We live in a 90 year old house with a screened in front porch. The porch goes across the full length the house. There is a basement under the house, but it does not extend to below the porch. All that is under the porch is dirt.

Here's the problem. One corner of the porch is sinking. This is beyond the normal pitch that a porch should have. One side has the normal pitch; the other side goes much lower.

The wood around the low corner is covered with a panel on the outside, but I assume when the panel is removed, the wood behind it will be rotted away. I've had several people come out and look at the porch, but after they leave, they never send an estimate. I've tried foundation people and construction companies. It's like the job is too complicated and they don't want to take it on.

It seems pretty clear that whatever kind of support was under this corner of the porch either sank into the ground or disintegrated. Now there is a gutter and drainpipe that takes water away from the corner when it rains, but that may not have always been there. So it's possible that the wood was just sitting on the ground and rotted away after years of dampness.

Everyone who has come out agrees that the wood on the side of the porch would have to be removed, the corner of the porch jacked up (slowly), the dirt underneath dug out, the "foundation" replaced, and the wood repaired.

Should I try to do this myself? If I were to try to jack up the porch, how do I even do that? It's easy to imagine things coming off instead of holding up, if you know what I mean.

Otherwise, any idea who I could call? How much do you think this will cost, assuming I can find someone willing to do the work?

I should also mention that there is a concrete sidewalk that goes right along the porch on the side that is sinking. That will make digging more complicated.