Chesley Street

Newton, MA

Historic Commercial Residential Foundation Modular Other Structure

Frank was called in to look at this Newton house for structural design of an addition doubling the house’s size. It was quickly realized the original structure had a big problem; it was listing to one side. This was due to the fact the original house’s fieldstone foundation had been partially built on substandard soil and settled on one side, resulting in that one side settling a full nine inches. Before starting on the addition, the settling of the original structure had to be resolved. 

The most effective solution was first to install helical anchors were installed as close as possible for the fieldstone foundation and clip angles inserted beneath the edge to prevent further  settlement. Once the foundation was stabilized the joints were revealed above the sill.

As part of the rehabilitation, the original 3 bays of the house were converted to 2 bays. Due to historic requirements that 50% of the original structure remain, existing joists were sistered to the new joists allowing construction without delay.

After addressing the issues with the existing house, work on the addition began. As with the original structure, the soils and foundation depth were a concern for the addition, particularly since the addition would be nearly the same size as the existing house. To ensure that the addition would not develop the same problems it was given concrete footings, supported by helical anchors.