Thanks everyone, Yes, this was definitely a learning experience! I have left these 3 tanks out for several years now, but its never been this cold for so long, after rains filled the tanks. It would be great if its just the drain plug that needs replacing......but considering the tanks were raised about 4" off the ground from the bulging bottom, I'm suspecting that the bottoms are cracked. There's still a huge block of ice in each tank, so I won't be able to see the actual bottom for awhile. What makes me think they ARE cracked is that the block of ice in each one has shrunken away from all the sides, all the way to the bottom, and there is no water. I don't think the water would have evaporated that quickly. I'm so mad at myself. I thought the ice would just bulge up at the top. But I think what happens is that ice forms at the top of the water first, and the freezing works down from there. After awhile, the last to freeze is at the bottom, and the weight of the top ice just can't be moved upwards. I guess the stocktank tank material is softer than the ice?? Anyhow......I'm getting a bit obsessive-compulsive about thinking it over, since there's nothing to do about it until the big thaw comes. There's still probably 6-700 pounds of ice in there, and they are solid as a huge rock. I'm trying to think of ways to work around these potentially non-water-holding tanks. I suppose I could line them, or turn them into raised veggie beds. Maybe I'll get lucky and the cracks will go back together, and there will only a very slow leak, that I possibly could keep ahead of by adding water every few days??? Any other nutty ideas??? :) Thanks for your input.

Wow, thanks so much for giving us a potential new path to pursue and particular thanks to lyfia for drawing it out as I admitedly wasn't quite following along. That said, while we were going for an open look with the living room this actually is significantly more open then we were thinking of so we'll need to decide if it's "too open." Perhaps if we turned the island 90 degrees that might be an effective compromise. Regarding that pesky door, we didn't want to place it at the living room window as that window is adjacent to the fireplace and there's a window on the other side of the fireplace that makes for a nice symmetry. On a more practical level, our driveway is quite steep: while the part by the kitchen is flatter, it quickly becomes steep and having the door there means a steeper hike up to the garage instead of using the flat part. There's also little room for steps on that part of the driveway as it's very narrow there. (1948 house.) Perhaps there is a way to use this layout, but to move the door further in. We're going to the house this afternoon (we're not moving in until we've finished the re-model) so this gives us a new idea to model.

we have just been thru almost the same thing - we found a home in the school district we want, in a nice neighborhood where homes dont come up for sale all that often. however it is a contemporary style home (which I donÂt love) and itÂs got a vertical crack in the corner of the foundation and there is some sagging of floors and some drywall cracks. neighborhood scuttlebutt about the house was really scary, it was falling off the hill, one estimate for repairs was reported to be $80K, in a prior foreclosure the house had been virtually destroyed by the POs, rumour rumour etc however, the house was priced in the 160s in a neighborhood of 200+K homes. we made an offer on the house and negotiated a lower price. we were not afraid at all to do this because our contract had a contingency clause that required the home/structural inspection to be satisfactory to us. we were candid with the sellers, that if the structural insp was ugly, we would use that clause. we found a structural inspector ( actually, I knew him personally bc I had tutored his kid for ACT and SAT) but anyway he had a great reputation and was highly qualified. by this I mean: he has a masters in engineering from stanford. he is licensed and registered in 5 states he teaches the classes in which home inspectors get certified he worked for the army corps of engineers for many years on big projects heÂs has done almost 10,000 home and structural inspections heÂs a nationally recognized expert - teaches and testifies on "foundation and structure movement and repairs - their recognition, causes and cures." heÂs an active member in several professional societies like the NatÂl Society for Professional Engineers and the American Society for Home Inspectors some other things I find charming about him: he likes puzzles. some realtors are irritated by him because he uncovers stuff they would rather he didnÂt, and **included in his services are return site visits while and after the work is done - he will provide a final letter, with professional engineer stamp, certifying that the repairs have been performed as recommended and the structure is now structurally stable.*** Love him!! IÂm sorry if this sounds like spam, IÂm just a big fan. I get this enthusiastic about Mike Holmes on Holmes on Homes too!! if you choose a structural inspector, make sure he's qualified! it turned out that there were actually 2 problems causing the visible problems. the front foundation wall of the garage was being moved by the soil pressure - the fix is actually suprisingly low cost. the buttress that resists the hill should have been around 5 feet thick, it was only 1 foot thick. The fix is to cut slots in the garage wall, fill them with rebar and cement, creating piers. Then they will make the wall stable by adhering a carbon fiber mesh to the wall that keeps the wall from flexing. Lastly they will put 3 helical tie-backs thru the wall into the soil (anchors). The second issue is that there is insufficient support for a couple of loadbearing walls, causing the sagging in hte floor and some cracks in the drywall. So, we have to add 2 beams in the ceiling of the garage and one beam in the basement. we didn't know before the inspection what to expect in terms of costs, we were thinking it was probably somewhere between $20 and $80K to fix, depending on what they found. The cost for all this work is estimated to be $16K not the rumoured 80K. It helps the cost that the work can be done from the garage and basement, not inside the home. no excavation. We insisted the seller come down on the cost in the amount of the repairs and she came pretty close (within $3000 of it). We are aware that we are assuming a risk - that something unforseen may turn out to be very expensive. But we have done what we can to minimize the risk. i think you can put in an offer with the contingency clause without fear. then you have time to do the structural inspection with a skilled engineer and worst case scenario you are out the money you spent on the inspection. then, fully informed, you can be completely anxious about the next bit ;) for us, we feel that the low price of the home (we are paying 30%less than recent appraisal) and paying 40% less than most other homes in the neighborhood - is an offset for the risk also, since it's a desirable neighborhood with good resale, we feel that we can invest some $ and not price ourselves out of resale value also, the estimates for the repairs came back suprisingly low. our lowest estimate was $12K, but we have better references for the $16K contractors, so we're going with them. i am wondering how much more cracking and shifting will happen when the beams are put in, since the house may be slowly readjusted, but we know that it may happen. we may also have to live with a small amount of sagging - the house most likely cannot be returned to itÂs original alignment, but the cracking in walls will be arrested. HTH - sorry for the wordiness, IÂm just house-obsessed right now. we should close at the end of the month, and the structural work will start immediately - so I can report back when itÂs done and let you know what the rest of the experience has been like :) Good luck with your decision!

We thought the inspector was fantastic. He took a lot of time and went over everything very carefully. We talked to the realtor this afternoon, and are going to get an engineer to inspect the basement, so my mind is now at ease. Thank you all for encouraging me to go with my gut-I will feel much better knowing specifically what we are dealing with.