The guy next door has been trying to sell his place for over a year. Last summer as we chatted across the fence in the back, he told me he'd sell it to me for the same price we paid for ours. I told him we have had no money left since we bought this building and we watched as people came and went, realtor signs went up and came down, and then yesterday morning a crew of six guys arrived to do "fonçage de pieux". Google translates this as "shaft piles" which really sounds nasty if you think about it. I really have no idea what it is in English, but basically, they dig a trench around the building and attach brackets to the foundation and then stick metal beams through the bracket way down deep into the ground. I'm not sure if this is supposed to prop up the building or just stabilize and anchor it, but I know it is borne of a foundation problem. So at 6:30 in the morning they arrived, parked the big dump truck on OUR front lawn and proceeded to dig up his front yard. I woke up to a trembling house and was horrified to see them chopping down the Sumac tree, the one I adore, the one that turns bright red in the autumn and whose seed pods feed the starlings well into the winter. Hacked it down with a chainsaw. I've decided I'm gonna dig a small one up over by the train tracks and plant it on our side of the dividing line this year.Anyway, we went out front to chat with the owner when we were leaving and he told us that no one would buy the building because it showed signs of a bad foundation. Apparently, according to the company doing the work, our property does not show the bad signs. We also learned that the bedrock is 44 feet down yet the foundations are 10 feet down, just "earth" between the foundation and bedrock which is why all the houses on this street feel the vibrations from time to time from the heavy traffic. So we asked how much this was costing since it could be an eventual problem here and he about gagged me with his response. Thirty grand. Later I moaned to serge that we don't have that kind of money and he blithely said, "eh, we'll borrow it then."
17 comments:
I like Serge's reaction. Why stress when there aren't even signs of yours needing repaired? But I would worry like you.
Sumac Trees are not easy to transplant. I'd either buy one from a Nursery or try to grow one in a pot from seed. The trees from a Nursery have been grown in a pot and can be transplanted without disturbing the roots very much. If the tree was cut down but the stump is still there it may grow back or several trees may come up from roots left in the ground. Sumacs are a hardy bunch, they just don't like being moved. Ed
Gee, thanks Monsieur Neighbor, for offering to sell us the building and THEN mentioning the foundation issues.
Sad about the trees. I'm happy to hear you're thinking about replacing that food source--somebody needs to care about starlings!
Plant the tree, and, since the cw now is that you do not have foundation problems, "let the day's own problems be sufficient for the day".
What a shame about the tree. What's to become of the building, then?
I just heard this and have to share:
A curious fellow died one day and as he was standing in line for judgement he saw that some souls went through the pearly gates into heaven. Others, went to Hell and then Satan threw them into the fire. But every so often he would throw a person into a pile. The man was curious so he went over to Satan and asked him why he threw some people into a pile. Satan replied, "Oh, those people are from Canada, they'er to cold and wet to burn." Ed
I'm starting to think being a renter is the way to go. Poor us. Literally.
-Rox
Foundation problems suck.
I'm sorry about the tree!
Yeah, I am so glad to be a renter right now.
The only things they ever really build on bedrock are very tall buildings.
But even in Manhattan they float a lot of big buildings on things called piers. There are hundreds of them and they distribute the weight of the building over all those piers.
If the time comes that you need to reinforce the foundation, get a few bids for the project. I think a bank loan in this instance would be the right way to approach it. If you ever decide to sell the building, the price will be adjusted to cover the expense of working on the foundation. That would also be a huge selling point as to the stability of the building.
Until it is necessary, I would occasionally look for signs of foundation problems in the future. ( e.g. cracks in the foundation, or in the walls, floors not plumb, etc.) No sense taking on debt unless it is warranted.
Interesting your neighbor tried to push off his problem on you without letting you in on the foundation problems. I am also surprised no one came over to ask permission to drive up on to your lawn. That's inconsiderate on one level and pushy on another by not respecting your property rights.
Foundation problems really aren't that common so I wouldnt worry too much about it. The tree though, oh, I'd cry! I can't even bring myself to start thinning our backyard jungle and when I finally take something out, I immediately regret it and stress myself out.
Oh, to do that to a tree! Wail! Moan!! Definitely plant your own to replace it. But you might want to make sure it wasn't the roots of the tree that disturbed the foundation of the other building.
As I'm about to buy a new house I shutter with the responsibilities. Good Lord that's a pretty penny.
skip the sumac. There are so many other better choices. Right now, in our little coin de l'universe, the lilacs are blooming. They grow well in Montreal. Get the Katherine Havemeyer hybrid. If you want to see it, go to the Jardin Botanique where they have one. Should be blooming in a few weeks, no? You can even clip a sprig from it and root it.
Hopefully you had a competent bldg inspection, which would have revealed foundation issues. $30K is nothing to sneeze at!
Mark :-)
Well I thought this only occurred in the south where homes, etc are built at ground level on this poor gumbo soil. It is quite common here for homes to need foundation work soon,if not before, after the 10 year warranties expire. All that is needed is for peirs to be driven in the ground before a foundation is poured but that is clearly too expensive for developers. Average cost here is about $10,000 for a 2000 sq ft home.
The tulips are loverly!
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