Permanent Wood Foundation Issue

[RBS102]

I’m looking for suggestions for repairing a PWF foundation with bowing on one wall, and horizontal cracking on multiple ones. The designer, a MW custom home company specializing in PWF, says I’m on my own because apparently the fill dirt was a few inches too high. The cracking is caused by the studs opening up where they join the top plate. Wondering if simply reducing the dirt load and putting brackets on the studs would be sufficient. PWF may be structurally sound – but boy, they sure don’t have any margin for error. The fill level is certainly no higher than on most concrete foundations. Concrete is way more forgiving.

[homebild]

Wood Foundations are limited to a maximum of 4 feet of backfill placed against the exterior wall surfaces unless they have been designed by an engineer in compliance with the AF&PA/NDS standard.

The question(s) you need to answer before going further are:

1. How high is the backfill against your basement wall and if more than 4 feet, did the custom home company provide the required engineered design?

2. Who backfilled the foundation and did they comply with the engineered design?

You will likley need to hire an engineer to hlp resolve this issue and design a repair because you may have a legal battle brewing.

It is possible the foundation was not properly designed in the first place, not properly filled in the second, and the company may be liable for any and all damages you are experiencing.

Call an engineer to evaluate your foundation, then if necessary, call your attorney.

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