That all-important foundation

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So, my advice to you is to look at the long term, even for resale value to that next buyer who wants a home near the water. You’re still better off making decisions that are based on what seem like far-fetched, what-if scenarios. Your foundation won’t heal from the open wounds you described. Patching structural beams, which is what your foundation walls are, is a quick fix that will look nice for a while and get you back in your home, but down the road, you’re going to have more expensive problems. Even selling the home may be a problem.

In flood-prone areas, when colleagues and I do building engineering reports, we cannot, for legal reasons, leave out the fact that the foundation may have structural deficiencies due to flood damage without some proof of proper repairs. Whole sections of foundation should come out. I know that insurance company engineers are dismissing problems. Persist with your insurers and persuade them there will be something better worth insuring, long-term. Good luck!

© 2013 Monte Leeper. Readers are encouraged to send questions to yourhousedr@aol.com, with “Herald question” in the subject line, or to Herald Homes, 2 Endo Blvd., Garden City, NY 11530, Attn: Monte Leeper, architect.

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