The home’s foundation is one of its most essential aspects, and if something goes wrong, you should contact a sinking foundation repair professional as soon as possible. A relatively weak foundation can cause many issues throughout your home, ranging from insect intrusion to landscaping damage.
Minor foundation settling occurs as the ground beneath a house or building compacts. Foundation sinking is a more severe issue that necessitates foundation sinking repairs. If left uncorrected, your home’s structural integrity may be jeopardized.
Suppose you have foundation problems as a result of the sinking. In that case, you must work with a professional sinking foundation repair contractor like HydroHelp911, who can diagnose the cause of your foundation’s drop and knows how to fix it.
Understanding the sinking foundation repair process by HydroHelp911 is beneficial for a variety of reasons. When you buy a home, you want to ensure that the foundation is sound. If your house’s foundation needs to be repaired, you’ll want to make a sensible decision on how to proceed. In addition, if you are looking for a new home, you should look for signs of foundation problems.
Find More About Sinking Foundation Repair Methods by HydroHelp911.
Piers with Load-Bearing Capacity for Foundation Sinking
One method used by HydroHelp911 to repair a sinking foundation is to raise the foundation using load-bearing piers.
A pier is essentially a pole or support structure pressed into the ground beneath the foundation and then placed to level the structure and inhibit further sinking foundation problems.
Based on the intensity of the challenge, your house, the soil, and other factors, our foundation repair professionals at HydroHelp911 may use one of several types of piers for foundation sinking repairs:
- Helical Piers: These are large steel screws that are hydraulically driven back into the soil and then attached to the foundation or slab to protect or lift it. They are especially useful for lighter constructions or when ground conditions make other types of piers challenging to install.
See What is a Helical Pier?
- Steel Push Piers: These piers are made of thick steel poles driven into the ground and then secured with brackets to secure and lift the slab or foundation back into place. These are best used in a more stable environment that is less impacted by water, depletion, and other circumstances and is compact enough to hold the piers safely.
- Hydraulic Lift Piers: If foundation sinking is severe or additional support is required, hydraulic lift piers that cover the overall slab could be used to repair foundation sinking. They are durable enough for both residential and commercial applications. The pier supports for sinking foundation repair are hydraulically lifted after being installed in the ground by HydroHelp911 until the structure is leveled and secure.
Slab jacking
Slab jacking, also known as concrete lifting, is a standard sinking foundation repair method HydroHelp911 for homes built on a concrete slab.
The following are the fundamentals of slab jacking:
- Holes are drilled into the location that needs to be repaired.
- With specialized equipment, a synthetic lifting solution similar in texture to grout is poured into the holes and under the slab.
- The synthetic material fills the gaps underneath the concrete, raising it to the same level as the concrete substrate.
- The holes are filled with a concrete mix by the contractor.
Slab jacking is a quick and relatively low-cost solution compared to other sinking foundation repair methods. In addition, the work can be done almost all year (except in extreme weather) and tailored to the specific conditions of the repair, and there is usually very little disturbance to the house or the yard.
Slab jacking can be used to repair the house’s concrete slabs all over your home, not just the foundation. Sidewalks, patios, and driveways can cease and sink due to various factors such as incorrectly prepared soil, shrinking soil, and erosion.
A slab jacking foundation restoration company like HydroHelp911 can repair the sunken concrete and eliminate trip hazards.
Common signs of foundation settlement:
- Stair-step style cracking
Stair-step cracking is a vital sign of foundation settlement in brick and concrete block walls. In addition, vertical cracks may widen as your home settles further..
Keep a watch for broader cracks at the top than at the bottom, indicating that settlement is progressing.
- Chimneys that are tilting
A chimney detaching from the rest of the house is one of the more frightening and dramatic signs of foundation settlement. At times, chimneys are built on a foundation that is not connected to the rest of the house, increasing the risk of compensation, especially given the enormous weight of vents.
- Doors and windows have been damaged
When an opening in a wall structure, such as a door or window, is cut or created, it becomes the weakest point of the wall. As a result, doors, and windows frequently show the initial signs of settlement.
- Walls that are bowing or sagging
Basements and crawl spaces are the most prone to wall changes such as bowing or sagging. These difficulties pose an issue with the resilience of these load-bearing walls but don’t be alarmed.
Even if the case appears dire, bowing and sagging foundation walls can be repaired and you may not even have to give up on your plans for a finished basement. To have the walls repaired, work, hire an experienced sinking foundation repair contractor.
- Gaps
Houses do settle and change a little as temperatures change, but these natural fluctuations should not cause significant gaps or infringements around the house. However, if you notice wide gaps around the door or window frames, or if windows and doors are becoming hard to open, contact a sinking foundation repair specialist, HydroHelp911.
The foundation piers by HydroHelp911 are an excellent solution for stabilizing and repairing foundations that have failed due to settlement. Our foundation repair specialists at HydroHelp911 will be able to determine the necessary solution for your residence based on the structural problems your home is experiencing and the soils that surround it. Push piers, helical piers, and slab piers are the three types of foundation piers that HydroHelp911 install as a sinking foundation repair solution.
What are push piers? And how are they installed?
Steel push piers, also known as resistance piers, are driven deep into the soil to bedrock or other stable soil layers.
First, the soil in the area where the pier will be driven is removed. A heavy-duty steel foundation bracket is then fitted beneath and against your foundation’s footing. Next, steel pier sections are pushed hydraulically through the frame to bedrock or a stable soil layer.
The house’s weight is then transmitted through the piers to the competent soil below, and a lift can be attempted to return the house to its original position. Once the homeowner and installing contractor are satisfied with the ride or stabilization, the soil can be back filled, and the place is permanently stabilized in its new position.
Push piers can be installed from the outside or inside of your home, and they can help close cracks and improve the functioning of doors and windows.
What causes foundation problems?
Water is the primary cause of the vast majority of the damage. Variations in moisture cause soil components to swell or shrink, resulting in movement beneath your foundation.
- If your house is constructed on expansive soil, it might be more prone to foundation damage.
- It was built on fill soils that had been improperly compacted.
- The drainage around the foundation is poor.
- You stay in an area with extreme seasonal variations.
- You discovered a plumbing leak beneath your house.
- Tree roots are encroaching on your property.
- The structure was weakened by an earthquake, flood, or drought.
Are cracks in the foundation regular?
Yes, and they are usually not causing concern. For example, most of the cracks in a poured concrete foundation are caused by foundation settlement and shrinkage of the concrete during the healing process, and they can be easily repaired or ignored. However, if the cracks are unusually large or allow seepage into the home, they frequently indicate a more serious structural problem.
What are the consequences of foundation cracks?
The direction and width of a foundation crack can often tell you whether or not it is a cause for concern. Fortunately, many attempts are primarily cosmetic and may only require a cosmetic repair if they are an eyesore. Vertical cracks are the least troublesome of the foundation cracks you are likely to encounter and are usually the result of regular foundation settlement. However, if your cracks run diagonally or horizontally through the wall or are large (more comprehensive than 1/8 inch), they are often caused by differential settlement or soil pressure. Therefore, they may indicate more serious structural issues that require extensive repair.
If you reside in North Carolina and need a highly skilled foundation repair, basement waterproofing, or crawl space repair company, look no further! HydroHelp911 is ready to restore the life of your basement or crawl space!
