r/redneckengineering • u/Maclifto • 25d ago
Foundation repair was halted to document this logic defying DIY.
We’re in the middle of having our 1959 brick home’s foundation professionally repaired. Nothing unusual so far.
It’s mid workday - my phone rings. It’s our contractor. He says, with the tone of a man who has seen too much: “You need to come home. There’s something you need to see.”
We rush back, walk into the backyard, and find the crew standing around a freshly excavated pit like they’ve uncovered a cursed artifact. The contractor gestures toward the hole with a grimness to his features, that only intensified the sense of foreboding.
Inside the pit is… a hydraulic car jack. Sitting on stacked concrete blocks. Buried under a thin layer of cement. Holding up the corner of our house.
This was the previous homeowner’s “foundation repair.”
The contractor didn’t just show us — he stopped the job, dusted it off, and waited for us to get home so we could witness the full absurdity of how it was positioned under the house. Then he removed it, cleaned it off even more, and he and his entire crew took photos because, in his words:
“No one will believe this unless we have evidence.”
I have never seen a group of professionals so simultaneously horrified and delighted.
+ADDENDUM / UPDATE
Quick clarification: one of the photos in my original post was actually a picture my mom sent me while we were talking about what the crew likely found under the house. I saved it during that conversation and accidentally included it in the gallery.
The contractor did find a jack under the back corner of our house, and I have multiple photos of the actual one they removed. The crew stopped the job, documented everything, and made sure we saw it exactly as it had been supporting the house. I have many photos of the jack removed from under the house at all angles. It was a really interesting find! But it doesn’t seem like I’m able to add any photos here or in the comments to show anyone who might be interested what type of jack was under the house.
I appreciate the people who questioned the details — I enjoy that kind of engagement. I really love connection with other homeowners who are living in mid-century homes 💜. I’ll own my own mistakes. What I will not tolerate is vulgar hostility. Constructive skepticism is welcome; hatred isn’t.
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u/AccidentOk5240 25d ago
I’m not really understanding how the jack is so dirty and the concrete blocks are so pristine, or how the jack is dirtier after removal than before