valdeztke

iTrader: (1)

Hey everyone. I was trying to come up with a good place to post this...not sure if this is a good place or not. Searched the internet galore and came to the conclusion that I need to call my insurance company.

I live on a small hill in Northern VA near a large construction site. Much of the land directly behind my house has been moved and used as fill dirt for the project. In the last two days I've noticed a great deal of noise (louder than normal) coming from the site. I believe they are driving large iron pylons into the ground.

Today I went into the back two rooms of my house and saw that the door frames on both rooms was split up the middle, the close doors had cracked and the walls were cracked as well. I know older houses shift, but this was a VERY drastic shift for it to splinter door frames and even split my closet door up the middle.

My question is - Should I assume this is just normal ground shifting or could the removal of dirt and pounding of pylons (vibrations) done anything to cause this? My house is the only one on a small piece of land that sits atop a hill.

CamaroRacing12

iTrader: (5)

i would def look into it. no clue here tho

subarubill96

iTrader: (9)

I'd put good money on the fact that your issues are related to all the work happening around you unless something drastic happened to a load bearing wall in your house.
I'd talk to the construction company and see what they say, if they are legit they should have a bond to cover this type of thing.

valdeztke

iTrader: (1)

Thanks guys. I'll def be calling someone in the morning. Its like the house shifted the same day I hear all this loud pounding. Just want to make sure I get to the bottom of it. If I'm living on a saturated marsh - might need to have a county inspector relook this plot of land. haha

mikep2002

iTrader: (10)

Yes call your insurance company... Its a very good chance if work has been done near the house it may have impacted the house. The construction company really cant be held for it... You will have a hard time proving anything but your insurance company will give you a good direction... If the construction is big enough you may talk to someone and they may make some things happen for you just to keep you out of the paper and avoid a bunch of soil testing/compaction testing. For the most part the soil and compation testing is done long before they break ground. Many times required for a permit to put such a large structure on.

FYI old houses dont shift that much... For the most part they have done all their settling. Its new houses settling where you see most of the gooffy stuff because they settle for the first couple years.

valdeztke

iTrader: (1)

This should give you an idea of just how big the project is:

http://www.wilsonbridge.com/index.php/home-page

The attached photo is where my house is located. Its hard to see from an aerial view, but my house sits on the highest point and the ground is sandwiched by retaining walls.

Anniversary "Z"

iTrader: (26)

Call the city or county building inspector as well as your insurance co. Place nails or pins on both sides of the cracks, keep a daily/weekly measurement of the space between the cracks. If they are forming that fast I doubt they are done spreading.

1fast bird

iTrader: (22)

If they are driving pilons into the ground this is probably the problem. They are driving them into bedrock. Basically it's like a man made earthquake. If it is cracking bad I would look closely at the basement walls (if you have a basement). If there are cracks there you could have a serious issue that should be addressed right away. More than likely that would mean a cracked footing which is bad news and a costly fix...... Pay close attention to any concrete around the house for cracks forming and widening.

New houses are prone to cracks in drywall but nothing as drastic as door frames. It takes a few years for the lumber to completely dry out and the house to settle on it's foundation.

I don't think the dirt being moved from the area would have any impact on your house.

Watch for sink holes also

mikep2002

iTrader: (10)

If your that red dot on that map is you its going to be tough... Thats quite a distance were not talking about being a hundred or so feet away from the construction area. I would consult with the houses next to yours. They are closer to the construction if they are having equal problems which I believe they would as a group you may be able to do something. I think that is a creek/river between your houses and the developement? That is where you will see signs of earth settling first. If that ground vibrates excessively large sections of that river bank with fall in.

1fast bird

iTrader: (22)

I didn't look at the map

SLOW SEDAN

iTrader: (13)

Wow I drive right by your house all the time. A good buddy of mine lives just across the street. That is an epic project! Sucks about your walls though! Hopefully its not a huge deal to fix.

valdeztke

iTrader: (1)

that map is a few years old. They've added and are still adding new off/on ramps both on NKings and on Huntington (my side of the river). The problem is, my house sits on top of what looks like a retaining wall that is slightly pushed out...this fall (towards Nkings) could be swelling internally and pushing the wall out. I have a strong feeling this is bigger than me needing a few new beams driven in the ground. When you've got enough pressure underneath you to start pushing out an 8ft retaining wall.....well I think we have a problem here Houston. I would assume the blastin, pounding and excavating have only exacerbated my ground issues.

valdeztke

iTrader: (1)

I guess its hard to see, but this house sits up on its own little makeshift hill..higher than the ones next to me. This leads me to believe that whatever base I'm sitting on is slowly going somewhere else.

Devilish34

iTrader: (2)

I would contact your insurance agent first and talk to him about your concerns.

valdeztke

iTrader: (1)

Talked to them this evening. Very pleasant, completely unhelpful. They recommend I ask someone to look at the foundation. I'm less concerned with the foundation (I'm sure its jacked up if the doors are splintering)....rather more concerned with what caused it and is this land even safe to live on.

Devilish34

iTrader: (2)

Assuming you have a basement did you check for cracks? If yes and yes how wide are they? You can draw two straight lines one on each side of the crack(s). Measure the distance between the lines(probably best to draw each line 2 inches away from the crack). Right the measurement and date on the wall next to the crack and take a picture or it.

mikep2002

iTrader: (10)

FYI, I dont know how much you know about retaining walls or how old the retaining wall you may be concerned about is? But take into consideration the extremely cold temps and the amount of moisture in the ground. Over the last couple weeks you could have easily lost the retaining walls ability to release water. With that being said if moisture was to freeze thaw over rapid succesion it will clog the waters natural pathways of draining. Causing a freezing dam effect behind the wall which in fact will push that wall... Over the last few years most retaining wall codes have been revised which now calls for stone to be set back behind wall and the wall to be tied back behind so many feet of soil to allow this draining of the wall and room for expansion contraction during freezing temps. Its going to be so hard to catch the construction company in the wrong... Look at like a basement that doesnt leak for years and all the sudden they have a water problem. Underground water works in its own special way... Reason being we have sink holes come out of nowhere. Dont get me wrong its just as possible they may have loosed up and underground spring causing water under the foundation and also pressure against that walll... The thing is, do you have the time and money to go against a construction company probably doing a 20million dollar project? And trust me you will not be the first time they have dealt with a situation like yours... You should ask your neighbors what their property is doing and if you can verify things as a group you should go talk to the project manager. As a courtesy he will atleast send an engineer to look at it.

Anniversary "Z"

iTrader: (26)

Keep this as last resort, but when all is said and done and no one is willing to help don't be afraid to involve your local media. They eat this kinda **** up and might force a deep pocket to resolve the matter to save face.

valdeztke

iTrader: (1)

Well I manged to get under the house and it looks like one of the footers (stack of bricks) looks as if its twisted slightly. I have an inspector coming out to look at it, but looks like I'll need to have at the minimum steel braces put underneath.

mikep2002

iTrader: (10)

Strongly recommend you also under-pin the footer after the bracing is installed...