DIFFERENT FOUNDATION MOVEMENT REQUIRES CORRECT STRUCTURAL REPAIR

Horizontal foundation movement, such as leaning or bulging foundation walls, should be repaired when the wall movement reaches 1". Excessive wall movement may require the foundation to be excavated and jacked to plumb prior to repairing the wall. These walls most likely will not require replacement. There are several types of repair methods installed by contractors such as new walls installed against the interior or exterior sides, yard anchors, steel beams against the wall. Based on our experience, the exterior or interior walls against foundation walls are an expensive and may be an inadequate repair. The yard anchors that most of the contractors install require the bolts to be re-tightened twice a year and sometimes, the walls will crack around the plates against the wall. This is a more costly repair than some of the other methods The steel reinforcing rods and steel beams, when properly engineered and installed, are an economical method of repair. The engineer should design the repair, not a sales person.

Vertical foundation movement or settlement are typically repaired with the method of foundation underpinning piers. In most cases, the types of piers are the deep driven steel mini-piles, steel helical piers and concrete piers. The deep driven systems, if installed correctly may reach bedrock and will restrain the portion of the foundation that has been supported from further movement. If other portions of the foundation have also settled, but are not supported, foundation settlement may occur in other sections of the foundation and may eventually require the whole foundation to be supported. The steel helical pier is a auger type of pier that does not extend as deep into the soil. Concrete piers are constructed by excavating below the existing foundation and placing concrete below the footing to support the foundation on a different type of soil. All of these methods may be effective if used in the correct situation. Have the engineer specify the best method.

Lateral foundation movement may be repaired by the methods listed above or if the foundation walls are not properly anchored to the floor framing, simple methods of installing wood blocking to the bottoms of the floor joists against the foundation wall or bolting steel angles to the foundation wall and floor framing may resist this movement.

Any type of foundation movement or repairs should be inspected and the repaired as specified by a licensed professional engineer. The salesman for a contractor typically works on a commission and based on experience, they may not understand the cause of the perceived problem. Foundation repairs can be very costly, especially if the incorrect repair is installed.

Find the best way to repair your foundation problem by engaging an experienced engineer for an unbiased opinion. Call Mike Montgomery 1-800-285-3001 (scheduling) for review that will diagnose the true problem, recommend a solution and SET YOUR MIND AT EASE.

Never Forget:
Engineers diagnose the problem and design solutions.
Contractors do the work.
Sales people sell services.