H
HaynesKS
Guest
What is the name of your state? KansasMy home is a raised ranch style house built on heavy clay soil and is 33 years old and has been maintained well over the years. It has shown some signs of settling and was in need of repair to some sheetrock, some floor slopping and one major foundation crack. I had started to repair some of the wall cracks and had one room completed. Within a couple of months the cracks came back, so I decided I probably should get the house leveled.
I contacted a foundation engineer. He took measurements and said that work should be done. He suggested steel piering and told me to get at least 3 estimates and contact him back to let him look over the plans each company had for the work to be done.
I contacted 4 companies. Two of the companies did steel piering work, one company did large concrete pinning, and the other company used 6" by 12" concrete piers laced together with cable through the center. I asked for references and contacted all listed. They all, of coarse, had good things to say. I contacted the BBB to see if any complaints were filed and none had at that time. I sent the proposals to the engineer to review and he seemed to think they were all similar, so now, it would be up to me to decide who does the work.
I was looking at the long term here, warranty wise. One company had lifetime tranferable warranty ( good selling point if I decided to sell ) and the others were up to 10 years. I went with the company that did the 6" by 12" piers laced with cable --called Cable Lock system. They advertised on local TV showing sheetrock cracks around doors and doors that don't shut, and their slogan is---Call the experts, We'll fix it and fix it for good.
Eighteen months ago the Cable Lock system was installed cracking my foundation every place a pier was installed. In some places they had to use angle iron to support the foundation where they had cracked it due to over lifting. I have since had the company back numerous times to make adjustments because of more cracking in sheetrock, doors that don't shut. They installed more piers and lowered it in some places and raised it in others to try to fix their original work, and I still haven't been able to make my repairs. They originally told me to wait at least 6 WEEKS before I begin to make repairs, its been 18 months.
They tell me if I notice any new cracks or cracks that get worse to contact them, and I have, and they are good about coming out to see what the problem is, BUT, I feel they are not confident in knowing what to do to fix it. I have had the General Manager and one of the owners ( from Houston ) here and it seems they pass the problem on to someone else, I am by now at my wits end.
I hired another engineer ( to get another opinion ) to look the place over. He seemed to think the house was high in the center and questioned the placement of the pier that needed to be lowered. I called the company to see if they agreed to fix it--they came out and lowered the last pier they installed, that was over 5 months ago. I was hoping to start repair work in Sept., but I am still having problems with movement.
Due to the lifting and lowering of my house I have considerable damage to brickwork, sheetrock, woodwork, and my most concern is the cracking of the foundation where piers were placed. Moisture in these cracks over time will most likely deteriorate the concrete without waterproofing.
Now, I am seeking your advice. What do I do now? Do I have any legal rights for damages that was caused due to their over lifting? I know it will void the lifetime warranty---BUT---I don't think I want them to come out and try to please me at my expense to repair their damage.
Thanks for your time !!
MSN