install the felt paper so it crosses the cracks at a 90-degree angle if possible.

I’d then install the second layer of felt paper over the first layer at a 90-degree angle. I’d not install any thinset between these two layers. Theweight of the thinset under the tile and the tile itself will press this layer against the first layer.

Once the tile is installed, go tomywebsit­e, AsktheBuil­der.com, andwatchmy four-part video series about howto grout ceramic floor tile. You’ll get profession­al results with aminimum of practice.

 ?? DREAMSTIME ?? Be sure to find the right contractor with experience lifting a house to replace the foundation.
DREAMSTIME Be sure to find the right contractor with experience lifting a house to replace the foundation.

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