Replies

1. 
   FastEddie1 | Mar 28, 2005 02:57am | #1

   Are the bricks really structural, or is it a brick veneer house?

   What is the foundation?

   How was the water main repaired?  While it was broken, there's a good chance it washed out some of the fill under the house, and now the house has settled.  Sounds like a house to avoid.

    

   I'm sorry, I thought you wanted it done the right way.

2. 
   brownbagg | Mar 28, 2005 02:58am | #2

   run, run quick

3. 
   Stuart | Mar 28, 2005 03:11am | #3

   I suppose it's possible, but I never heard of a city water main running underneath a house...sounds a little odd to me.  They're normally run under the street or in a right-of-way where they can be accessed.

4. 
   WayneL5 | Mar 28, 2005 04:16am | #4

   If it's a nice house that you would really want to purchase, look into having an engineer take a look.

5. 
   Piffin | Mar 28, 2005 05:32am | #5

   I'd be running fasterer than Brownbagg

   and I'm getting olderer fasterer than he is

   You better join the race or you'll be getting older too - faster than you can fix this place

    

    

   Welcome to the
   Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
    where ...
   Excellence is its own reward!

1. 
   FastEddie1 | Mar 28, 2005 05:47am | #6

   What was the name of that movie?   The Money Pit?

    I'm sorry, I thought you wanted it done the right way.

1. 
   jpeaton | Mar 28, 2005 06:43am | #7

   the bricks are structural . the house has a stem wall foundation. the bricks are all painted so its kind of hard to tell exactly whats going on...i suppose moving ext. windows and doors around could be a pain as well when i go to remodel this thing?.. what should i look for under the house besides displaced dirt?

1. 
   BryanSayer | Mar 28, 2005 05:57pm | #9

   Besides the structural issue, bricks for the most part should not be painted. That alone just introduced a whole new nightmare for you.

1. 
   jpeaton | Mar 29, 2005 03:24am | #10

   the painted bricks are ugly.. am i able to add stucco directly to them?

2. 
   BryanSayer | Mar 29, 2005 11:20pm | #11

   I imagine there is a way to apply stucco over brick, but I don't know anything about stucco. If it is brick veneer, you will probably want to just remove it and start over.

6. 
   CJD | Mar 28, 2005 05:51pm | #8

   Definitely have a structural engineer look at it. The reason you see very few brick structures on the Pacific coast is it is very difficult to make them meet seismic requirements. Older brick buildings, usually commercial, can be found in cities. Most have lots of steel added to them for seismic retrofits. It can be an interesting look, but is probably not something you would want in a single family residence.

   
   

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   Edited 3/28/2005 11:03 am ET by CJD

7. 
   cliffy | Mar 30, 2005 12:33am | #12

   I'd be running too. To the Mazdarati to get all four cylinders pumping!

   If the water main blew up once it probably is a ticker.

   Have a good day

   Cliffy

8. 
   JeffBuck | Mar 30, 2005 03:14am | #13

   Damn.

   I thot we were gonna talk about my favorite song ....

    

   She's a Brick ...  ... ... Hou-se ....

   she mighty-mighta ... jus lettin' it alllll hang out ....

    

   Jeff

     Buck Construction 

      Artistry in Carpentry

           Pgh, PA

9. 
   BruceM16 | Mar 30, 2005 03:45am | #14

   Yes...the inspection will be vital. Undermining a solid masonry structure would not be good.

   However, having said that, I'm also a native Oregonian who lived in the Washington DC area for 10 years while in the service, where we bought and lived in our only all brick house in Bethesda, MD. I can tell you without hesitation that all brick has some real advantages! Maintenance, other than wood window shutters and exposed window sash/jams and entryway surrounds....is minimal. The walls provide excellent sound protection and they're tough to burn down.

   But there are a couple of drawbacks. Unlike wood frames, its tough to add windows, patio doors and hang decks. Snaking wire within an outside wall is ne're impossible and all plumbing will be on interior walls. I had several cracks in plaster due to normal settling (all brick structures tend to be heavy), but I repaired all within the first year of being in the house, and they never reappeared.

   And speaking of undermining....when digging out for deck footings, I got close to the foundation and noted a hole that I ran a long rod down, that went all the way under the footing, and I couldn't hit any lateral sides to this gap. I was thinking of excavating down to see what was creating this big sub-footing gap...but then thought I'd better just leave it alone, so instead, I just packed it with as much clay dirt I could cram down there.

   Good luck

   BruceM