Q: My house was built about 16 years ago; it was one of the last years that they didn’t do post-tension slabs. It’s a one-story, 2,600 square foot house. Recently, it seems as if the slab of the house has been heaving up. For example, you have to step up two or three inches more than before to walk into the house from outside. The floor in the dining room seems to be raised up as well. What can foundation experts do for my house and will it be very costly?
A: From the way you’ve described your problem, it does seem as if you have a heaving problem in your slab due to expansive clay soils under the house. Those soils have become water-logged and are raising up your floors. Due to new technology, fixing a problem like this can be much less expensive than it used to be. A foundation expert can run a pipe from the soil foundation up to the top of the house using an area in a closet, for example. A fan at the top of the pipe will help draw out the moisture in the soil so that it will aerate and dry out. Then the slab will begin to resettle. It’s a much less invasive process than jackhammering out the slab in order to correct the problem. It can probably be done for less than $5,000.
For more do-it-yourself tips, go to rosieonthehouse.com. An Arizona home building and remodeling industry expert for 25 years, Rosie Romero is the host of the syndicated Saturday morning Rosie on the House radio program, heard locally from 8-11 a.m. on KNST-AM (790) in Tucson and KGVY-AM (1080) and -FM (100.7) in Green Valley. Call
888-767-4348.
