So I own and live in an end unit townhouse on a row of 6 townhouses. I have a few larger-than-hairline foundation cracks, some minor cracks in the drywall above some doors, and a door that sticks. The floor in the kitchen slopes a little, too.
Anyway, I called a structural engineer. After doing an all-out evaluation with laser readings and such, he provided a report indicating that yes, I indeed have "significant" structural movement. The whole 6-unit structure is shifting in one direction w/ the "break" right underneath my unit.
The proposed solution is to first try a french drain around the perimeter and see if it stops the problem over a period of years. This seems reasonable to me, especially since we've already got a pesky crawlspace water problem that needs to be solved. If the drain doesn't help, they said to add helical piers around the entire unit... so $50K+. Fun times, right?
I asked the engineer what the consequences would be if I did absolutely nothing. His response was that granite countertops might crack (mine are laminate), tiles might crack (I don't have any tile), drywall might crack (already has; no biggie), doors might stick from time to time (again, easy to solve).
Can anyone think of any really compelling reason to spend thousands on repairs? It just doesn't seem like the consequences of this will affect my life in any significant way.