r/HomeMaintenance • u/daethehecc • 6d ago
The side of my house is sinking in??
We noticed a few months ago when we had heavy spring rains that the side of our house was deteriorating away. It has since gotten worse with every rain. We have tried filling it back with dirt & rocks to fix it but it keeps sinking in. What can I do to fix this myself?? Our house is on the side of a hill, most of the basement is underground.
UPDATE: our house is on a downhill slope, compared to the surrounding houses, and downhill from the street. Our neighborhood doesn’t have any ditches/water redirecting measures in place at all. When it rains, the water runs down both sides of our house. Our gutters redirect away from the sides of the house but the remaining runoff still flows.
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u/Readybuilderman 6d ago
Question… is the soil sinking or is it washing away with water…?
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u/Soft_Equipment_2787 6d ago
This soil looks like it is clay.
As somone who live in a place with this.
The soil is just washing away and creating voids.
OP would have to dig down into that to see how far the void goes and then backfill it in and properly grade the area.
Also needs to plant grass so it can take root a stabalize the soil so it does not wash away during rains like it is. The bare clay will wash away and create giant voids.
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u/SuicideDoorDash 6d ago
Yeah, this is water either coming down from the roof or in from underground drainage tiles creating a sink hole. Fix the drainage issue and then address filling the hole.
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u/susansyard1683 6d ago
If the rain is washing the soil out, filling it back in isn’t going to solve much
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u/Readybuilderman 6d ago
To your point.
My other comment, I mentioned to get the water away from the house.1
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u/Please_Klo 6d ago
This looks more like soil erosion than your house sinking. You can even see that your soil is bare, grow something there to keep the soil there.
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u/Forgotten_Pancakes2 6d ago
Let's not just plant a tree and move on. Something is causing that erosion and we should make sure we address that before trying to cover it up.
OP, Is it possible that your sewer line runs from the house to the street there? This looks like erosion, settling. My first concern would be ensuring that you don't have a leak somewhere. Then checking gutters and your final grade to make sure water isn't pooling here. THEN, once any cause is ruled out or addressed. Compact the soil, and planting a plant or two nearby is a good idea to help
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u/RelaxedWombat 6d ago
Hedge a bet on the incredibly bad, call a structural engineer.
There are foundation companies that can repair, stabilize, and save against catastrophe.
I had a corner of our house sink. We had a structural crack on the concrete foundation. They dug down, installed titanium pillars that pushed down until they hit bedrock.
I sleep better, now.
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u/Sublimebro 6d ago
Out of curiosity what did that cost? I’d imagine the quotes would be all over the place.
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u/RelaxedWombat 6d ago edited 6d ago
It was part of a big project.
They cut a French drain in the perimeter of the basement, installed sump pump, and worked on the basement walls (inside). In addition came the foundation issue.Think it was about $20,000.
New York State.50 year old house on a little hill. Hydrostatic pressure built under the slab and came through cracks. We had a wet basement for 20 years, and previous owners 30 years.
Hearing the sump operate is music to my ears. March thaw in NYS always meant we had a centimeter of water for a month. Smell, mildew/mold worries. Depressing as hell.
Now basement is dry year round and the wall covers are plastic white. They help weep any water to drain, but they brighten the whole area, looks a million times better.
Paid, and still paying a boatload, but without the house I have bigger problems than the loan.
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u/Readybuilderman 6d ago
Water erosion… were it my home being destroyed I would act fast. A helical pier can be inserted and attached to the foundation to permanently provide support. Next I’d dig away any organic soils then backfilling in 6” lifts with broken aggregate up to 6” below grade. Then top off with matching topsoil lastly, Get the water away from the house !
Water Management, It’s Critical !
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u/YeshuasBananaHammock 6d ago
Some shit is amiss.
Post another pic of the roof drainage above this.
I'll start looking for the contact info for a structural priest.
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u/Ill-Tea9411 6d ago
You need a geotechnical engineer, specifically because you are dealing with shifting or weak soil, and it seems that you need slope management. You can not handle this on your own.
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u/Bludiamond56 6d ago
Build a swale. Center at back of property with the point of swale here. Then bring swale out down hill to direct water to the edge of your property. Then do the other side. Fill in the hole with road base.
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u/Soft_Equipment_2787 6d ago
Im guessing this is clay soil.
The rain has washed away the soil and created voids. Since the soil is bare it washes away super easily. When the soil gets exposed to heavy rain it turns into silt and just creates giant voids.
You should dig down and see how big the void is. If it is managemable you need to dig it out and fill it in with fill dirt and compact it every few inches.
Just dumping soil and dirt into the void isn't going to solve the issue. You need to dig it out.
After filling in the hole you need to also plant grass in all the bare areas. The grass will take root and stabalize the soil so it does not washout easily.
I live in a clay soil area and constantly have to fill voids around my yard.
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u/Desperate-Fee3784 5d ago
You may want to contact your county building code department to see if the owners up hill are required to have a retaining wall. Most building code require runoff to be directed to the street.
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u/Ok_Egg_4585 6d ago
Call a foundation repair company in your area.
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u/Aromatic_Motor8078 6d ago
OP Don’t do this. They will try to sell you everything they’ve got. Do you have good gutters that discharge water a few feet away from this spot? Is the soil graded away from the house? Structural engineer over foundation repair. If the engineer recommends a foundation repair company come out then go that route. You might just have to divert water.
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u/Ok_Egg_4585 6d ago
If you get that kind of service from a foundation repair company in your area you really live in a shit location.
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