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It took us 1 solid day of work to get the hole dug and get the first couple of piers in the ground. The next day we got the final few piers and the cap in place and the hole filled back up by early afternoon. I think we could do it in 1 day now that we know what to expect, though hopefully we never need to do it again. So far the rest of the house isn't showing any signs of movement 🤞

In my experience, no one cares. Cities don't have a resources to track unpermitted work. Sellers always leave the disclosure section blank. Lenders have resorted to "digital inspections" which means they look at google maps and dont even bother with a drive by let alone an actual inspection. Insurance rates are already through the roof. And all agents prioritize closing the deal over anything else. The only person that cares is the neighbor that calls code enforcement, but if it can't be seen from the street they have little enforcement power.

@@a104917 Very well thought out. Thank you.

www.homedepot.com/p/6-in-x-6-in-x-12-in-Solid-Cylinder-Concrete-Block-6032/203828028 Depending on your location, they may not stock them. In my area, nearly all homes are built slab on grade but if you're in an area where basements or pier and beam are the norm, HD likely won't stock them because they wouldn't sell enough to be worth the shelf space. You should be able to have them order them to the store, though.

@@realidiyrenos i’m in Illinois near Chicago. I haven’t been able to find them for months I can’t order them online. I can’t get them in any store

You've home to the customer service counter at Home Depot and asked if they can order them for you? If that doesn't work, the only other option I can think of is to try calling masonry/concrete supply stores and ask if they carry them or if they can tell you where to get them. Good luck 🤞

@@williamvinet9134. Harbour freight has them. You can order online or walk into the store if you have any nearby. I bought 5 pieces for a huge DIY recently.

No, everything must be purchased separately, though they do often run deals where you get a decent discount by purchasing the mower, a battery, and a charger. In my opinion, that's a better way to do it. If you ever need just the machine and you already have a battery and charger, you're not required to purchase the whole set again.

That's literally what these piers are made for. Jacking house foundations up and supporting them as a permanent repair. They're a 6 inch cylinder of 6000 PSI concrete, meaning they can withstand a compressive load of more than 150,000 pounds.

We're in North Texas. More specifically, a suburb of Dallas. Things have been stable since, though.

It definitely depends on what grows on your yard/property. We have a relatively small (a little under 1/4 acre) lot with grass which cuts easily. If you have a large property with a lot of brush and/or heavy grass, I'll admit the Atlas mower might not be powerful enough. I can't say what the limit is since we've never had it struggle. But it won't work for everyone. You gave it a shot and found it wasn't the right one for you and that's understandable. As far as the Ego, we were very happy with the performance and quality of all of the tools. It was the batteries that let us down. The large 7.5 Ah battery lasted about 4 years before getting the red ring of death. And we had another smaller 2.5 Ah that died after about 5-6 years. I was able to bring the smaller one back to life by replacing 2 of the cells that went bad but the larger one must have had an issue with the BMS because all of the cells tested good. On top of that, my brother in law had the same Ego tools and had one of his batteries die in about the same 4-5 year time range. It's possible we both just got unlucky but those batteries are so darn expensive that we didn't want to risk investing in more of their batteries.

@@realidiyrenos thanks for the additional information. I have about 1/4 acre, but I have a large hill as tall as the roofline on my house that I have to go up and a strong self propelled mower is needed to get up that hill. My old Craftsman handled it no problem, but the battery died after about 5 years, and no batteries are available. I didn’t try the Atlas on the hill as it seemed slow & sluggish on flat ground in my front yard.

No problem! I take it you got the self propelled Atlas? We have a moderately steep hill in our front yard which you can see in the video and our self propelled Atlas handles it fine with no effort on our part. But again, we have grass which cuts easily. I can see where if you have thicker grass or brush that it might struggle. In any case, if you do go with Ego, I'm confident you'll be happy as long as your batteries don't die prematurely. Unfortunately that small risk will always be there regardless of which brand you go with. That's one of the tradeoffs going with battery electric, though it's far outweighed by the benefits in our case.

That's surprising. You can find them at pretty much any big box store in our area. Maybe slab on grade foundations aren't as popular in your area so this type of repair isn't common enough that it's worth them carrying? If that's the case, you might want to look at a concrete supply house. Just a heads up, though. Sometimes supply houses like that won't sell to homeowners. Other than that, I'm not sure what else to do. There are other systems for foundation repair but most of the others require very expensive specialized tooling. Best of luck! 🤞

Just had another thought. Did you check to see if Home Depot or Lowe's can order them for you? Here's what you'd be looking for: www.homedepot.com/p/6-in-x-6-in-x-12-in-Solid-Cylinder-Concrete-Block-6032/203828028 And www.homedepot.com/p/Headwaters-9-in-x-9-in-x-14-in-Solid-Pile-Cap-Concrete-Block-60810/203828030

@@realidiyrenos Thank you for the reply! You're right, SOG foundations aren't super common in my area. Mostly old crawl spaces on cinder blocks. Have a great one.

@@realidiyrenos Yea both of those products reflect "Out of stock and unavailable online." I reached out to Home Depot and they say the items are discontinued and there's no way to order them or get them transferred to my store just for me lol. Again, thank you for your help. I may have to make my own cylinders or find steel piers or find old cylinders on marketplace.

Yeah, I was aware of that but I already had a bottle jack and thought "how bad could it be?" 😂 I will absolutely purchase one if I need to do a similar project in the future!

I appreciate the insight but we have, in fact, had our foundation inspected by a structural engineer. Prior to purchasing the house 6 years ago, the inspector pointed out the minor cracks in the drywall and brick that suggested the foundation was shifting. While he said he wasn't concerned, he made clear he was not a foundation or structural expert and he was obligated to recommended we get it evaluated by a structural engineer. Out of an abundance of caution (and protection of the largest purchase of our life we were about to make), we did so and he found the shifting was minor, resulting in cosmetic damage only, and was unlikely to progress to the point of structural compromise. So I admit and agree my solution was not engineered and I don't know for certain it will be a permanent "fix" but there was never a concern the structure was or will be compromised, regardless of whether it lasts or not. In my opinion, the only thing I'm guilty of is perhaps not making it clear the average homeowner should not attempt this, particularly if there's a chance the structure could be compromised.

@@realidiyrenos, I appreciate the explanation. however, I am too stodgy and well trained in my craft to allow that spin to stand. In my world, you touch it, now you own it from a legal standpoint. A pre-sale evaluation from the engineer stating the issue was minor is fine. However, that is not a guarantee of the structure as a whole. When we perform our work, we issue a life of structure transferrable warranty for stabilization. Further, all projects have engineering oversight, log review, and engineering summary provided to the client. everything is well documented. It is actually the law in our state to do so. You may want to check with your state quietly to see what requirements you have. Whether or not you have a hairline crack and/or a 3" crack the fact remains a DYI project has no engineering design. No product specifications. No 3rd party oversight. Nor post construction certification. And now you will have to disclose what you did if you ever sell the home. And the buyers would demand to have written certification and warranty for what you put into the ground. You would have been better off pointing up the hairline cracks and living with the cosmetic symptoms. Or, hiring a qualified contactor to perform a "real" foundation underpinning application approved by a licensed engineer. This is a great exchange. And those commenting here thinking this is a wise thing to do need to think twice before taking on so much liability. Think it through thoroughly before making a huge mistake that will be costly down the road. Unfortunately, we come across DYI repairs all the time. And we have to charge the customer to rip the old system out even before installing the new work. Its just that simple. But thank you for the response.

@@michaelmasserang8922And people wonder why there are so many homeless, a house that may not last 200 years but is affordable is safer than living under a bridge. Licenses, engineers, lawyers, industry standards, money hungry property tax collectors are not everyone's friends.

@@vicktdock, is that supposed to mean something? What relevance does your comment have to do with anything? You can be a communist and live inside a tee pee if you wish. It does not mean it is safe from wolves and/or the weather. Is Bernie Sanders your idol? Or did AOC visit your play pen for a quick visit?

@@vicktdock And what relevance does this comment have to do with means and methods? More of a political speech really. Are you running for dog catcher in a blue district?

😂

Was wondering about that, thought the dog had jumped up there and left a load, gross!

In large part you can tell based on the effort required to extend the jack. While the piers are going through soft soil, it takes very little effort to sink them. But once they hit bedrock/solid soil, it becomes noticeably harder since the jack is now attempting to lift the foundation up beyond level.

We did more, it's just that it was the same thing over and over so no need to show it all. You need to keep going until the jack lifts and holds your foundation at level. At that point, you know the pilings have hit solid soil/bedrock.

That's the right way to do it (adding piers before pouring the foundation), but it obviously adds to the cost and so many houses at least here in the States are built on the cheap.

Lowes

I got them at Home Depot. Make sure they're high strength, solid concrete and not something like cinder block. www.homedepot.com/p/6-in-x-6-in-x-12-in-Solid-Cylinder-Concrete-Block-6032/203828028 www.homedepot.com/p/Headwaters-9-in-x-9-in-x-14-in-Solid-Pile-Cap-Concrete-Block-60810/203828030

Mostly based on the locations of the cracks, both inside the house and out. They were concentrated in the corner of our house. A spirit level then confirmed our foundation had a slight slope down towards that corner.