Moved into a 50 year old house 5 years ago. During that time it has become obvious that the concrete slab moves. This is evident by baseboard trim separating from floor, cracks on the interior walls that open and close. Some might be due to changes in weather but I would presume after this much time the slab has settled to a neutral point. I have read about slab lifting and there are a number of contractors locally that do this work. The recommended lift is with foam. Other houses built around the same time by the same contractor have similar problems. A contractor I know notes that it is poor or no compacted fill under the original slab.
This is in anticipation of doing a major remodeling: floors, kitchen, windows and some partition moves. Any suggestions would be helpful.
Replies
There is a difference between has moved and is moving.
lifting can fix the has moved, but not the is moving.
Might be best to tear out the slab and start over.
That is my greatest concern. It is still moving.
I will quote a fella I used to work with.
If you always do what you always did, you'll always get what you always got.
A house that's still moving after 50 years is unusual, to say the least. "Cracks on the interior walls that open AND close" is even more unusual. Gravity is usually the culprit and its effect is generally one-way.
The only thing that comes to mind is "expansive clay," either as fill or substrate. It expands when wet, shrinks as it dries. If you suspect that could be the problem, you need a competent soils engineer to verify the problem and then a good structural engineer to come up with solution.