Asked on Apr 21, 2015

My family room floor is sinking

AnneMarie
by AnneMarie
The concrete slab floor with parkay flooring on it is sinking. I believe it is the result of the City putting in a road just on the east property line. Water has been running off that road for years. I now own the family home and don't know if it can be corrected without a lot of money. Any ideas? The photos don't really show the slant involved but you can see the wall separated from the floor.
  26 answers
  • Karmen Clevenger Karmen Clevenger on Apr 21, 2015
    First I would call the town hall and speak with them regarding the thought of the road. If any way try to obtain some sort of proof with pictures of how close it is to the home it's self possibly get someone to come have a look and do an estimate of cost or see if they will or will not pay cost or partial. It really is hard to tell not knowing if it has a crawl space under home or not? If so get a lot of pictures of water flow as well go under home and show height of water as well damaged areas you feel it had caused. Proof is a major factor in all this. Hope this helps some.
    • See 3 previous
    • Hope Williams Hope Williams on Apr 29, 2015
      This should not be an out of pocket expense for you. Contact your homeowners insurance without delay. Explain it to them. This works by your homeowners insurance attorney contacts the city attorney's and THEY battle it out! Not you! IF this is the road work related situation cause, then your insurance company will be all to happy to battle them! Please trust me on this!
  • Karmen Clevenger Karmen Clevenger on Apr 21, 2015
    Yes if all else request for a road drainage sort to detour water from your home. Explain that this is a result you in your heart feel and that if they would please help to fix this. Come up with a way to get the rain from your yard/home and direct it elsewhere. Best of luck to you.
  • AnneMarie AnneMarie on Apr 21, 2015
    Thanks Karmen. I really need to know if I can just remove the flooring and then add concrete to the sunken area to level it out. I need lamps to stay on end tables!
    • Hope Williams Hope Williams on Apr 29, 2015
      No you can not just add more weight to a structure that is collapsing without knowing the cause! The answer is no, no, no!
  • Lagree Wyndham Lagree Wyndham on Apr 21, 2015
    I know you can add concrete to existing concrete if a "concrete adhesive" is use had to this to my garage floor. There was a 3 inch difference from one end to another....the concrete guy who poured slab messed up bad. Had to hunt him down to fix it then fired him. My only concern is your foundation has probably been undermined and this could lead to other structural problems....you may need an inspection from an independent inspector. I would not trust city to be honest.
  • Karmen Clevenger Karmen Clevenger on Apr 21, 2015
    But one really needs to assess the damage due to if it had settled into the flooring then it is more than likely into that wall right above it you do not want mold inside your walls pending how long you need this home it can cause a lot of mold to begin. It needs dried out well and if you are able to get out of the home then spay down with bleach, again it is pending how much went into the wall this could be a very bad and big problem. Yes you are able to get your floor level again as Lagree stated but again before really closing off things water damage needs looked at. Get a couple of free quotes as AnnMarie stated then you can get a general ideal based on just one contractor might just be the diamond in the rough honest and fair another may be the dishonest one who is money hungry and will say it is all bad needs all tore down, then money up front then leave you stranded. So the room next to this unlevel flooring is the outside? Is there a hole or just the concrete settled and it sagged?
  • Graceful Angels Graceful Angels on Apr 22, 2015
    Parquet flooring (sorry, that is how it is spelled correctly, no offence to your speling of it!) is notorious for movement, but in this case since your levels have changed it really needs investigation very quickly! It could be you have water collecting then moving away which is causing the concrete slab to move, that is, sink. No, you can't just add more concrete to make it level. Unfortunately. You will really need an expert on this to sort out the sinking. You should document when it started, take more photos that show with a spirit level the slant, and show where North is on the photos. That will give the direction of the slant you are pointing out. Take all that to the City and ask to speak to one of the engineers in charge of roadworks. Often the engineers are more in tune with the difficulties than the general staff. The City may or may not help with fixing the problem OUTSIDE the home, but they will probably not help at all with costs to fix the inside. If they refuse, get legal aid, and kick butt! Either way, it is not going to be a simple exercise and one you will no doubt be trying to avoid, but it's either that or keep your lamps on the floor, I am afraid. Good luck!
  • Hope Williams Hope Williams on Apr 22, 2015
    100% agree with Graceful Angels! The city will do nothing I guarantee you. First you need a foundation expert to access the sinking. Second, trying to connect the road work to your situation is going to be impossible. Once the reason for collapse, and the fix for it is obtained, you need to contact your insurance company. This resembles more of an natural disaster covered by your home owners. Also, this needs to be address from under the foundation and not in top of it. Holes can be dug and concrete pumped under your foundation for stabilization. (Simply put). If you can't keep a lamp in a side table, you need to put your self into high gear and contact a professional without delay! If it's that bad, I would not be staying in the home either. Full collapse is possible at anytime! No joke. Seriously, get off this website and get on the phone with a foundation company!
  • Hope Williams Hope Williams on Apr 22, 2015
    I found several companies in your area. acculiftfr.com 635-561-2366 Please do not play with this!
  • Leigh Rowan Leigh Rowan on Apr 22, 2015
    I agree that the problem of the sinking foundation needs to be solved before you move on to redoing your parquet floor. I would also be concerned with the rest of the homes foundation and structure. A structural Engineer will help you fight the city or who ever put in the road. Depending on the size of the City there could be free legal counseling. Do you have any neighbors that have problems? Good Luck
  • White Oak Studio Designs White Oak Studio Designs on Apr 22, 2015
    Foundation issue. This happened to my friend with her 100 year old farmhouse. Her quote to raise the sinking area to the level of the rest of the house was over $10,000. Good luck!
  • White Oak Studio Designs White Oak Studio Designs on Apr 22, 2015
    We also had high ground water issues and had to get a country drain extension done. In our area, rural, we go to the drain commissioner with the problem and it is a along series of steps; appointing an unbiased review committee, public meeting(s) with testimonials, visits to the site, engineering quotes etc. In our area the county pays 12%, the Township pays 12% and the effected property owners pay the balance for this extension which included ditches, culverts, pipes under driveways etc. The costs for this project was $480,000 and our costs was $10,000.00. We could put this on our taxes (for a ten year period paying monthly compounded interest) or pay it off up front. Neither was a good choice in my opinion. But we had no choice, with a crawl space with 20" of water 24/7- we had to save our home.
  • Dorothy Collett Dorothy Collett on Apr 22, 2015
    I see you are in OFallon, Mo. The drought we had here in Mo a couple of years ago caused many to have foundation problems. So it might be a combination of causes. Have an expert in local foundations look at it before you do anything. It would be great if you had a plot map with the exact location of your house in relation to the boundry markers. (Usually tie rods imbedded at corners of lot.) Houses can slip downhill if they are on highly plastic clay.
  • Rachael Basye Rachael Basye on Apr 22, 2015
    The previous owner of my house had issues with water flooding the property from the school field across the street. They installed a drainage ditch on the side of the property and it seems to have fixed the problem. That's probably something that should have been addressed when it was first noticed. Luckily I have a crawl space with a sump pump in case it becomes an issue again. You probably want to involve your homeowners insurance. If it is the city's fault I think they can put more pressure on them than you can.
  • Gail Gail on Apr 22, 2015
    First you need to know what kind of foundation you have, is it just a concrete slab over a short wall foundation? If this is the case, then I would assume that you have a wash out or a sink hole of sorts due to the water drainage from the new road. If the city put the road in I would contact the city street engineer and have them come assess the drainage in your area, explaining of course what has happened to your home. Also I would talk to any of your neighbors that might be affected by it. The more people in the neighborhood the better, this almost gaurantees that the city will have to do something. I live in Kansas and I know I could have made the city pay for a sewer cave in if they didn't come out and fix the alley behind my house. The trash company complained to me that they wouldn't be able to pick up my trash if the sink hole wasn't fixed. Boy it only took them 2 days to get it out here and fix it after I told them that and threatened to make them pay for it if it did collapse onto my sewer line.
  • Martha Martha on Apr 22, 2015
    Take lots of photos and contact your house insurance company ASAP. The insurance company should help you handle it with the town or city. Also contact your city or town council representative about it right after you contact the insurance company.
  • Sharon La Tour Sharon La Tour on Apr 22, 2015
    We are having the same type of problem because the lady who owned the house before we brought it, had an addition put on the back of the house. She had a slab poured and it was beneath ground level, i'm sure to save money. So now we have a major leak in our dining room next to our drive way. The foundation has cracks and broken places in it and that's where water comes in almost every time it rains. My husband got some quik-set concrete repair for the time being untill we can have a new floor poured level with the patio. ugh! what a pain!!!
  • Jerry Jerry on Apr 22, 2015
    I work for a foundation company for 18 years, trust me you need to call a structural engineer and have them check it out, it will cost but better to be safe than sorry because more than likely its a foundation issue that needs to a licensed contractor to look at it.
  • Pmm912143 Pmm912143 on Apr 22, 2015
    I agree with many of the thoughts above. Adding concrete could bring the floor level up but will also increase the weight of the floor, and if the cause of the problem is not corrected it will continue to get worse. Contact your insurance company, and get a structrual engineer to review the issue. Regardless, I think the repair will not be inexpensive ...
  • Sun One Sun One on Apr 22, 2015
    I agree with Leigh Rowan. Sue the "B**!" If you have neighbors, check with them to see if they are having the same problem.
  • Theo Owsley Theo Owsley on Apr 22, 2015
    I saw a hack that works. the floor can be raised by taking expanding foam go to a crack or separation and fill it with the foam. The foam will lift the concrete to the level you want. I think you might need a foam machine from Lowe's to get enough to do the job.
  • Trudy Trudy on Apr 22, 2015
    You do need to contact a structural engineer. But there is a way to pump new concrete under the floor to lift it back up, but it is not a do-it-yourself job.
  • Arts Be Crafty Arts Be Crafty on Apr 22, 2015
    call Foundation Support Works in your area and ask about PolyLevel. It's a cheaper, yet more durable way to get the floor level again. If you're in NJ or NY I can give you a link for them.
  • DORLIS DORLIS on Apr 22, 2015
    We didn't have water problems, just the southeast corner sank and doors would not shut. It cost us over $10,000 just to raise the corner less than 1/4". But no more problems and we have a life time guarantee and it passes on to new owners. Heliotech is the company. Don't know if they operate in your area, but they did a good job with no disruption to our life. I was inside when they jacked it up and not one thing fell off a shelf.
  • Anne Anne on Apr 29, 2015
    Theres a YouTube Video Slab Raising DIY!!!!!! Its awesome what he did !
  • Kristin Topping Kristin Topping on May 20, 2015
    If you have any queries about caring for your hardwood flooring or laminate flooring,you should contacta local commercial flooring company. They can provide professional advice to ensure that your floors remain in top condition for years to come that can enhance the beauty of your home. You can see more ideas by visiting this site --http://blog.macflooringservices.com/easy-floor-care-tips-hardwood-laminate-flooring/