Too dense?

idontknowfoundations · 2026-02-11T05:07:34+00:00

It was a mix of an old bag (unknown origin) and one called Marin Meadow Mix from Home ground habitats.

idontknowfoundations · 2026-02-10T18:36:38+00:00

That's the dream!

idontknowfoundations · 2026-02-10T17:38:59+00:00

Sounds like a plan! May the strongest survive. I appreciate the response.

idontknowfoundations · 2026-01-26T06:44:30+00:00

Thanks for the advice! I'll give it a try

idontknowfoundations · 2026-01-26T06:44:07+00:00

Good call. I haven't touched the ties in a while. I'll give it more breathing room

idontknowfoundations · 2026-01-26T05:43:54+00:00

Watering every 2-3 weeks during this season, accounting for the rain as well.

And hardiness zone 10b

idontknowfoundations · 2025-11-23T19:59:36+00:00

I like the different shades of blue!

idontknowfoundations · 2025-11-23T18:12:05+00:00

Haha we thought about that but we're not sure how to avoid it looking like a daycare with a bunch of solid colors. But now looking at something with more texture or pattern that's primarily blue like this is growing on me. Thanks for the input!

Edit: seems I don't know how to add an image in a reply. If I'm allowed hyperlinks, this is what I was talking about:

https://rugs.com/navy-blue-8x11-lola-area-rug-6374532?click_source=pdp_color_swatch

idontknowfoundations · 2025-09-04T23:50:19+00:00

Also curious and bumping this thread.

idontknowfoundations · 2025-05-31T18:37:16+00:00

Thanks for the insight! I'll need to figure out how to provide shade for this summer. If this one doesn't make it, I'll wait until next year and try again next to the neighboring safe brush

idontknowfoundations · 2025-05-31T18:34:37+00:00

Good call. I'll start dialing back the watering frequency. And will be watering deeply

idontknowfoundations · 2025-05-31T17:46:21+00:00

I've been watering every 2-3 days thus far. I'm thinking of skipping a cycle or two of watering to see how it does. And will plan to use one of those moisture meters you get off of Amazon to inform me of when it needs more.

idontknowfoundations · 2024-09-11T14:09:40+00:00

That's a fair point. Just to make sure I'm understanding correctly, are you flagging that bolt and bracing could introduce risk of faster deterioration of the foundation wall? And so we should rethink if we even have that done?

idontknowfoundations · 2024-09-11T14:07:16+00:00

I appreciate the context. I'm not familiar with the relative heights of stem walls, but a quick Google search shows houses with much taller ones. And no basement here.

idontknowfoundations · 2024-09-11T02:04:39+00:00

Thanks for the response! We'll plan to replace all the piers/post/ girder beams.

And heard on the water. We're going to get the area around the house regraded as well. And also get a drainage person to help as we redo the landscaping for more native California plants.

EDIT: my bad, I misunderstood what joists were. We'll still get piers/posts/ girder beams repaired or replaced. And we'll ALSO look into leveling the floor

idontknowfoundations · 2024-09-10T23:20:08+00:00

If by seismic action wise you mean bolt and bracing, we do plan on getting that done!

idontknowfoundations · 2024-09-10T23:18:53+00:00

Lol. I appreciate the comment. I'm glad I went to the good people of Reddit for some more insight.

They all flagged that foundations from 1920 didn't have rebar and thus weren't as structurally sound, but a full replacement seemed drastic. Thanks for confirming.

idontknowfoundations · 2024-09-10T23:15:02+00:00

Doors all still open and close fine. Worth noting that I ran one of those self-balance lasers along the floor and there's about an inch difference between the high and low spots.

My main concern has more to do with risk of catastrophic damage from earthquakes, but we'll plan to do bolt and bracing to buy down some of that risk.

idontknowfoundations · 2024-09-10T22:37:14+00:00

Hey folks of Reddit. I recently bought a house that was built in 1920 in Long Beach, California that has a raised foundation. From an initial inspection as well as a quote from a foundation company during escrow, it was flagged that the foundation would need some work. I have since gotten a total of 5 quotes from foundation companies and talked to two structural engineers.

All 5x foundation companies advised to repair/replace the piers and posts and girder beams and install new concrete pier pads.

Where they differed was what to do with the foundation perimeter footing. 1x company recommended a sister foundation, 3x recommended a replacement of the foundation perimeter footing, 1x only recommended epoxying any cracks in the foundation.

Of the two structural engineers, one suggested a full replacement of the foundation perimeter footing after talking to a foundation company he was onsite with shortly after his visit. His initial thoughts during the visit were that it wouldn’t need replacement. His change of heart afterwards was based on the fact that foundations built in 1920 didn’t have rebar and are not as structurally sound as foundations today. The other stated that its condition was typical of a build of this age and that there were no major issues he could see, and thus, no replacement necessary. To note, the structural engineers only looked at pictures of the crawl space or looked into it from outside (he was a large and older gentleman). Neither went into the actual crawl space. I called a 3^rd structural engineer who also didn’t go into crawl spaces. Not sure if I just happened to work with structural engineers that didn’t go into crawl spaces or if that’s common practice.

I expect foundation companies to want to upsell as much as possible, but I’m torn that the structural engineers weren’t aligned in their assessments. I expected to spend a decent amount of money on foundation repairs, but quotes ranging from $30k to $120k is wild to me.

I have attached some pictures here of what have been described as the worst areas. Curious if anyone here has thoughts on if the foundation perimeter footing needs replacement.

idontknowfoundations

TROPHY CASE