EcoRenovator - View Single Post - My "10 year project": rebuilding an efficient "tiny" crooked house in Canada

MetroMPG · 02-23-12, 03:18 PM

Agreed on the concept that little house + big problems = somewhat manageable. Big house + big problems I would not even have considered.

I haven't moved in yet, and my initial idea was this:

Gut & fix up the left (west) side bedroom first, since it's sitting level, square and on solid footings. Then I have somewhere decent at least to sleep & work (self employed, work @ home on the computer) while messing around with the rest. I actually already started demo-ing. (Bedroom ceiling & old insulation is gone; started on the walls).

As for the foundation/pad, I've done some research. Of course the big question is: has the pad finished settling completely? It can only go so far. If so, then jacking up the frame and shimming the sills would be fine.

I'm inclined (pardon the pun) to think it's finished settling, based on the age of previous inside & outside repairs that compensated for the house's crookedness.

But in the case that it may settle further, one stabilizing solution is to dig "post" holes immediately beside the foundation/pad, to below frost depth at intervals along the suspect wall and pour concrete in sonotubes level with the bottom of the sill. Bolt angle brackets on the top of the stabilizing "posts" to the sill to stabilize the wall and take pressure off the pad/foundation.

You will laugh out loud (I did!) at how the previous owners dealt with the crooked house issue. In a nutshell: they hid it, rather than dealing with the problem. In other words, there are some pretty crooked walls hidden/sheathed inside some relatively straight looking walls. I'll post details later, with pictures/diagrams for a chuckle.

02-23-12, 03:18 PM	#11
MetroMPG Infrequent noob Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: 1000 Islands region, Ontario, Canada Posts: 402 Thanks: 37 Thanked 20 Times in 19 Posts	Agreed on the concept that little house + big problems = somewhat manageable. Big house + big problems I would not even have considered. I haven't moved in yet, and my initial idea was this: Gut & fix up the left (west) side bedroom first, since it's sitting level, square and on solid footings. Then I have somewhere decent at least to sleep & work (self employed, work @ home on the computer) while messing around with the rest. I actually already started demo-ing. (Bedroom ceiling & old insulation is gone; started on the walls). As for the foundation/pad, I've done some research. Of course the big question is: has the pad finished settling completely? It can only go so far. If so, then jacking up the frame and shimming the sills would be fine. I'm inclined (pardon the pun) to think it's finished settling, based on the age of previous inside & outside repairs that compensated for the house's crookedness. But in the case that it may settle further, one stabilizing solution is to dig "post" holes immediately beside the foundation/pad, to below frost depth at intervals along the suspect wall and pour concrete in sonotubes level with the bottom of the sill. Bolt angle brackets on the top of the stabilizing "posts" to the sill to stabilize the wall and take pressure off the pad/foundation. You will laugh out loud (I did!) at how the previous owners dealt with the crooked house issue. In a nutshell: they hid it, rather than dealing with the problem. In other words, there are some pretty crooked walls hidden/sheathed inside some relatively straight looking walls. I'll post details later, with pictures/diagrams for a chuckle. __________________ . To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.