severe cracking from poorly compacted fill dirt
Homes were either purchased & destroyed or relocated by government eminent domain as Interstate 5 crept northward in the early 1960’s. This wood framed with brick veneer home was originally located where the 85th street overpass now stands, a mile or so away. The care & coordination involved in moving it unfortunately fell short when it came to properly compacting the fill soil beneath the new foundations. Severe settlement had opened up large cracks and the sloping floor was noticeable as one moved from room to room. We worked with Robbins & Company Foundation Repair to install micropiles along the foundation perimeter. Using their technical expertise, the home was completely leveled for a cost of over $20,000. The new pilings further helped to stabilize the fill soil in the event of an earthquake.
1965 view of house taken shortly after relocation from the path of Interstate 5. Foundations built to receive the transported home were placed on poorly compacted soil on a steeper slope to the backyard and beyond.
Living Room
Bedroom
1991 view of house. Note the settlement at the lower right sill of the picture window over the garage door. Cracks in brick were caulked and, unfortunately, the entire brick house was painted to conceal the developing cracks.
Dining Room
Exterior view of finished project
an imperfect solution to a problem that shouldn’t have been
From the inside, the home has beautiful (and now level) hardwood floors and stained wood window & door trim. The light fixtures where cleaned & kept as period pieces and the entire interior given a fresh coat of paint after a moderate amount of plaster repair. The home also received a sorely needed new roof which required additional sheathing as the existing boards did not meet current codes.
We gave up on the possibility of stripping off the paint overlay to get back to the original brick as this becomes an environmentally complex undertaking (lead paint) and is very expensive. A compromise warm tone pale brown / beige with the white trim was reluctantly used to give the home a fresh look & to conceal the additional recaulking done at old cracks. If only this job had been done right in the first place…….
