I Bought Gilbert Grape's House

Not exactly, but something very much like it. For over a million bucks, you too can buy a crooked house in Hawaii, in need of foundation repairs. In one room, the built-in bookcase is adjusted by

1" side to side to make it look level. Several contractors and engineers have visited the home and examined the crawl space. One pier is in need of repair and some cmu's need to be replastered. At least this is my view. Their view? Duh, up to $70,000 in repinning. This is just a ballpark estimate. One guy recommends micropiles. Another, Atlas screws. Each side bad mouths the other. The engineers give you a lifetime guarantee on their plans. To you, the current owner. But nobody wants to put this in writing. All verbal. Trust me, I know what I'm doin'. Ever heard that line before? What is a homeowner to do? Are there other states in the U.S. with such low standards in construction and repair?

Litany of things I have already fixed in the first three weeks of ownership: Wall patching, re-painting, stucco crack repair, gfci outlet replacement, new dryer vent (the old one vented in the crawlspace, not outside), several sprinkler heads, new appliances (the old ones did not even fit through the door, and had to be disassembled), weeding, stuck blinds, sticking windows, bad cable wiring (yeah, a splitter was wired wrong and corroded to boot, under the house), etc. This list goes on ... Give me a break.

Reply to
Abe M.
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sorry you should fix the structural issues FIRST! otherwise when you do jack and level things you just completed repairs will crack:(

I assume you checked for termites, they love your area of the country

Reply to
hallerb

You're in Hawaii and you're complaining?

Stop, you're killing me!

If I can find a place to hang a hammock in your backyard can I move in?

Reply to
Dan Espen

I live on Oahu and have a hard time even getting anyone in the trades to come out for an estimate. You might want to see what remedies your neighbors have used.

Reply to
John Keiser

LOL. Sure, if you can hang green board and fix up gutters, fascia, plumbing, ductwork, and the like.

I think the state motto for Hawaii should be changed to: "If you can't stand the humidity, get out of the crawl space."

I agree with John about getting contractors to come out for estimates. The good ones are booked for months. But if you have tens of thousands of dollars to dangle in front of them, they come running quickly. Window replacement and re-stucco'ing easily approaches $100K. As for the foundation, I'm going with helical screws. If you're going to get screwed, do it big time.

Reply to
Abe M.

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