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I had a neighbor who just had to repair her entire front porch due to it sinking onto the incoming water mains. But my smaller porch at the front door (5' by 5') seems to have a similar issue at least with the step. It is sinking away from the brick porch and there is now about a 3 inch tapering gap on it, with the mortar cracked open. I believe the cause is an overhang from the balcony above, which drips right on these bricks and there is some mold and moss to show for this. Thankfully, the mains are not located here.
So question is: is it possible to prop up this step and remortar it or does it need to be rebuilt due to the compacted or lost soil underneathe? The sidewalk starts immediately after this step so there isn't much room to work there. Any ideas appreciated.
I would be VERY conceded if the water mains are actually UNDER the stoop / porch -- that is a disaster waiting to happen. IF the water /sewer lines are truly underneath that area I doubt a responsible contractor that does "mud jacking / pumped concrete leveling" work would take on such a job. A lot of excavation by hand will be needed AFTER the existing work is demolished. A whole new foundation of proper depth and reinforcement would need to be built...
Yes chet that is exactly what happened to my neighbor, it was months of work on and off but in my case, the lines are not located there. They have a much bigger porch next to the stoop area which mine doesn't have.
Here is a pic K'ledgeBldr. It may not show the angle too well but you might have an idea.
Just as I suspected.
What has actually happened is the sidewalk is sinking. This is a fairly common occurrence because the concrete guy who did the foundation did leave a 'loop' of rebar for the sidewalk and/or the flatwork guy didn't bother to 'dowel-in' some rebar to the stoop. In either scenario, the sidewalk would have been 'attached/connected' to the stoop instead of abutting it.
My experience has been this- mudjacking is too costly for a small project like this. Usually, it's cheaper to take out the section of sidewalk, dowel-in the rebar, repour, and reconstruct the brick step. Or; if you can't salvage the brick and matching the brick would be next to impossible, just pour the step with the section of sidewalk.
Lots of missing mortar / moss / frost heaving... I would recommend rebuilding this. Repairs with the bricks won't really hold up as well as either some nice (and costly...) solid granite slab steps or well built pressure treated wooden steps. Concrete or brick might seem like a bettter solution but as the picture shows it gets really funky and is hard to justify...
HELP! I realize this is an old post but I am hoping that someone, preferably living in GA (I live in Douglasville, GA) could tell me who to contact concerning a sinking porch that is separating from the porch wall. The columns, the pavers, and the stacked brick walls are all starting to be affected. The house was originally built in 2004 and I've lived here since 2016. My neighbor is having the same issue.
HELP! I realize this is an old post but I am hoping that someone, preferably living in GA (I live in Douglasville, GA) could tell me who to contact concerning a sinking porch that is separating from the porch wall. The columns, the pavers, and the stacked brick walls are all starting to be affected. The house was originally built in 2004 and I've lived here since 2016. My neighbor is having the same issue.
Mudjacking can be a permanent repair IF the root problem of the failure is addressed.
That is usually a water control problem. It can be as easy as piping downspouts or as involved as a total regrade of the surrounding topo.
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