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My wife and I want to have this professionally repaired with a new column and new slab in a year when our little one is out of daycare and financials will be better able to handle it, but this crack appears to be progressing. At some point since October when we bought this house, the railing fully split off from the column.

My thinking is I can slow progress in this and buy some time by somehow sealing the crack as it is, to keep rainfall from getting in worsening the crack.

I would like to know if that is a viable approach, or if it risks making the problem worse somehow. I recognize the risk that I could accidentally let a short-term fix become a long-term solution because I can better ignore it, but I am motivated to get this fully repaired by replacing the column. I would also like to know how serious this looks, and if it appears the porch is imminently going to collapse.

The house is Grand Rapids, Michigan. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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isherwood
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Michael Crane
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3 Answers3

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The crack isn't the primary concern, and rain doesn't matter.

Your issue is that there's movement happening somewhere below the crack. I can't tell where. It's odd that a slab supported by a full foundation wall would move like that. Somewhere there's mortar crumbling, ground settling, or something else. Until you know what that is you can't solve the problem.

I also can't see why the railing came lose. There's nowhere near enough movement in the column to result in that. It's as if there was no fastening between the top rail and the block at the top of the attached board. I'd put some deck screws into that joint for now.

There isn't much you can or should do other than a proper, comprehensive repair. Even if you're in a freezing climate the crack won't exacerbate the problem enough to warrant expense and effort. You need an assessment of the foundation, repair of any mortar issues, and a new slab.

There's also nothing here that indicates that catastrophe is imminent. I've seen much worse than this still standing. Keep an eye on it for any more substantial movement, otherwise just save your pennies. Enjoy that gap between daycare and teenage, when the bills roar back.

isherwood
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  • I hear you! He’s our third so I have no idea how much gap we can expect. Thank you for the insight. Would a full comprehensive repair be along the lines of what the structural engineers say, about replacing the column and repouring the slab? Is that what you mean? – Michael Crane Jul 11 '23 at 18:56
  • Not if the problem is in the foundation, as all three current answers suggest it may be. You may need to go down to footings. – isherwood Jul 11 '23 at 19:06
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Your foundation is settling in that corner. You can seal the crack which might prevent any frost related damage but won't fix the primary issue that the column foundation is moving ( you can see that the outside of the face of the column has sunk downwards lifting the left side in your front face stair picture. I would take a sharpie and using the porch slab as a guide draw a line on the side of the concrete post base so you can see if it is contining to lift, by how much and over how long of a time.

Your house looks 1920s? I had a porch that was almost identical - enclosed sun room above. The foundation for the porch column was probably not deep enough and on compactable or disturbed dirt and has settle or is continuing to settle over time.

I'd guess the concrete block wall and concrete porch slab are newer additions to the house.

Fresh Codemonger
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  • Thank you so much for the insight, and yes good eye - 1927, but I you’re right about it being an addition. The insight about the foundation moving is a helpful way to look at it. Would you think a replacement of the column or slab would help? – Michael Crane Jul 11 '23 at 18:43
  • The typical thing here is to take the load from the column by putting a column next to it that bears down to something substantial. Once you've take the load the column is supporting, you can dig down to the column footing and get it properly stabilized or replace the footing. I'd dig a test pit to the bottom of the footing and check what soil type it is sitting on and how far down you'd have to go to be at good undisturbed soil. There are lots of ways to address it - I'd be tempted to treat it as a step foundation and dig a deeper hole beside it and epoxy rebar to bridge the two. – Fresh Codemonger Jul 11 '23 at 20:22
  • or underpin it or some combination. Get a structural engineer to look once you have the test pit and get him to suggest - should be $500-$1000 to get him to draw something up and specify it properly. – Fresh Codemonger Jul 11 '23 at 20:23
  • This is a pretty full rebuild of the same kind of problem - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQ_yQVswJ0M – Fresh Codemonger Jul 11 '23 at 20:31
  • Also the concrete patio floor is sitting on some kind of structure - if you don't have visually access somewhere I'd get an endoscope off amazon - poke a hole through the block mortar and inspect the structure - is it wood/steel something else. You can tell from the cuts in the concrete pillar base that the base used to be larger. – Fresh Codemonger Jul 11 '23 at 21:42
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It's not going to suddenly collapse.

The foundation is made of cinder blocks, which are notoriously bad for foundations. It's normal for foundations to settle and show small cracks, but cinder blocks offer little resistance and the results are what you are seeing.

The house does not look new, so presumably it should have settled already, or split the foundation in half. So the question is what has happened in there last few months that had made the foundation sink? Are your gutters working and taking water out? Does water accumulate around the porch after raining? Is the porch foundation on a shallow trench and heaving during the winter, then receding during the summer?

Cheery
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  • I can't say I agree that CMUs are "notoriously bad". Zillions of homes in my similar climate are sitting on them without issue where they're on suitable footings. – isherwood Jul 11 '23 at 19:07
  • The consensus seems to be an issue with the footings. I would love to get it comprehensively repaired in the future, I’ve just been afraid it’s going to collapse next week but most people here (as well as the home inspector who missed it [I found a Zillow listing image where a crack is visible]) seem to think it’s safe for now. (I called him to ask, tried not to make it feel like I was demanding anything just yet lol) – Michael Crane Jul 11 '23 at 19:15
  • Regarding cinder block foundations: And nobody wants them anymore. They have good compression strength, but nothing else: no resistance to lateral forces, bending or shearing. All foundations will crack given enough unsupported force, but cinder blocks provide the least resistance. – Cheery Jul 11 '23 at 19:17
  • @Michael just watch out for the roof support. If it keeps going down, get a couple 4x4x12s to support that corner of the roof while you get it fixed. – Cheery Jul 11 '23 at 19:21