Ok, here is a long story, but one I find interesting. about 7 years
ago, when I was still in High School, a group of students went to a
house that had been empty and abandoned for about 45 years. I had
driven past the house many times, not giving it a second thought, but
when told the story, was very intrigued. I didn't personally go into
the house at that time, just heard about it. So, they mentioned that
they got in through the back of the house where the wall had fallen
down and allowed entry inside. So today, I took a drive up as I had
been thinking about the house off and on since. To appease my
curiosity, I pulled in the driveway and got out of the car. On one of
the boarded up windows is a "For Sale By Owner" sign, so I thought
that if anyone came and asked, that I would say I am interested in the
property. after walking around the front and looking in a window, I
walked to the back of the house to my amazement to see all of the
walls pretty much intact. I was stumped, because I had seen pictures
of people from inside the house. As I'm looking at the house, I'm
checking the foundation and the roof, which after 45 years or so,
seemed to be in pretty decent shape. the roof as far as I could tell
had 1 hole in it but the rest seemed to be ok. I proceeded to the
other side of the house and with shock and almost horror found the
wall that did indeed fail. It wasn't the side of the house, but the
foundation it was sitting on. I couldn't believe my eyes. it was one
whole section of the house and around a corner to what looked like an
addition. The house seemed to be suspended in mid air as if defying
gravity. The floor had given way and allowed the fridge to fall in the
basement with it. I then turned around and left the property quickly
as that kinda spooked me out. The house is unique in design and shape
but at one time had a grand elegance to it. I found a picture on the
internet of it from the early 20th century. It looked so beautiful and
full of life. Now it is a crumbling death trap ready to burn. So my
question is this, what can make a foundation wall collapse from
underneath a house like that. the house I am in now is 150 years old
with a partial granite/brick foundation. The stupid thing has never
shown any sign of failure or deterioration. Can a house really die? or
was the wall purposely broken to gain entry? Not really a help
question, but mere curiosity.

On Fri, 3 Sep 2010 21:38:59 -0700 (PDT), camryguy
<a...@gmail.com> wrote:

>other side of the house and with shock and almost horror found the
>wall that did indeed fail. It wasn't the side of the house, but the
>foundation it was sitting on. I couldn't believe my eyes. it was one
>whole section of the house and around a corner to what looked like an
>addition. The house seemed to be suspended in mid air as if defying
>gravity. The floor had given way and allowed the fridge to fall in the
>basement with it. I then turned around and left the property quickly
>as that kinda spooked me out. The house is unique in design and shape
>but at one time had a grand elegance to it. I found a picture on the
>internet of it from the early 20th century. It looked so beautiful and
>full of life. Now it is a crumbling death trap ready to burn. So my

It could be rebuilt.  It's been done before.  Jack posts do wonders to
hold up walls until a foundation wall is repaired.  If it's such a
nice place, I bet you could buy it cheap.  Then jack it up to
stabalize it ASAP and begin the foundation repair.  Leave it sit like
this much longer and it will come crashing down.  Give it new life!!!

On 9/4/2010 12:38 AM, camryguy wrote:
> Ok, here is a long story, but one I find interesting. about 7 years
> ago, when I was still in High School, a group of students went to a
> house that had been empty and abandoned for about 45 years. I had
> driven past the house many times, not giving it a second thought, but
> when told the story, was very intrigued. I didn't personally go into
> the house at that time, just heard about it. So, they mentioned that
> they got in through the back of the house where the wall had fallen
> down and allowed entry inside. So today, I took a drive up as I had
> been thinking about the house off and on since. To appease my
> curiosity, I pulled in the driveway and got out of the car. On one of
> the boarded up windows is a "For Sale By Owner" sign, so I thought
> that if anyone came and asked, that I would say I am interested in the
> property. after walking around the front and looking in a window, I
> walked to the back of the house to my amazement to see all of the
> walls pretty much intact. I was stumped, because I had seen pictures
> of people from inside the house. As I'm looking at the house, I'm
> checking the foundation and the roof, which after 45 years or so,
> seemed to be in pretty decent shape. the roof as far as I could tell
> had 1 hole in it but the rest seemed to be ok. I proceeded to the
> other side of the house and with shock and almost horror found the
> wall that did indeed fail. It wasn't the side of the house, but the
> foundation it was sitting on. I couldn't believe my eyes. it was one
> whole section of the house and around a corner to what looked like an
> addition. The house seemed to be suspended in mid air as if defying
> gravity. The floor had given way and allowed the fridge to fall in the
> basement with it. I then turned around and left the property quickly
> as that kinda spooked me out. The house is unique in design and shape
> but at one time had a grand elegance to it. I found a picture on the
> internet of it from the early 20th century. It looked so beautiful and
> full of life. Now it is a crumbling death trap ready to burn. So my
> question is this, what can make a foundation wall collapse from
> underneath a house like that. the house I am in now is 150 years old
> with a partial granite/brick foundation. The stupid thing has never
> shown any sign of failure or deterioration. Can a house really die? or
> was the wall purposely broken to gain entry? Not really a help
> question, but mere curiosity.

Lotsa things can make a basement cave in, especially on an abandoned 
house. And especially one with an old chinked rubble-stone foundation 
like that one likely had (if it was pre-1910 or so), even if the visible 
part above grade was brick or skinned in brick. Was this house in frost 
country, by any chance? Usual culprit is water, often draining off the 
roof with failed or no gutters, saturating the ground near the 
foundation and freezing. Frost heave in winter, plus the rain washing 
away the chinking between the stones, eventually makes them fall apart 
just like an old stone fence. Even if basement is early block or brick, 
rather than stone, the mortar used back then was less than ideal, and 
foundation drainage was seldom taken into consideration. People expected 
basements to be wet. We'd have to see detailed pictures to make an 
informed guess.

As to what other poster said- yeah, if you throw enough money at it, 
almost anything can be 'restored', but if place is too far gone, it is 
more like re-creating it. Kinda like This Old House used to do in the 
old days, before they switched to doing rich yuppie mansions. It is 
seldom any cheaper than new construction, and only really justified for 
historical properties. And even if rebuilt and insulated with modern 
materials and HVAC/plumbing, they almost always cost a fortune to operate.

I've been through several properties like that over the years, but it 
wasn't with a bunch of kids running wild, probably at night. That hole 
in the roof likely had holes (or weak spots) in the floors below it. And 
I grew up in the business, so I know how to eyeball spaces before I walk 
into them, and stay away from spots likely to hurt me. Some of the 
places I saw were indeed magnificent old piles. One even had an inlaid 
hardwood floor up in the attic, which apparently was a dancing room for 
parties. (In a part of Indianapolis that was a rich neighborhood in the 
1900-1920 era, but was now part of the 'hood, bordering on slumdom.) One 
can only hope that some historical society or school of architecture 
documents places like that before they fall down, because most never 
will get rebuilt.

-- 
aem sends...

camryguy <a...@gmail.com> wrote:

-snip-
>full of life. Now it is a crumbling death trap ready to burn. So my
>question is this, what can make a foundation wall collapse from
>underneath a house like that. the house I am in now is 150 years old
>with a partial granite/brick foundation. The stupid thing has never
>shown any sign of failure or deterioration. Can a house really die? or
>was the wall purposely broken to gain entry? Not really a help
>question, but mere curiosity.

The house didn't die-- but it needs some loving & either a lot of  $
or a bit less money and a lot of sweat.

My 100 n'something year old house has a dry laid stone foundation on
clay.  The basement was always damp & the ceiling height was 5' 11' &
I'm 6'2".      So I began to dig.     I wanted to put a French Drain
[sorry heybub] around the perimeter and lower the floor a foot or so.

I got the trench dug- about 1' in from the existing wall-- and mother
nature threw us a 150 year rain deluge.    For us 2" is a lot of rain
in one day.  This one dropped 4 in 2 hours. . . . . and collapsed 2
adjoining walls in the basement.   One for 25', the other for 18'. The
corner between them held.      And it didn't crack the plaster
upstairs. [though things shook some & I thought the oak tree had
landed on the roof.

Water erosion alone could do the same thing in a house if nobody was
paying attention to it.

The insurance company said 'pound salt' - the contractor said "$40K
off the top of my head".

So my son, my brothers in law and I had a summers worth of sweat work-
and $10K later I have 2 proper insulated walls of 10" block, perimeter
drains inside and out, an 8' ceiling in most of my basement, and the
basement is pretty dry.    [oh--- and some real good life &
construction lessons packed away, too]

Now that its over, I can look back and say it was a good thing it
caved in-- I've got a much better situation down there now than I was
going for with the Band-Aid approach. 

Jim

On Fri, 03 Sep 2010 21:38:59 -0700, camryguy wrote:

> Ok, here is a long story, but one I find interesting. about 7 years ago,
> when I was still in High School, a group of students went to a house
> that had been empty and abandoned for about 45 years. I had driven past
> the house many times, not giving it a second thought, but when told the
> story, was very intrigued. I didn't personally go into the house at that
> time, just heard about it. So, they mentioned that they got in through
> the back of the house where the wall had fallen down and allowed entry
> inside. So today, I took a drive up as I had been thinking about the
> house off and on since. To appease my curiosity, I pulled in the
> driveway and got out of the car. On one of the boarded up windows is a
> "For Sale By Owner" sign, so I thought that if anyone came and asked,
> that I would say I am interested in the property. after walking around
> the front and looking in a window, I walked to the back of the house to
> my amazement to see all of the walls pretty much intact. I was stumped,
> because I had seen pictures of people from inside the house. As I'm
> looking at the house, I'm checking the foundation and the roof, which
> after 45 years or so, seemed to be in pretty decent shape. the roof as
> far as I could tell had 1 hole in it but the rest seemed to be ok. I
> proceeded to the other side of the house and with shock and almost
> horror found the wall that did indeed fail. It wasn't the side of the
> house, but the foundation it was sitting on. I couldn't believe my eyes.
> it was one whole section of the house and around a corner to what looked
> like an addition. The house seemed to be suspended in mid air as if
> defying gravity. The floor had given way and allowed the fridge to fall
> in the basement with it. I then turned around and left the property
> quickly as that kinda spooked me out. The house is unique in design and
> shape but at one time had a grand elegance to it. I found a picture on
> the internet of it from the early 20th century. It looked so beautiful
> and full of life. Now it is a crumbling death trap ready to burn. So my
> question is this, what can make a foundation wall collapse from
> underneath a house like that. the house I am in now is 150 years old
> with a partial granite/brick foundation. The stupid thing has never
> shown any sign of failure or deterioration. Can a house really die? or
> was the wall purposely broken to gain entry? Not really a help question,
> but mere curiosity.

Being a plumber I've seen many shady foundations in older homes. Although 
not my job I've warned some residents of the fact in case they didn't 
realize they had problems. I've also worked in some homes that were 
receiving foundation renovations. It's 100% possible to repair the 
foundation and likely a good buy if you get the house cheap enough. 

On Sep 4, 2:53=A0am, j...@myplace.com wrote:
> On Fri, 3 Sep 2010 21:38:59 -0700 (PDT), camryguy
>
>  wrote:
> >other side of the house and with shock and almost horror found the
> >wall that did indeed fail. It wasn't the side of the house, but the
> >foundation it was sitting on. I couldn't believe my eyes. it was one
> >whole section of the house and around a corner to what looked like an
> >addition. The house seemed to be suspended in mid air as if defying
> >gravity. The floor had given way and allowed the fridge to fall in the
> >basement with it. I then turned around and left the property quickly
> >as that kinda spooked me out. The house is unique in design and shape
> >but at one time had a grand elegance to it. I found a picture on the
> >internet of it from the early 20th century. It looked so beautiful and
> >full of life. Now it is a crumbling death trap ready to burn. So my
>
> It could be rebuilt. =A0It's been done before. =A0Jack posts do wonders t=
o
> hold up walls until a foundation wall is repaired. =A0If it's such a
> nice place, I bet you could buy it cheap. =A0Then jack it up to
> stabalize it ASAP and begin the foundation repair. =A0Leave it sit like
> this much longer and it will come crashing down. =A0Give it new life!!!

Well, I'm sure that I could get it cheap. Probably close to nothing,
but would never be able to do what it needs in order for it to survive
another 100 years. I don't have the financial capabilities to do a
project like that yet. Maybe after university, we'll find out!

On 9/4/2010 8:50 AM, camryguy wrote:
> On Sep 4, 2:53 am, j...@myplace.com wrote:
>> On Fri, 3 Sep 2010 21:38:59 -0700 (PDT), camryguy
>>
>>   wrote:
>>> other side of the house and with shock and almost horror found the
>>> wall that did indeed fail. It wasn't the side of the house, but the
>>> foundation it was sitting on. I couldn't believe my eyes. it was one
>>> whole section of the house and around a corner to what looked like an
>>> addition. The house seemed to be suspended in mid air as if defying
>>> gravity. The floor had given way and allowed the fridge to fall in the
>>> basement with it. I then turned around and left the property quickly
>>> as that kinda spooked me out. The house is unique in design and shape
>>> but at one time had a grand elegance to it. I found a picture on the
>>> internet of it from the early 20th century. It looked so beautiful and
>>> full of life. Now it is a crumbling death trap ready to burn. So my
>>
>> It could be rebuilt.  It's been done before.  Jack posts do wonders to
>> hold up walls until a foundation wall is repaired.  If it's such a
>> nice place, I bet you could buy it cheap.  Then jack it up to
>> stabalize it ASAP and begin the foundation repair.  Leave it sit like
>> this much longer and it will come crashing down.  Give it new life!!!
>
> Well, I'm sure that I could get it cheap. Probably close to nothing,
> but would never be able to do what it needs in order for it to survive
> another 100 years. I don't have the financial capabilities to do a
> project like that yet. Maybe after university, we'll find out!

if u get it cheap enough the bank will float the repairs.

"camryguy" <a...@gmail.com> wrote in message 
news:2...@y32g2000prc.googlegroups.com...
> Ok, here is a long story, but one I find interesting. about 7 years
> ago, when I was still in High School,

You should have stayed in school. They teach how to construct a paragraph.

On Sep 4, 11:44=A0am, "Han"  wrote:
> "camryguy"  wrote in message
>
> news:2...@y32g2000prc.googlegroups.com...
>
> > Ok, here is a long story, but one I find interesting. about 7 years
> > ago, when I was still in High School,
>
> You should have stayed in school. They teach how to construct a paragraph=
.

I didn't ask about my education, or how to build a paragraph. I asked
about a foundation on a house. If you wish to reply, please do, but
only on the topic being discussed.

On Sat, 04 Sep 2010 09:01:08 -0700, camryguy wrote:

> On Sep 4, 11:44 am, "Han"  wrote:
>> "camryguy"  wrote in message
>>
>> 
news:2...@y32g2000prc.googlegroups.com...
>>
>> > Ok, here is a long story, but one I find interesting. about 7 years
>> > ago, when I was still in High School,
>>
>> You should have stayed in school. They teach how to construct a
>> paragraph.
> 
> I didn't ask about my education, or how to build a paragraph. I asked
> about a foundation on a house. If you wish to reply, please do, but only
> on the topic being discussed.

Pay no mind to the grammar cops. They have nothing to offer. Hell I am a 
college grad and tech school grad and my grammar isn't worth a rat's ass.