Foundation and Sagging Floors, Part 2
I’ve slowly come to the conclusion that the guys who did the foundation work and house jacking in February (detailed here) were idiots. Considering that I forked over 3 grand for the work, which totally put me in the hole financially, makes it worse. Ahh my first rip off. Anyway, the reasons I think they’re jackasses are as follows:
1. On the jack posts they put up, they only used one bolt. I didn’t think anything of it at the time… until I bought a few myself to put up for extra support in another area of the basement. All the ones I bought came with two bolts. Hmm…
So I asked them about it a month later and the response, I kid you not, was “it’s rare that you can fit two bolts square in there so we always only use one”. That’s funny, I was able to get both bolts into the poles I bought. See, if you put them both in before you put the post up when there is no pressure on it, then both will fit easily. That’s common sense. If you put one in, then use it to jack a floor, then you’ll never be able to get the second one in there because the holes will no longer line up (see image above). Jack posts come with two bolts for a reason. I can’t believe these guys think one is enough and are doing that in every jacking job they have around here. Maybe one bolt will hold things ok, but the way I see it, if they all come with two bolts, just use them both before putting it up.
I went down to the local home store and spent a few bucks to get some extra screw bolts that were a little smaller to fit into the poles that were already up, with the holes that were no longer aligned. I feel comfortable with two thick bolts in every post, the way the manufacturers intended.
2. I have a damp basement. The first time they were here, one guy said that a dehumidifier would clear it all up and proceeded to tell me about how his mother used to have a wet basement at a place she rented, until she got one of those to clear her basement. So I fork over $170 for a dehumidifier at Sears, put it down there and sure enough it doesn’t work. Now it gets some of the water, but it didn’t clear it up. Fast forward a month later when they returned for the follow-up. One guy saw it sitting in the corner and asked if I was using it to clear up the dampness. Before I could answer, the genius who told me a month earlier how it would “clear everything up” chimes in with “oh that wont work, you need to waterproof these walls”. Thanks a lot. He obviously learned it in the last month (these guys claim to have “25 years experience”, by the way). When I brought up what he told me before, first he tried to deny it, but then I repeated what he told me about his mother and her basement. He got quiet and the other guy changed the subject.
3. The wall they did is still holding up (thank goodness) but there are some hairline cracks in it. He said that’s normal. I don’t know if it is or not (I’d guess not) but it worries me. I don’t want that thing chipping and falling apart any time in the next few years. For personal giggles, I asked how much they would charge me to do the other wall that seems damp with a couple loose bricks. He said since they’re in the area, they’d give me a “deal” of $575.
That’s funny. Considering they use mortar to strengthen the bricks, and it only costs $3.23 a bag, I figure they’d only use about 5 or 6 on that wall. In other words, no more than $18 worth. And I’d probably get hairline cracks in that wall too. Anyway, I’m pretty sure I can do just as good of a job myself, and will attempt it soon. I’ve already purchased the mortar from Lowes and had it delivered. 50 bags of the stuff cost me $160. Maybe 50 bags is overkill, but I figured it’s better not to come up short when the work begins on the damp corner wall (and a bunch of others around the basement that I want to smooth out).
4. The two floors they jacked are still dipping a bit. Not as bad as before, but still enough to be an annoyance. When I brought it up on the follow-up, they told me that it’s probably the sub-floor. Umm. Thanks. If you told me that the first time around, maybe I could have put the poles in myself to level the beams, and then hired someone to fix the sub-flooring. Ugh.
5. The final reason I think they’re idiots; a complete run-around for about a month. The last day they were here was February 17th. I called them back at the beginning of March after the new furnace was put in. After 3 weeks of “we’ll be there next week”, “we’ll be there this Friday”, (after Friday comes and goes) “Friday? No I said Wednesday. I’ll call you and let you know” (no calls, ever). At the end of March, they finally showed up one morning out of the blue. Only because they apparently had another floor jacking job a couple blocks away. This was pretty frustrating. Then when they got here, they didn’t really do much or have the right tools for the little they did do. Quite frankly, they seem annoyed to be here.
Hard Lessons Learned:
1. If you need a floor or house jacked, hire an independent inspector to check things out first. These people usually have no interest in the money for the work that needs to be done (other than a hundred dollars or so for their fee). An unbiased assessment of a potentially costly problem, with recommendations on how to go about fixing it is a good thing.
2. Just because a contractor claims to have years, even decades of experience, doesn’t mean they always know what they’re doing or talking about. Even if they sound really convincing and confident. Second, third, forth, tenth opinions are good.
3. Cement and mortar are not as expensive as I thought. If you want it already mixed, the price jumps. If you hire a cement truck, the price REALLY jumps. If you get it in bags where you have to mix it yourself (in a pan with Hoe and a half gallon of water), it’s nearly dirt cheap. At Lowes, Concrete goes for $2.82 for an 80 pound bag. Mortar goes for $3.23 for a 50 pound bag. Fast setting concrete goes for $6.25 per 50 pound bag.
Blogging the (almost) daily progress and headaches of fixing up an old house. 
