Stucco pulling away from brick wall; cost of engineer evaluation?

[blooskeye]

Our home is the end residence in a row of modest, old (1930's), brick 2-story homes in a seaside town in New Jersey. The exposed wall is covered with a heavy stucco siding (3" thick). In 2004, cracks started appearing in the stucco siding around the windows (we think, as the result of pile-driving across the street) and there is some bowing out in another section. Over the years the cracks have widened and lengthened to an alarming extent and the stucco exterior is pulling away from the brick and in danger of collapsing (I know, I know. The winter…rain, snow, ice…expansion and contraction…I’ve learned a lot from the contractors that we’ve had out here.)

At any rate, a construction engineer informed us that too much time has passed to blame the pile-driving, but he could evaluate the damage to the house and advise us as to the least expensive repair option (and whether the house is worth saving!).

The engineer would be checking the wall (probably removing some stucco to check the condition of the brick and wood), going under the house (crawl space) to check the foundation, and checking the inside of the house to ascertain whether or not the house was worth the cost of any repair. This engineer would charge $875 to do this evaluation. We have no idea what professionals in this discipline charge for their expertise and are wondering if $875 is a fair amount to pay for this service. He also has declined to write up a proposal–just wants us to hand him a check when he comes (H-m-m-m-m-m).

Are there any engineering types out there who can enlighten us?

Thank you.

[HayZee518]

stucco is never three inches thick unless it is used for a swimming pool wall. then it's called shot crete because it is applied using a pump and gun. I don't understand your reference to pilings?? is your house up on stilts? are you near the shore?

[blooskeye]

Well, it's much thicker than stucco siding on other houses...

Well, the sheet of stucco is separating from the wall by about 2" in a solid sheet at the place where the stucco starts. When measured with a ruler, the sheet of stucco is almost 3" thick with a 2" gap between it and the underlying brick. When you peer into the gap, the brick seems to be crumbling.

I think I included extraneous information that really doesn't have much to do with my question. The reference to pile-driving: Between 2004 and 2006, a town-house development was built directly across the street on a waterway (the land had to be built up and all 72 townhouses are built on pilings. Pile-driving went on all day every day for over a year. The engineer thinks that it is possible that the damage to our house could have been caused by the pile-driving, but it would be impossible to prove. So, I guess it's a moot point.

I'm not sure if there are pilings under our house or not;it's not on stilts. We are about 50 yards from the aforementioned waterway.

At this point, we are just considering repair to the wall to remove the hazard of collapse. We are questioning the cost of an engineer's evaluation which may or may not be fair. We just don't know.

[HayZee518]

well you got to put your trust in someone. do some bush beating, ask questions about firms. I can't say yes go with this one and not that one I just don't know.

[blooskeye]

Thanks for your help.

Okay. Thanks for your input.

I guess I can call other engineers to find out what they would charge. I just thought someone might have had a similar experience or there might be an engineer reading this forum who is familiar with this kind of inspection.

Thanks, again.