Concrete Front Porch Problem

[Scott Levine]

When I moved in to my house over the summer I did noticed that the front porch slopes a little away from the house. It has now got worse. Most of the posts that are holding up the roof are not touching the ground. I also noticed that where the porch meets the side of the house there is big whole/separation where it is secured to the house which must be the cause of the sloping. What would casuse this and how could it be repaired? Thank you.

[arkayassoc]

Scott,

Was this a new home? If so, go back to the builder.

If not new, did you have a certified home inspection prior to closing?

Did the seller's have to complete a disclosure form, and did it address foundation or drainage problems?

I suspect the porch foundation has settled, a bunch. But, if it has gotten significantly worse since the summer, you might want to look at drainage from roofs. Do you have gutters? Do the downspouts direct the water away from the foundation? How is the property sloped in front of the porch, does water naturally drain towards the porch?

In the interim, you need to find a way to support the post, or the roof will be unduly stressed, and your problem and repair $'s will continue to grow :madhell:

Post back with more information, and we will help you explore what your options are.

[Scott Levine]

The house was built in 1984. We bought it this past may and it was inspected. I do not remember the inspector saying anything about it, but I will now go back to those papers and check.

[arkayassoc]

The house was built in 1984. We bought it this past and it was inspected. I do not remember the inspector saying anything about it, but I will now go back to those papers and check.

There appears to be part of your post missing, and I assume you bought it this past summer.

Please let us know what the inspection report says about the foundation and drainage.

[lefty]

Scott,

Welcome to the world of real estate disclosure. This sounds to me like the beginning of a lawsuit. You'll need an attorney to deal with that side of the problem.

Dealing with the porch and it's sinking -- you really only have 2 choices.

One would be to 'mudjack' it back into place. Check your local Yellow Pages and see if anybody in your area does that.

The other is to replace the porch. (Those "posts that are holding up the roof are not touching the ground" AREN'T holding up the roof. The roof is simply suspending them in free space.)

Sounds like a drainage problem that is eroding the soil from under the slab. Like Rick (arkayassoc) said, find and fix the drainage problems first. Gutters, drainage around the foundation, ... Is this house on a slab?? Do you have a water leak under the slab?? (If you are on a water meter, shut off ALL of the faucets in the house, then go see if your water meter is running.) Certainly a major water problem someplace if the concrete slab is sinking.