I am looking for fix for a sagging front porch. We just purchased the house and the pier footings are sinking. I found out later that the piers were not placed on virgin soil. Virgin soil is 10′ below grade and the piers are sitting on fill dirt. the fill dirt has been there for approximately 2 years. I was thinking of useing an expanded concrete pad with rebar for my base. I hope one of you pro’s out there will be so kind to assist me with the right info on this one. I have 14 piers on this porch we are talking about and all of the 6×6’s are less then 3′ off of the grade. I look forward to some feed back. Thanks
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Some of the questions that may arise and need to be answered before an opinion can be given are......
How long has the fill been settling?
How old is the porch?
Is digging new pylons an option? Probably not.
Take pictures of the porch. "the pro's" will need to know how much the porch has sagged. If too much than rebuild is the other option.
A photo would be good.
What kind of soil is predominant in your area - or - what is most likely used for the fill? How much rainfall do you get annually?
My red flags go up on this one.
How old is the house itself?
Was it built on the same fill?
Are there any signs of stress cracking in the house foundation?
What sort of foundation is it on the house
If I presume that the house was done ok and remains without problems, and it is not built on something like quicksand, I might want to wait another year, maybe recording some readings at each pier with reference to a fixed elevation point. I might find that it is finished settling and then I couold deal with it in the length of the posts above ground insted of digging.
Maybe.
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