Driveway is sinking into the earth, don't know who to call.

[vraiblonde]

If I were him I wouldn't say who the builder is, either. That's a libel suit waiting to happen.

 

[officeguy]

If I were him I wouldn't say who the builder is, either. That's a libel suit waiting to happen.

The truth is a defense against libel.

BillyBob McIntyre built my house.
My driveway is sinking.

Are both facts that can be easily proven to be correct.

 

[PrchJrkr]

My house is old, but solid. I have been told it was built by Abe Lincoln.

I've got a home built in the early 60's. I bought it from my brother. He told me it was built in the times of the "Cowboys and Indians" and wasn't sure which ones built it.

 

[Radiant1]

almost 24 hours, and two requests, and we don't know who this builder is.

Had a home built by a local builder of good repute. Friends came to visit and were impressed by the workmanship, that the materials used were above "standard" and most of the house was hand built (not just pre-fab).
There were a couple of "settling" issues, but nothing serious (or even major) and it took several years.

Tell us who your builder was, at least we'll know who does good work as opposed to shoddy work.

 

[BigDogT]

Get all the facts

Tell us who your builder was, at least we'll know who does good work as opposed to shoddy work.

I think it would be impossible to make a judgement about the builder in this cxase. Not being the original owner, you do not have the details of what transpired during the construction process. I had my builder do some things on my house that he said he wouldn't recommend but I did it to save some money at the time kowing in 5-15 years I may have to do some other maintenance to make it "bullet-proof". And yes, I have had to replace some items that I could have done differently in the first place. The driveway is not one of them, but I could see a builder telling a client I can dig down 4' and fill it with compacted stone or something....and it cost $5K, or I can put some of that fabric down and good driveway base and you get a good 5-10 serviceable years before needing to do something. Two ways to look at it...I know because I made a judgement call to roll the dice on a few things and for some it worked, and others I had to invest a little more....just my 2 cents.......

 

[Gooseneck]

You mentioned 'doorways out of skew' in addition to the driveway settling. We had a huge issue with a previous house settling. It showed foundation cracks, doors that would not close, etc. We had a structural engineer come in to assess the problem and the result was that we had to underpin the foundation. It was very expensive. My advice is to have an expert come in to look at your problem before you spend any money on repairs.

 

[BernieP]

Tell us who your builder was, at least we'll know who does good work as opposed to shoddy work.

John Sothoron

 

[BadGirl]

John Sothoron

Great person, great builder.

 

[Gooseneck]

Which would be one of the reasons I am asking for references. The A1 paving mentioned above is not in google/the phone book. There is an A Plus in Waldorf. The doorway issue (sliding door specifically) seems to be pretty clearly a framing issue, so I am less worried about it.

We used Bob Taylor Engineering for the engineering analysis. He came up with the solution to our settling problem.
22688 Three Notch Rd, Lexington Park, MD 20653
(301) 862-4300

 

[Pyrotech]

Two words- french drains. My home is on a crawl space and the cinderblock walls are cracked in a few places from top to bottom because for years, CRE wouldnt allow driveways, so the southwest corner of my home was just dirt flowing down the dirt driveway- add sucking effect much like a seashore pulling at your feet and you get erosion from beneath.