Having worked in the home inspection field for so many years, the question most often asked by clients is, “Is this house worth buying?” In fact, it is difficult for a home inspector to answer the question of whether it is worth buying or not, because the house itself is only a part of the value of the house. The location, price, community, school district, etc., are all important considerations. Therefore, I generally understand this question as a reassurance that the client wants to take from the home inspector before making the final decision. Basically, the client hopes that the problems raised by the home inspector are not too troublesome to solve.
But what is a not-so-troublesome problem, and what is a troublesome problem?
The problems of the house itself are basically divided into major repairs, maintenance, and safety hazards. The cost is divided into 10,000 yuan and 1,000 yuan. If you encounter a 100,000 yuan repair, it is a marijuana house, abandoned oil tanks causing soil pollution, and serious foundation settlement. (Leaky apartments are also very expensive to repair, but I have introduced it before, so I won’t discuss it today.) From my experience, maintenance and safety hazards are relatively easy to repair, and a few thousand dollars can solve the problem. As long as they are checked, they can be repaired, and there will be no future problems. The saying that houses are not perfect comes from this.
The problem of major repairs is a little more complicated. For example, the roof needs to be replaced, the drainage system needs to be replaced; this is a major repair, but it is a normal expiration of the service life. If you spend tens of thousands of dollars to repair it, you don’t have to worry about it for 20 or 30 years. If you think that this house is not worth buying, it’s a bit of a shame for your time and energy. But if you encounter a difficult problem, such as water supply pipes, power supply lines, or partial structural damage, you have to think about it. Although it is also a repair of about tens of thousands of yuan, the house will be turned upside down; in this case, most people still choose to give up.
As for the major overhaul, I have introduced the marijuana house and abandoned oil tanks in detail in previous articles. The focus of today’s article is to talk to you about the problem of foundation settlement.
A house will sink within 3-5 years after it is built. This is mostly because the soil under the foundation is not completely compacted, so it collapses slightly under the long-term pressure of the building. This is nothing new, and I believe many of you already know this common sense.
However, in a few cases, a serious settlement that affects the structure of the house is not fun. There are three types of serious settlements. The first is overall uniform settlement. Each structural unit is fine. It is not easy to find from the overall and local observations, but the underground drainage, water supply, and lines will be damaged. The second is tilted settlement. The whole building tilts, like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The last one is the most common. There is a local sinking in a part of the building, causing cracks in the wall, deformation of doors and windows, and structural damage.
These settlements usually need to be reinforced. The most common way is to dig around the building, then drive piles and piers, and use hydraulic methods to raise the foundation to the standard height and horizontal position. Of course, it is expensive. It costs about $3,000 to drive a pile, and there should be one pile every two meters. A house of average size should have at least 15 to 20 piles. It is calculated that the pile driving alone will cost tens of thousands of dollars, plus other excavation and construction costs. In addition, even if the foundation is restored, the load-bearing structure has changed, and the wooden frame and walls will have to be repaired.
There are many reasons for these subsidence, such as soil loosening caused by high groundwater levels, soil loss caused by underground rivers, and geological problems. These are troublesome problems. This is also the original intention of writing this article: to remind everyone to be more vigilant about certain areas in Greater Vancouver when looking at houses or commercial properties. If you can read my article to this point, it means that you are a caring person. After reading the precious information I have disclosed below, please give Tong Ran some encouragement.
1. The area near the Coquitlam Casino was a landfill in the 1950s and 1970s. The geology was loose, and the foundations of some warehouse buildings had seriously subsided.
2. Soil collapse in the camp loops area of Nanaimo, north of Hastings, caused serious subsidence of some houses
3. Some buildings in the area around Richmond No. 3 Road and Westminster have experienced settlement due to the poor foundation (the construction method at the time). It is different now. When building a house in Richmond, a large pile of soil is always piled up for a long time before the construction site starts. The reason is to lay a solid foundation.
4. Some houses built in the 1950s and 1960s in West Vancouver have foundations made of wooden piers. Over time, the wood rotted, and the houses settled severely.
5. In Vancouver, Fraser Street and 16th to 21st Streets have soil loosening caused by a former underground river, causing many buildings to sink.
6. Some areas of Ladner, Delta, near the Fraser River have experienced soil collapse, causing buildings to sink.
7. In the New West area near Queensborough Bridge, the groundwater level often changes, causing the soil to loosen and buildings to sink.
8. Port Coquitlam, near Highway 1, at the intersection of 7A and 7B, was built in the late 1960s. In order to save time, a large number of trees were cut down. However, the roots of the trees were not pulled out, but directly cut down, leaving the roots underground. Over time, the roots rotted, causing the soil to collapse and the houses built on it to sink.
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