If your home is experiencing signs of a foundation problem, such as sticking doors or uneven floors, it’s time to call in the experts for a foundation repair. Contact Foundation Repair Nashville for professional help.
The first step is creating a plan to place supports along the perimeter of your house. This stops water from flowing towards your foundation and causing hydrostatic pressure that could cause the walls to bow or sink.
Homeowners often think of their foundation as a slab of concrete that holds their house up, but this is only part of the picture. The foundation’s true strength comes from the soil beneath it, and that’s why understanding how soil conditions affect your home’s foundation is essential to avoiding future problems.
Different soil types have unique characteristics that impact how well they support buildings. The most common culprits are expansive clay, silty soil, and loam (a balanced mixture of clay, sand, and silt). All three have poor load-bearing capacity compared to more stable, denser soils.
These soils tend to swell and shrink in response to changes in moisture, creating difficult performance problems for buildings built on them. The swelling and shrinking creates pressure that pushes against concrete foundations, causing them to shift and settle. The process repeats each wet and dry season, widening cracks and increasing damage over time.
When a building is constructed, construction workers must clear away grass and roots, compact the soil with heavy equipment, and slope the ground so that rainwater drains away from the foundation. But if these steps aren’t taken, the soil can continue to shift and sink years after construction, causing serious foundation damage.
The most common signs of this ongoing movement include diagonal wall fissures, sloping floors, and stuck windows. In severe cases, sagging and shifting can even cause structural damage to your home’s roof and chimney.
Soil erosion, improper drainage, and flooding are other issues that can cause foundation problems. Inappropriate drainage systems allow rainwater to pool around the foundation, softening it and causing it to sink. Improper grading can also cause erosion, especially when soil is sandy.
The solution is to ensure the proper drainage of your foundation by installing a well-designed, effective drainage system. Install gutters and downspouts that direct water at least 5-10 feet away from your foundation. Avoid planting trees and shrubs close to the foundation, as they can absorb moisture and add weight to your structure. Adding reinforcement like helical or push piers can help add support to your foundation, helping to prevent further damage.
Repair Methods
The best repair method depends on a variety of factors, including the severity of damage and soil conditions. A qualified foundation repair contractor will use a combination of methods to stabilize your home and prevent future movement. These methods may include slab jacking, epoxy injection, push piers, and helical piers.
Epoxy crack injection seals concrete cracks to prevent water intrusion and further deterioration. This method is effective for minor concrete cracks and can be used on residential and commercial projects. It is not recommended for structural problems or severe cracks, and it requires monitoring.
Slab jacking uses a mixture of concrete, sand, and water to fill voids beneath sunken slabs of concrete. This solution is a quick and cost-effective alternative to replacement, and it can also improve walkways, patios, and driveways that have settled unevenly. This solution can be applied to a variety of materials, including clay and concrete.
Helical piers are screw-like steel shafts that are mechanically twisted into the soil until they reach stable, load-bearing strata underneath. They are ideal for lifting and stabilizing sinking foundations, especially in areas with expansive soils. They are more expensive than some other repair methods, but they offer durable support that can last for decades.
Piers can also be installed to stabilize sinking foundations by transferring the load from the failing structure to deeper load-bearing strata. These foundation supports are often drilled into bedrock or other stable materials underneath the house, and they can provide long-lasting support.
The sooner you have your foundation repaired, the better. Foundation issues don’t go away on their own, and they tend to worsen over time, potentially leading to more serious structural damage. If you are experiencing symptoms like sticking doors or uneven floors, contact a professional for a foundation inspection. A licensed and insured foundation repair contractor like Gerrior Masonry & Landscaping can evaluate your foundation and soil conditions and recommend the best course of action. For more information, call us today. Our experienced team is here to help.
Timeframe
The duration of structural repairs depends on several factors, including the severity and type of damage. Minor cracks and settling may only require a few days to repair, while more extensive damage might extend the timeline for weeks. Repairing bowing walls and compromised load-bearing beams is a complex process that requires more inspection, planning, and labor than fixing minor cracks. Additionally, any additional repairs that are discovered during the foundation stabilization process can add time to the total project duration.
If you are noticing cracks in your home’s floors or walls, it’s a sign that your home is shifting or settling unevenly. If left unattended, this can lead to serious structural issues and costly repairs down the road. Early detection and repair are key to preventing future damage to your foundation, and the best way to do so is to schedule an evaluation with a local expert.
In addition to assessing the condition of your foundation, an experienced contractor will determine the cause and recommend an effective solution. This process will take some time, but it’s essential for restoring the integrity of your foundation and avoiding further damage. During this process, it’s important to avoid cutting corners, as doing so can lead to problems down the road. Rather, choose high-quality materials and work with an experienced contractor that will ensure your foundation is stabilized correctly the first time around.
When choosing a contractor to perform your foundation repair, make sure they are licensed, insured, and certified by an ICC-ES inspector. You should also request references from past clients, and look for customer reviews. Additionally, look for a company that uses patented technologies and offers a warranty backed by a national foundation trust.
Before the repair process begins, prepare your house by removing any furniture or wall decor that could get in the way of technicians. Additionally, you might want to remove plants or concrete from your yard to save money on labor costs. Be sure to clear a path for the technicians, and create a storage area for your items. This will allow the crew to focus on the job at hand and minimize disruptions to your daily routine.
Cost
While it’s normal for homes to settle a bit over the years, uneven or excessive settlement can signal serious problems. Uneven floors, bowed walls, and doors and windows that stick or don’t open correctly are all signs of structural movement caused by a foundation issue. Left untreated, these problems will get worse and can lead to more extensive damage to the home, requiring more costly repair work.
A professional inspection of the foundation and yard will give you a good idea of whether your home is in need of repair. A contractor will need to assess the level of settlement, check the soil conditions, and decide which repair methods will be most effective. He or she will then provide you with a detailed report outlining the options, pros and cons, costs, and timeframe for the repair work.
Depending on the extent of the repair needed, it could cost as little as $500 for minor cracks or as much as several thousand dollars to completely stabilize a slab foundation using products like crawl space jacks. More extensive repairs might require a complete tearout of a section of the foundation and re-pouring, which can cost as much as $50,000.
Slab on grade foundations, which sit directly on the ground without a basement or crawl space underneath them, can be difficult to access for repairs. The contractor may need to break through the slab to reach plumbing and other utility lines, which can add to the cost of the job. It’s also important to make sure that the drainage system is working properly to keep water away from the foundation.
If your home has a brick foundation, a repair specialist can install drain tile and a sump pump to collect excess moisture that could lead to hydrostatic pressure against the walls. This can help protect the integrity of the walls and prevent further deterioration.
Even after full foundation repair is done, it’s important to monitor your home for returning cracks, wall bowing, or sticking doors and windows. It’s also a good idea to have an experienced contractor perform regular maintenance such as inspecting gutters, downspouts, and the grading around your house to ensure the soil isn’t accumulating too much moisture near the foundation.
