What causes a settling/ moving home addition? Is it haunted?
No, this is not a paranormal problem. At least not for this 70-year-old house in Cincinnati’s Reading suburb. The kitchen addition had encountered issues with its kitchen addition moving and settling. This homeowner wisely decided to consult an engineer to see what could be done.
The designing engineer from Buyers Protection Group conducted a thorough assessment and proposed reinforcing the foundation with concrete underpinning piers. The engineer thought this settlement was probably due to a foundation that failed to meet the required 30-inch frost depth. This oversight allowed the soil beneath the addition to freeze and expand during winter, causing instability and movement.
Hughes Construction was hired to rectify the situation, digging four holes approximately five feet deep. Filling these excavations with concrete, we created four concrete underpinning piers and allowed them to cure for three days.
Upon excavating around the newly poured piers, we confirmed that the original foundation was indeed inadequate. Consisting of only a few rows of concrete blocks without a proper footing. This discovery explained the ongoing stability issues. Please see the below photo for details.
With the first pour complete, we lifted the structure and secured the foundation with a second concrete pour to ensure lasting stability. This concrete underpinning will help to ensure that the foundation is not vulnerable to future freeze/ thaw cycles in future.
At Hughes Construction, we encounter various types of addition foundation challenges and stress the importance of addressing them correctly from the outset to avoid more expensive fixes later on. If you are considering an addition to your home, please feel free to send over your finalized plans via our online Contact Form. We would be more than happy to see if we can assist you with an addition that will stand the test of time.
