Sagging house

[dlminehart]

Sold our house to pay off debts and lower monthly expenses, rented a 70-year-old bungalow with "character" . . . and a living room whose front outside corner appears to have sagged about 2 inches relative to the back of the room. Makes the side window openings out of true, while the double-hung windows themselves are relatively unaffected, making for 3/8" gaps under the fronts of the windows.

I assume that the walls are still lath and plaster. There's a crawl space under the house, about 18" deep.

Is this a candidate for jacking up and leveling? Would it likely cause major damage to the plaster walls, requiring more than just simple patching of some cracks? Likely cost of leveling and plaster repairs? Any other downside? I'm hoping to pitch the landlord do make the improvements.

[Mr__Bill]

If you should decide to jack up the corner.....
Find out why it's sagging. Is it just a poor foundation or is the sill rotting out.
Then do it very slowly, say 6 months to a year to jack it up. Use a screw jack and tighten it till you think it's starting to lift and then take a part turn every week. It may be as little as an 1/8th turn each time. This will minimize damaging the lath and plaster walls.

Butt, and there is always a butt.

If the walls were damaged on the way down and then patched on the way up the patch will be in the way and will create problems.

When you get the house corner level it's really tempting to over jack and put a support under then lower it down on that support. Don't. Get it level and then wedge the support under it. This will save you some grief.

Be real careful if there is any plumbing it the area, especially cast iron sewer pipes.

Remember to watch what is happening clear up through the roof.

The real question though is: Why? If you are renting it's far easier to use some moretite on the gapes at the windows and let that sloping area be where the cat plays with a ball.

Bill

[annunaki]

Check the ground drainage

If the house is on piers, and that corner is not properly supported by a pier base that is wider than the pier- creating a 'snow shoe' effect to spread the load, that can be one type of problem I have observed.
Another cause can be that that corner is in a low spot, or gets a lot of concentrated rain run off -as when two roofs meet at right angles and the resulting valley concentrates rain run off. Either or both, can result in the ground becoming spongy with too much moisture and the resulting settling in that corner. Gutters and long run out down spouts- those plastic ones that unroll and roll up like a window shade might help. In a worse case (low spot), then trenching and installing a French Drain system and a dry well might be needed. None of these need be very expensive, just sweat equity intensive and some digging which can be eased by having a Keg Party and lots of shovels.