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I would be surprised if it would cost very much to fix but you could get a quote from a couple of contractors to find out.
If the home inspector was impressed by the inspection on a house that old, I'd say it's a keeper. EVERY house will have things wrong in an inspection, normally MANY things wrong. (I sold real estate for 16 years and sat through 100's of inspections).
Wood should NEVER be in contact with the ground. Dry rot will turn them into sawdust sooner than later and termites don't have to leave the comfort of their little subterranean homes to start their feeding frenzy. It's actually a fairly easy fix to cut off the bottom 6 inches and place concrete under the posts to support them.
Obviously I know nothing of this specific situation though.
I viewed the link---wait, What?! A wooden foundation wall?
Well first of all, this wooden foundation system is not actually wood in direct contact with the earth---its plywood sheathing is separated from the earth by a plastic water-proof membrane and gravel/sand. Though even then, I would be highly skeptical such a foundation would last for an extended period of time (ie decades)...I'd think this would be intended for a temporary structure.
I have been doing remodeling for years and I can say this: any direct wood to ground contact, especially for any load bearing member is a real no-no..It is a direct route for termites to enter the structure and/or dry rot to form and spread when conditions are favorable. Even deck posts of pressure-treated lumber should sit on a pad of concrete/masonry, preferably anchored with steel bolts and angle irons and be at least a few inches from the soil---wood siding also should not be any closer to the soil than about eight inches.
As for the OP, without seeing pictures or a detailed description, its hard to say.
Yeah, well I spent a lot of years as a journeyman carpenter (never wanted to be a contractor) I'll take my chances against a handyman website.
That's just the first random link I found. Wood foundations are a real thing. But, yeah, I'm pretty skeptical also. I suppose with the correct soil conditions engineering and wood treatment it could be fine, but I imagine it would not work in many areas.
I have seen wooden pressure-treated 4"x4" support posts for a deck rot out to the point that their structural integrity was seriously compromised in under ten years because they were in contact with the ground (that is, they were driven into the earth with either no concrete pad or a buried pad).
In another case two regular 4x4 supports were driven into the ground about 18 inches with no pads at all; these supported a balcony above a porch. In four years time these posts were dry rotted to the point that the balcony was leaning and pulling away from the house, to which the other end was anchored to. It had been unsafe to walk on since the year prior.
We learned the 'carpenter' who built it four years earlier had obtained no permits for the job and used nothing more than standard 2x4s and 4x4s which were painted with regular indoor latex; the entire deck had been repainted twice already due to rot and peeling paint. The whole deck was infested with dry rot and had to be replaced, but the two main supports which were driven directly into the ground were essentially turning to sawdust around the area it met the ground and you could easily poke holes in the wood with an awl.
I hope you can see, from the thread as a whole (and this is born out on the other online locations where I'm discussing this) that from my point of view there is a very wide divergence of very strong opinions. I can't take anything anyone's said here as finally authoritative. But there is clearly enough information to know I need to open my eyes a bit wider as I go forward. To that end, there's this.
The seller just asked for an extension on the home inspection response response. What I want to do is say the extension is granted ON THE CONDITION that they pay all but $300 (IOW we're volunteering $300, just to make them feel a little better about it basically, and to reduce the chances that they'll just give up) for complete inspections of the foundation (by which I mean the cellar and crawlspace, which seems to be referred to as "the foundation" in a lot of places though I always thought that meant specifically a giant block you build a house on top of), and on the electrical and plumbing systems (for reasons I haven't mentioned in this thread), and by specialists in those three areas. (I am expecting that to total about $1000 at most but I may be wrong in which case our own contribution amount may change. I'll have to go get some quotes.)
Thanks for the advice. We have actually already given the seller our inspection response and we're waiting to hear back from them about it. We just said we plain want it fixed... We'll see if they're up for it. I'm actually not planning to literally walk out on the deal if they say they can't fix it, but I figure they'll have looked at the costs and then via that I'll have more information to go on to decide whether we can realistically have it done ourselves in the next few years or whether we'll insist on at least a credit from the seller.
They have three more days...
Use caution here. It's not impossible that your seller is also on C-D and is learning about your intentions from your posts. Even without your real name there may be enough information for the person to identify the situation.
Use caution here. It's not impossible that your seller is also on C-D and is learning about your intentions from your posts. Even without your real name there may be enough information for the person to identify the situation.
Agreed.
It is much better to publicize details of your deal, your negotiation posture and your intentions on Facebook, like our local agents routinely do.
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