I take the point to mean that any failure that is mostly inconvienance in a standard building can be a significant problem in a timber frame house?
Thinking given the number of "unknowns", I'm better off starting from scrach on a different property, and forgetting the convieniance of the existing foundation. Sounds like one needs to see the foundation on a timber frame as a critical structural entity, as appossed to just a way to get above the dirt.
