Couple buy 135-year-old ‘dream house’ only to discover it has NO foundation – and fork out £40,000 to LIFT it into the air

A couple who bought their “dream home” made a shocking discovery during remodelling.

Kylie and Jay McCoy purchased their farmstead, which had been in the family for several decades, with plans to transform the property into a home fit for them and their seven children.

But when their excavator started work outside along the south side of the home, he found something amiss – there was no foundation underneath.

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The home, built in 1895, was instead sitting on clay and a “few carefully-placed rocks”.

To preserve their property, they took the drastic decision of having the home lifted up 18 inches to dig out all the clay and rock and build a basement underneath – to the tune of over £40,000 ($50,000).

“We were devastated,” Kylie, a stay-at-home mum based in Minnesota, US, told What’s The Jam of the moment they discovered the problem.

“We had to take a really good look at many of the things we had planned for our house.

“Being realistic with our budget – which was going to have to be adjusted – we cut out some of our favourite [planned] things such as a wood-burning fireplace, a sauna for my husband’s health as a first responder, and leaving the basement unfinished, just to name a few.”

To preserve the house, it first had to be lifted 18 inches so the clay and rock could be dug out from the old basement before a new basement was fitted.

During this time, the family had to climb a ladder to access their raised home – though they moved out for six months to live with Jay’s parents for ease.

The family also found hidden “treasures” when clearing it out in an old cistern that they hadn’t realised was there – including hundreds of bottles and even a pair of old dentures.

Kylie and Jay, both in their late 30s, had no idea of the issue until their excavator started work on the property – with the first step being digging on the south side of the house to create a walk-out basement and waterproofing the foundation.

She explained: “We began digging in April of last year – however that did not last long.

“Only a couple of weeks into the project, as our excavator was beginning to dig along the south side, he never hit the foundation.

“The dirt was beginning to become too concave and he stopped for fear of our dining room collapsing.

“As we began exploring underneath the house in the cellar-like basement, we discovered that the house was being held up by carefully placed fieldstones and in places was sitting on dirt and clay.

“The entire project was halted for over a month as we assessed and came up with a second plan that would not only continue to preserve the history of the family farmstead but also allow us to have space for our large family.”

The couple had originally moved into the house back in 2010 with the dream of one day buying it – which they did, 14 years later.

But things took a turn when they discovered the issue underneath.

Kylie said of the extra $50,000 cost: “The number felt daunting yet we believed that this was the best option for not only our family as housing in the area is expensive but also to continue to preserve the house.

“The remodelling process has been an adventure.

“We have absolutely loved designing our home and finding ways to not just preserve the history of the original family farmstead but also utilize our space as best we can.

“We dreamed for years of the things we would like to change or add to our house as we continued to add children throughout the years.

“Things are currently beginning to wind down as far as interior house projects go with minor things still to be completed such as trim and final painting.

“As spring begins to warm up outside, we will transition to continuing exterior work with final grade and beginning to put up fences for animals.

“Our dream is to expand our chicken coop and add some livestock to continue to bring back the farm to life.

“Once a bustling farm with everything from dairy cows to all kinds of grain – we hope to restore it to a place where past generations would be proud.”

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