Oven Repair - Sinking Foundation

[Olin_meeks]

I have a sinking foundation under my wood oven - there is a support wall to the right of the entrance that has sunk about 1 inch in about a year - does anyone have any suggestions as to how to repair it? The structure was built by the former home-owner and apparently it did not have a foundation laid beneath it. I was thinking of adding a foundation and a support wall to the right of the failing wall - extending steel i-beams from under the oven to the new support wall to stabilize the oven on it - then remove the old wall block-by-block. Any other thoughts?

[mongota]

Thats a tough call. Have you been able to figure out why it is sinking?

is it built over a proper inorganic subsoil that was simply not compacted, and it is settling?

Over organic topsoil (big mistake) that is simply breaking down as organics do?

is it erosion?

its quite difficult to offer a solution with no eyes on the project. Even with eyes, undermining masonry structures for foundation rebuilds can be risky.

Pics might help. Overall and close ups.

[rwiegand]

Pictures would help. I'd treat it like an old house, assuming a concrete deck that's sound. Cut holes through the concrete under the oven deck slide steel beams through, jack the deck up and support on wood piers at a distance from the oven so they won't fall in the hole when you work on the foundation, then build a new foundation underneath.

Alternately use a fork lift to pick up the oven and deck, move it to the side, and then build a new foundation. When you're done put the oven back on top.

Alternately dig out one corner at a time and put a supporting concrete pier under it-- this would stop future movement, but not correct an out-of-level condition.

Another alternative would be to have someone come in and mudjack it. (I'm not sure this ever works out well in the long run.)

The good news is that these structures are small and light compared doing the same with a house, the bad news is that if you drop it onto yourself you will still be dead. An experienced housemover would do this for you quickly and relatively cheaply with many fewer white knuckle moments.

Picking it up and moving it with a forklift is probably my favorite among these options. If you have an alternate site where you can build a new foundation you can be once and done with the machine. The oven and deck will weigh less than a half ton probably, so not a big deal to pick up.

[Olin_meeks]

I will try to get some pictures uploaded. For mongota - there is no foundation underneath - it appears to be a slab "add-on" that may not have been compacted incorrectly. Also we have had several years of bad freezes the past 3 years so I am thinking that frost upheaval may also have contributed to it (we live in GA just above Atlanta). I will post pics. Also thank you to rwiegand for the suggestions. I had been thinking about the steel beam and new foundation option ...

[Olin_meeks]

ok gents - here are some pictures - the pdf has the front view

[david s]

Design is a very complicated task. So if you want to redo your one, it is better to ask professionals about it. For instance, if the talk is about , you can easily use their opportunities here.

Sounds very like spam. I bet these guys know tons about computers but sweet FA about refractory materials and thermal engineering. Stick with us, practical experience trumps boffinery.

EDIT: Thanks David,
That one got by me. I deleted the op and the link in the quotes. These guys are getting better every day lol.

[Chach]

Sounds very like spam. I bet these guys know tons about computers but sweet FA about refractory materials and thermal engineering. Stick with us, practical experience trumps boffinery.

No doubt experience is the key to wisdom