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Hit $12,000 in unexpected reno costs on my 1960s bungalow foundation
Bought a house in Bonnie Doon thinking a few cracks in the basement slab were cosmetic. After the foundation inspection, turns out I needed helical piers under the whole west side. That number just kept climbing as they dug. Anyone else get blindsided by foundation work in Edmonton?
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the_anthony1mo ago
Why would you even buy a house from the 60s without getting a full foundation inspection first? That's like buying a car without checking if it has an engine. @margaret_taylor42 you said it hit home but honestly this is just standard old house stuff. You gotta expect problems with a slab that age. The cracks weren't cosmetic if you actually looked at them right. Watching the estimate climb is part of the game when you buy a fixer upper. People act shocked but Edmonton clay soil eats foundations for breakfast.
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margaret_taylor421mo ago
That "number just kept climbing" part really hits home. I had a place in Glenora a few years back that needed the same thing, and by the time they finished it was almost fifteen thousand. They dug up half my backyard and found out the old drain tiles were completely collapsed, which added another unexpected layer to the whole mess. It's a sickening feeling watching that estimate creep up, especially with a 60s house where you never know what else is hiding in the ground.
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