Posted on adv but got sent here and i also think its more on topic. So first off I know nothing about structure and homes so if this is stupid I am sorry
So I was walking on on the veranda the other day and noticed it was a bit bouncy.
To my surprise the porch had actually separated from the house. To be honest the porch was only sitting on about 10cm of wood as per the structure which seem like it was not built properly
The structure underneath it still strong. To stop the bouncing I used bricks and placed them right up to the the beams.
Because of the natural soggy soil the house sits it will keep sinking so I've noticed this can be rectified by jacking the house and raising it with beams or steel poles etc.
I was doing some research and apparently plants such as bananas trees thrive off soggy soil. Would it be stupid plant bananas trees or certain shrubs to soak up the water???
landscape the land and move dirt around the house to prevent water from running under the house and settling. the farther away you can get the water the better. that includes water running off of the roof.
relying on plants is stupid. use geometry and centuries of proven methods.
a pier and beam house is naturally going to sink and settle and need re leveling.
its all a game of slowing that rate.
preventing water ingress is 90% of it.
French drains are a good start.
Look up foundation cribbing before you jack it up to replace footings. Ideally you would have a good amount of gravel and sand under your pier blocks to prevent sagging and help with drainage around it.
I also have the same problem what about using pallets?
I wouldn't use pallets, solid wood beams are best.
I bought a 15 ton jack to do the same thing under my house. I'm going to replace the wood beams with steel of the same dimension. If it rains alot and the water table gets full, it pools under my house where they cut out for the knee wall in the front because the garage floor is one story lower than the house. I have a automatic sump pump that I piped into my wastewater drain to the city.
There is a lot of drainage just the literal soil is made from clay and mining deposits and the house is over 100 years old!
The only problem is I would have nowhere to place the piping
>clay
This is your problem, clay holds more water than anything else you can build on. You need to incorporate sand into the dirt and then add French drains to fix your drainage issues. As far as the issues with your decking no one can understand what you’re trying to say. Take better pictures and report back
Posts should be on footings. Footings would be generally 10-12" diameter concrete tubes dug below the water line. You need access, a post hole digger, and several bags of concrete. The posts you have are just going to move the dirt around.
You can make "cakes" to put those posts on. This is just several inches of concrete tube filled and dried. Say a 16" tube cut to 6" tall. That's a nice thing to sit these on, but it's the footing going down past the compactable and water eroding earth that holds things up.
Exposed OSB... what kind of garbage is this? Delete the sructure and start from scratch
Some osb is exposure rated. Probably not this stuff though.
> that sag between the beams
i hope this is a joke
"A question frequently asked is whether the OSB board can be used outside. Outdoor Structures Building Board, or OSB for short, is a versatile building material that can be used to make everything from roofs and walls to decks and flooring. So, yes, it can be used outside."
>Outdoor Structures Building Board
My fricking sides are in orbit.
I hate ChatGPT so god damned much, lmao
>I hate ChatGPT so god damned much, lmao
The wonderful thing about knowledge in books as opposed to knowledge online, is that books cost money. Therefore idiots with ChatGPT and its clones don't saturate libraries to Peak Uselessness with them, unlike they are doing to the web.
>Would it be stupid plant bananas trees or certain shrubs to soak up the water???
Yes, very stupid. This shit is clearly beyond your understanding and so you should not DIY this. You need to get proper drainage added to deal with the moisture, assuming it's not coming from something like an undiscovered leak. Planting a few trees isn't going to help for shit.
> the porch was only sitting on about 10cm of wood as per the structure
I have no idea what this is supposed to mean and assume you are ESL. Again, this indicates a serious problem that needs fairly urgent, professional attention to understand what the problem actually is and, based on that, what an appropriate remedy will be.
land scape grading should help with water problems, concrete is absorbant and can actively attract plants, plants and foundation bad idea ideally your deck would fall evenly, I might put in blocking to help with lateral shift putting more of the load across all support points.
OP here
The porch was sitting on maybe around 5 cm of beam which was meant to slightly support it i guess. I feel like i might be able to get clamps and tighten it every week or 2 then nail it back on would this be stupid?
The porch deck is what im talking about, it is also sitting on piers
send pics buddy. i cant tell what you mean.
>OSB, outside, one or two feet away from wet soil...
>posts starting to wobble
>no plastic sheet to guide moisture away from building
NIIIIIICEEEEEEE
You dig a well under your house and pump the water away.
More realistically you will indeed want french drains. If you are still here please post more photos