Home/Foundation inspection Madison MS

[bulldog ducker]

I am in the process of making an offer on a home that has a 2 cracks on the exterior brick and one horizontal crack in the interior sheet rock. I want to get a good inspection before we purchase this home. Have any of yall used anyone down here? Do I need an engineer (structural I assume) to look at the home?

I have seen the previous home inspection from the seller and the cracks were there when he purchased the home and do not seem to have changed. The inspector did not recommend that anything be fixed at the time. I hope that the cracks are normal for the Madison area.

Any help would be appreciated

[sunnylab]

last time i got a structural engineers report it was about $350. And it didn't tell me anything I didn't already know.
they usually will not recommend any foundation repairs unless the slab is broken. In several cases from the front of the slab to the back there can be 6" difference...this is in fact a foundation flaw, but not warranted any repair.

I've seen a home inspector (that did not know anything about foundations) put a marble on the brand new hardwood floors in a house and when the marble rolled out the back door the buyers walked away.

If you are buying a house in this part of the state you might as well figure into your budget about $30k to fix your foundation.
It may never happen to you, but when it does.....just be ready. Its hard to sell a house with foundation issues. ALOT of houses in madison county have some type of foundation issues...cracks, settling, etc.

From the shack next door to the $1million dollar home in Bridgewater...they all are candidates for failure.

[mallardchaser]

Jimmy Halfacre is an engineer and home inspector in this area. I wouldn't waste the money. Where is the house?

[trawler]

I've built over 300 homes in the Jxn. Metro and I would get Halfacre to look at it in a heartbeat. Even without potential foundation issues I'd pay someone to do a home inspection. Since Jimmy is an engineer you can kill 2 birds with 1 stone. I bought a small commercial building several years ago and thought "I don't need no stinkin pay for inspection, I'm a licensed contractor". Six months later I paid $600 for a water heater an inspection would have picked up. Unless you are a construction expert and willing to inspect EVERYTHING get a home inspection ALWAYS.

[Seymore]

Do both a house insepction and a structural engineer report. You need both and if an engineer is an inspector then great. A home inspector may not pick up things like environmental factors outside the home that are contributing to a failed or failing foundation. Had a house once that passed inspection and had my uncle, whose a structural engineer, look at it. While the foundation was fine at the particular moment he told me it would fail within 5 years because of the way the dirt work was done around it. He was wrong. It failed in 3 years.

[bulldog ducker]

Dont get me wrong I am getting a home inspection just needed to know who would be able to check the foundation. Have been told yo use halfacre or brandon home inspections. Anybody ever used either one.

[country_20boy]

Dont get me wrong I am getting a home inspection just needed to know who would be able to check the foundation. Have been told yo use halfacre or brandon home inspections. Anybody ever used either one.

Never used either, but if I had any questions about potential foundation issues, I would get a professional opinion. It will be a lot cheaper up front than later......
Gary Rogers with Advanced Engineering Resources is a well respected structural engineer in Madison and does a lot of this type work as well as foundation designs. Pm me for his number.

[no fly zone]

Theres no such thing as a "structural engineer" in mississippi. They ll claim to be one so you ll give them the first call on a foundation inspection. And Jimmy Halfacre is always gonna give you a report that will cover his own ass as they all will. The thing about structural inspections is it s gonna be a bunch of pages telling you nothing because they dont know anything because no one can say what a house may do.

Get a home inspection if you want one and buy a 4 foot level.

[rjohnson]

Ewing & Ray Foundation Services in Ridgeland might be able to do it if the house is large enough. I know the Ray's of the business but just call and ask if they give out reports and what they charge.

[country_20boy]

Theres no such thing as a "structural engineer" in mississippi.

This is technically true, but there are a lot of good, professionally licensed Civil Engineers who specialize in structural work.

......... they dont know anything because no one can say what a house may do.

No one can say with certainty what a house may do when Yazoo clay is present, but a good engineer or an experienced contractor can point out potential problems. I would say at least 9/10 foundation problems are preventable with improved drainage, better fill placement on the front end, etc.

[no fly zone]

i agree with both of those statements. I was just stating that some individuals who are engineers are trying to classify themselves as "structural engineers" to prey on potential buyers and sellers that have questions that pertain to residential and light commercial construction concerning foundations, cracks, etc.. And all they provide is an opinion (which we all know what those are like) and a bill.


Legit engineering firms will give you a real report, but you ll have to pay for it.

[Seymore]

My uncle is listed as a professional engineer and not a "structural". He's been in private practice in Tupelo since '79. He doesn't do houses but works with big companies that need engineering reports. He did my house as a favor to me. When he does a job he provides a written report.

[eSJay]

I can tell you who not to use..........
Structural Solutions!

I used Halfacre for both on one of my homes, & can't say anything bad about him other than agree with Brett about covering his booty.

I used another guy once & thought he was decent, but I can't remember his name at the moment.

Did I mention NOT to use Structural Solutions?

[country_20boy]

i agree with both of those statements. I was just stating that some individuals who are engineers are trying to classify themselves as "structural engineers" to prey on potential buyers and sellers that have questions that pertain to residential and light commercial construction concerning foundations, cracks, etc.. And all they provide is an opinion (which we all know what those are like) and a bill.

Legit engineering firms will give you a real report, but you ll have to pay for it.

Agreed. That is why in my first post I recommended a licensed engineer that I know and trust.
To the original poster, PM me if you have any more detailed questions. I may be able to point you in the right direction if it is not too late.....

By coincidence, I just found out that Mr. Halfacre, whom I have never heard of until this post, will be speaking at a professional luncheon that I am supposed to attend next week.

[novacaine]

Theres no such thing as a "structural engineer" in mississippi.

This is technically true, but there are a lot of good, professionally licensed Civil Engineers who specialize in structural work.

......... they dont know anything because no one can say what a house may do.

No one can say with certainty what a house may do when Yazoo clay is present, but a good engineer or an experienced contractor can point out potential problems. I would say at least 9/10 foundation problems are preventable with improved drainage, better fill placement on the front end, etc.

I am a civil engineer and have years of experience in designing structural reinforced concrete,metal structures, and site work. Saying that i have bought and sold 6 houses over the years(one in Cross Creek in Madison,MS) and i ALWAYS use a home inspection service because its always better to have 2 sets of eyes looking for problems. I am weak on the electric,hvac, and other code related items and want a field expert handling that item on my behalf. I have provided multiple structural inspection reports and i do agree with the previous post that 9/10 foundation problems are due to site drainage conditions and backfill placement. You see this in Ms delta gumbo, Starkville chalk, or Madison county Yazoo Clay.
A structural/geotech guy will answer one big question........WHY is it happening and with no action taken, how bad can it get. Also he will point out site conditions at your home and around the subdivision that may have contributed to the problem. He can isolate problem areas and give ideas how to rememdy the situation. He also can determine severity of the problem by looking at the shapes and directions of stress/ shear cracks on surfaces.
Hire a structural/geotech inspector. It will help you make an informed decision to either: monitor and live with the problem, negotiate the price for repairs with the seller, or walk away.
You can do some investigation on your own by researching soils maps, old topo maps, etc.
The original land use and topo maps provide a world of information.
My 2 cents of soils and foundations:
They can be stable and hold up a given structure wether they are wet or dry(given the proper foundation design. The problem is when they cycle from wet to dry either thoughout the site or in isolated locations under the foundation.
I see horrible conditions develope over time when a developer takes a hilly pasture with extreme ridge/swale conditons and clips the tops off the highs and pushes the material into the swales to make a subvision flat enough to put roads,sewers, sidewalks, and house sites on a particular piece of land. Case in point..........Starkville, Madison, and Hinds county.
Good luck with your venture.