Raised Foundations

Phoenix Business Group
Consumer Advocacy Services

If you have a crawl space under any part of your house, you have a raised foundation.

There are four "big dollar" items that must be checked in your crawl space before your contractor can begin to properly estimate your cost of repairs. These are:

Are there cracks in the perimeter walls? How many cracks are there? How wide are the cracks? Is there evidence of existing steel reinforcement?
Is the mud sill bolting intact? Did the mud sill or foundation crack near the bolt?
Is the floor intact and tightly nailed to the underlying framing?
Is there cracking of fireplace brick beneath the floor?

These damages may involve repairs costing thousands of dollars.

Once your contractor knows the answers to these questions, he should be able to prepare a reasonably fair estimate for repairs. However, to be complete, you should also check the following:

Are there horizontal cracks in the stucco along the mudsill or below?
Are cripple walls plumb? Are they braced?
Are piers and posts cracked or split? Are posts plumb? Do girders rest on posts? Are girders strapped to the posts or merely toe-nailed?
Are there any "see-through" cracks in joists or girders? Can you stick a pocket knife through any of the cracks?
Are there trenches beside any piers which may require backfill?
Are there broken pipes, ducts or conduits?

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