Essential Techniques for Home’s Foundation Repair Success
Discover expert strategies for repairing your home's foundation.
If you’ve noticed signs of foundation damage, it's crucial to know the repair methods to take actions as soon as possible. Also, to prevent serious damages for any homeowner, it's crucial to know every little thing about your house, including the most important element: the foundation.
Moreover, if you don’t have the basic knowledge regarding all the repairs, sometimes bad contractors can demand thousands of bucks more by telling you that the repair needs expensive procedures, and you’ll spend in vain. In this article, we've covered all the steps you can take to help with foundation related problems. Let's dive in.
Reasons and Signs of Foundation Problems
There are several reasons for the problems regarding foundation issues, the significant reasons are-
● Poor soil conditions
● Long term plumbing problems
● Faulty structural construction
● Excessive load or overloading on the house
● Large tree roots are nearby
● Excessive soil saturation
● Inadequate drainage
● Frost heave
● Drought or soil dehydration
● Excessive hydrostatic pressure
● Natural disasters like earthquakes, floods, etc.
In most cases, you'll see signs that there's something wrong with the foundation. The most common signs are-
● Cracks in floors, walls, and structural elements
● Gap between walls and floors
● Damp walls and leaks
● Leaning chimney
● Misaligned doors and windows
Steps to Repair Your Home’s Foundation
Repairing the foundation of your home can be divided into a few steps for better understanding.
They are:
1. Inspect Damage
The very first step is to inspect the damages not only in your foundation but throughout the whole property. Just observing only one damage or sign, and then trying to fix that problem as soon as possible is not a good idea. You'll have to look for all possible damages and signs to determine the solutions more precisely.
2. Identify the Root Cause
Different types of problems can show the same types of signs. For example, your floors can sag due to foundation problems, overload on that particular floor, wrong installation of that floor, poor material choice, etc. If you fix the foundation when the actual reason is poor floor material, the problem won't be solved even after spending thousands. That's why it's important to determine the root cause of the signs and problems.
3. Applying Methods of Foundation Repair
Once you've determined the reasons for the problems, it's time to fix them. There are several methods available for all the possible foundation damages. Let's know about them briefly to get an overall idea of successful problem solving.
Regrading
It’s a method to restore the soil slope if the soil around the foundation is settled or eroded. You’ll need to slope it away from the house to ensure proper drainage and protect the foundation from water damage.
Waterproofing
Waterproofing the basement walls, floor, foundation, etc. by using sealant or encapsulation will help prevent further water or moisture damage.
Piers
For long-term solutions, different types of piers are usually used to support the foundation. Concrete piers can provide bearing or friction support. Steel piers are used in rock or clay soil for additional support. And helical piers are twisted into loose soil underneath to provide heavy-duty support for the structure.
Piles
If there is any issue with soil, sometimes concrete piles are driven deep under the foundation to provide long-term support by their friction support.
Crack Sealing
Sealing cracks is one of the basic methods that you need to utilize in almost all foundational problems. You’ll need to seal cracks in any structural elements like walls, foundations, beams, etc. by inserting sealant or foam into those cracks. Even though it’s a temporary solution that doesn’t provide additional support, it’s a must to ensure other methods will work properly. Only apply this method when the foundation is stabilized to reduce water infiltration by any other solution.
Foam Injection
If there's any crack or there are voids in the soil, you can inject polyurethane foam to fill the voids and cracks to prevent future problems.
Shimming
Steel shims are sometimes installed in the foundation to fill soil gaps and reestablish proper support for the structure. If the soil underneath doesn't settle again, then shimming can work as a permanent solution. Those shims are pressed under exterior walls and on top of the foundation. However, remember to use this method only for stable foundations or where the problem is only soil; otherwise, iot won’t work.
Slab Jacking
In this method, mortar or different types of slurry are injected under concrete slabs or foundations to support the structure. But it’s not always a permanent solution, it may require additional support.
Basement Wall Solutions
Basement wall solutions like anchors, carbon fiber stips, or other methods are utilized to alleviate pressure on those walls and protect the basement area with the foundation. It helps more during earthquakes to prevent movements of the foundation.
4. Preventing Future Foundation Problems
The last step is to do some work that will prevent future problems in the basement and foundation areas.
Permits and Regulations
Ensure the house has permits for different structural issues and all work is done following regulations to prevent unnecessary problems.
Soil Moisture Level Controlling
Control the moisture level of the soil with sprinklers that have a moisture sensor in it. It will automatically increase or decrease the amount of water shrinking in the landscape to maintain the standard moisture level.
Water Drainage Optimization
Ensure the drainage systems are clean, not broken, and working properly to prevent any moisture and water damage.
Regular Inspection
Do regular inspections to watch out for signs of potential foundation damage. Also, hire a professional every few months to do a thorough inspection.
Professional consultation is a must for any structural issue. Sometimes some people will tell you about some methods or procedures to follow without knowing about in-depth matters, and it can make your home foundation more vulnerable. Also, don’t believe what you always see or read on the internet; only trust the experts.
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