Leveling house in Fairbanks (foreclosed, construction loan, new house)

[gshurley]

A house I am looking at mentioned the foundation needs to be leveled every X years. Is this common in Fairbanks? Is there an approximate price range something like this costs?

[Marty Van Diest]

Originally Posted by gshurley

A house I am looking at mentioned the foundation needs to be leveled every X years. Is this common in Fairbanks? Is there an approximate price range something like this costs?

It depends. It shounds like this house is built on permafrost. That is inherently unstable a the house will continue to shift as the permafrost melts under it.

It is probable that the house was built with a post and beam type foundation that is fairly easy to level. If so, it's not so bad.

Just jack up the portion of the house that is low and shim it to level. Some houses even have turn screws built into the posts so that you just raise or lower the foundation by turning the screw.

You have to look at the house, and before you buy, hire a professional inspector.

[roadfamily6now]

Yeah what marty said.

Permafrost! Have fun.

So it can be free if you do it yourself. think 4 x 4 cribbing.

[gshurley]

Thanks for the info....not as bad as I thought (depending on the house).

[RayinAK]

Originally Posted by gshurley

Thanks for the info....not as bad as I thought (depending on the house).

Probably around $5,000 for a small house. A coworker of mine got his son's house leveled two weeks ago. But this house was set on adjustable posts or piers, which in turn made the job quite easy for the contractor. It took two days to do the job properly (slowly). He moved one of the house's end UP 4", and the drywall inside the house cracked in several areas. I will be helping him take care of these cracks in a week or two.

[starlite9]

Some of the houses on Farmers Loop are in the Permafrost big time, they have sunk anywhere from a few inches, to a dozen feet on one end.

If the house is on that ground, you are going to be wasting your money unless it was free....

Too many other places will have a good ground to work from... Or you can build with a floating foundation.

[RayinAK]

Originally Posted by starlite9

Some of the houses on Farmers Loop are in the Permafrost big time, they have sunk anywhere from a few inches, to a dozen feet on one end.

If the house is on that ground, you are going to be wasting your money unless it was free....

Too many other places will have a good ground to work from... Or you can build with a floating foundation.

I agree with you on that. permafrost can easily ruing one's life Now the house I mentioned above is not sitting on permafrost, but on a hillside. It has finally settled, and a couple of new houses have been built at each side of it. During the Spring, runoff from melting snow used to flow over the lot, so the two neighbors had to dig trenches and grade the lots. However, this house was already on pillars, and my coworker's son bought it this way from the bank.

[starlite9]

Originally Posted by RayinAK

I agree with you on that. permafrost can easily ruing one's life Now the house I mentioned above is not sitting on permafrost, but on a hillside. It has finally settled, and a couple of new houses have been built at each side of it. During the Spring, runoff from melting snow used to flow over the lot, so the two neighbors had to dig trenches and grade the lots. However, this house was already on pillars, and my coworker's son bought it this way from the bank.

Prob got a good deal on it then...

[RayinAK]

Originally Posted by starlite9

Prob got a good deal on it then...

Yes, he got an excellent deal. The guy who built the house had to get a construction loan he could not afford once the house was finished, so the bank foreclosed it. The bank was asking quite a high price for it, but after a year and one-half of losing money they sold it at a high discount. I imagine that the pillars under the house scared a lot of buyers, but my coworker got an engineer (friend) to do a thorough inspection on the house before his son closed the deal. They plan to build a foundation for it in a few years, but will also leave the pillars in place.

[starlite9]

Originally Posted by RayinAK

Yes, he got an excellent deal. The guy who built the house had to get a construction loan he could not afford once the house was finished, so the bank foreclosed it. The bank was asking quite a high price for it, but after a year and one-half of losing money they sold it at a high discount. I imagine that the pillars under the house scared a lot of buyers, but my coworker got an engineer (friend) to do a thorough inspection on the house before his son closed the deal. They plan to build a foundation for it in a few years, but will also leave the pillars in place.

Cool, hope it all works out well!

That rolling house stuff can be a real pain trying to keep the stuff from sliding from one end of the house to the other as if you were on a boat in rough seas... But in this case it would be more like a boat taking on water and having a nasty listing to one side..