Need Help w/Foundation

[Steven Banks]

Hello All,

I was tearing down a free standing deck (not connected to house), in the attempt to eventually replace it. After tearing away some of the rotted wood, I found some damage to the wood portions of the foundation.

1. In order to get it repaired, do I call a Home Inspector to get an unbiased opinion, or start calling people specializing in foundations?
2. It looks like it is more than just scraping away and treating the lumber with a preservative.
3. What would be the correct term for this portion of the foundation?

I tried to take some photos of it so that you can get an idea of the area and extent of damage. Any help and/or recommendations are appreciated.

Thank you so much, Steven Banks

[kevin]

Looks like poor installation of flashing on the house. Doesn't matter that it wasn't connected, it looks like it was close enough to the house to put and keep water right against the house.

Home inspectors are for people buying houses. The unbiased opinion they would give a buyer would simply be "yup, that looks rotten, better call somebody who can help you". And a home inspector will typically know nothing about how to repair such a problem, beyond maybe a very ballpark estimate ("hmmm, that looks expensive, maybe a few grand") and phone numbers of his buddies in the contracting business.

Yup. Looks like you need it torn out and replaced.

The concrete part is the foundation. I think I see two separate boards sitting on the concrete -- a smaller one in better condition on bottom, then the rotten thicker one on top. If so, the board resting on the concrete is the "sill plate" (modern) or "mud sill" (old fashioned term). Looks like you might have a sill plate that is fine -- perhaps it was pressure treated lumber. The board on top would probably be a "header" or "floor joist" -- a 2x6 or 2x8 laid on edge on top of the sill plate, and looks totally rotten. Expect more rot behind and underneath it, too.

Ask friends for recommendations on general contractors, esp. those that do repair work (as opposed to new construction). Some foundation specialists might be able to help too, although I think many (at least around here) mostly just stick to concrete and cement work.

This will not be a cheap repair necessarily, so get a few quotes if you can. They have to see it in person to make an intelligent estimate, but offer to email them the photos to get a ballpark idea of how much it might cost.

Good luck,

-Kevin

[Steven Banks]

Kevin,

Thank you so much, your speculation seems right on. One of my customers said I should check the floor joists also by going in the crawlspace. Looks like any FUN home improvements will have to wait... :-(

Thanks again, Steven