As always, a great day to be a buckeye. I am hoping that the bucks can beat the crap out of Penn State, even though I went to both Penn State and Ohio State. Anyways, here is a problem I am having and hoping to learn from your experiences and get some advice.

Two weeks back I found out that there was a crack in the foundation in one corner of the front porch. Here are some pictures.

Dominion home built in 2003 with full basement that starts were the front porch ends. We bought it (2nd owners) in 2012.

At the moment it is only affecting the front foundation wall of the porch, which is 4-5 feet away from the basement wall (so no damage to basement yet).

Brought in a Basement Doctor guy today and he said, a structural engineer has to evaluate and run a report ($350ish). He wouldn't give me a $ number before seeing the engineer's report but hinted that it could be a few thousands. He feels that the ground around sewer ditch (which Dominion for whatever reason runs directly under the house) sunk.

I am bringing in Ohio Basement Authority next week for an evaluation / estimate.

Here are some questions:

1. We were planning on selling the house in 2 years. How will this affect the sale? If we sell now we won't breakeven. And with this additional cost, probably not for another few years.

2. Any advices on dealing with these foundation repair companies?

3. Is it safe to assume that Dominion would not cover this under warranty (12 years old + 2nd owner).

4. Should I shim the crack with wood wedges to transfer the load the foundation?

With a baby on the way and a plan to sell the house in 2 years we are quite lost on how to proceed. Sharing any experiences / advices would be much appreciated.