Stone Foundation With Substantial Settling

[nguyenphutoan]

First post. We bought a 3-story Queen Anne and I'm in the process of doing some rehab. We are not living there yet. We're in Minneapolis. I'm looking for information/guidance/opinions regarding "topping off" the stone foundation once we have one end of our house jacked up. I understand there is a reason it's settled and this would not be solving the reason it settled, but I doubt it settled yesterday and this would allow us to move in and proceed with our lives and I could circle back to the basement at a later date.

The section that's settled consists of 16 foot joists. It's settle on the foundation perimeter. From the middle load bearing wall to the perimeter wall, the joists drop 9 inches. So it's significant. Those folks with floors that slope 1 inch - we would be thrilled.

I would like to have a house mover jack up the section to level, and top off the stone foundation, rather than replace the stone walls with concrete block or forms ($$$). There is a pile of stone in the basement that I believe would be enough, and I would use a proper mortar mix (with lime). Is this unrealistic? What are the pros and cons? I've had one house mover tell me to top it off, and another tell me I need to replace the basement walls. Neither has seen the house.

Thanks,

[rickt]

If I understand you correctly you are saying the perimeter walls have dropped @ 9" which causes the floor to slope from center of house to outside wall. If that is the case I suggest you need a structural evaluation performed by a professional engineer who is qualified to identify the cause and recommend solutions. First I would invite the local building inspector over for a visit.
A 9" drop is serious, certainly enough to compromise the structural integrity of the building. I certainly would not move in until this is resolved and corrected satisfactorily.