Can you fix a settling foundation yourself on a tight budget?
Fixing a settling foundation by hand is extremely difficult when soil is crumbly and you are broke. People trying to save a sagging structure themselves often find themselves dealing with rotted wood and poor drainage without the funds for professional help.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
Can you fix a settling foundation yourself on a tight budget?
- 1Placing a temporary beam under the joists to jack it upDid this help you?
- 2Digging proper post footings and pouring concreteDid this help you?
- 3Demolishing and rebuilding the structure entirelyDid this help you?
- 4doing it all by handDid this help you?
- 5using tim bor and crossing fingersDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I went into our guest house and noticed the floor in the back felt springy, went outside and saw the blocks on one corner had started to settle badly at an angle.”source ↗
“What is the best way to handle this? Looking for diy because we are basically broke right now.”source ↗
“DIY drainage fix on the east side yard of my single-story in Fullerton, CA.”source ↗
“Pulled back years of built-up soil and mulch against the foundation and exposed the sill plate wood line under the stucco edge — it's weathered, with surface rot and old termite damage”source ↗
“Soil is crumbly, budget is tight, doing it all by hand.”source ↗
“Budget is tight AF. But since i plan to be in this house till i retire and die, i just need to keep it standing really lol.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 6How to keep leveled ground from becoming wavy over time
- 15Why do foundation repairs cost so much more than quoted?
- 28How to fix concrete cracks near garage foundation
- 6How to fix yard grading under existing paving stones
- 7Why are there big soil gaps around my foundation?
- 7Concrete slab sloped toward the house