Thing are working out with the house.
So after much worry things are working out. The seller signed the addendum to the agreement of sale and delivered it our attorney yesterday. The termite repairs began yesterday and will finish on Monday. Also the owner has had the township inspector come out for use and occupancy but the owner hasn’t gotten the report yet. The owner doesn’t think that he will have much to do. I’m surprized at that because there are about 7 sidewalk pieces that have heaved up on the side of the house that I really thought would need to be replaced. We’ll see. I’m just excited that things are moving forward.
Depending on what the specific criteria are for that borough, those sidewalk pieces might not need to be repaired by the seller. If they have heaved up so that they still match up within a given range (typically about 1 inch), they might not be considered a trip hazard, even if they are tilted…
I am very glad that things are working out though, and so excited for you guys!!! 🙂
That’s interesting. That might be what it is. They are all heaved up kind of uniformly and it’s on a bit of a hill so they may not be considered a tripping hazzard. I haven’t heard yet if there are any additional problems besides the repairs that should be completed today so it looks like we’re on!!!
Fortunately, if the concrete slabs are intact, leveling out the sidewalk wouldn’t be too big of a job after you guys get in there, even if the seller doesn’t have to do it. There are a coupla ways to do it. You could either lift up the slabs and dig out the soil on the raised side, then put the slabs back down in place – or – if the problem is tree roots (which obviously cannot be dug out, you could put in a railroad tie (or brick, or whatever) on the other side to create a “frame” and then fill in the gap with gravel and soil to create a level field for replacing the slabs…
If you did the second way, you would just want to make sure that, depending on which way the slabs are slanted, you wouldn’t end up creating a trench between the house and the sidewalk. So it might be necessary to fill in on the outside of the frame too, to maintain the proper grade for drainage. (Or you could do what my brother did, and just put in a raised flower bed between the house and the sidewalk.)
Good luck!
🙂
He got the U and O permit and all is on for tomorrow so they must not be a big deal 🙂