When it comes to your home’s foundation, you want the best quality that your money can buy. Some people are willing to take a little less in the name of speed or cost, but most want the absolute best for their money.
Some homeowners experience cracks in their foundation. These should be repaired right away to prevent further damage and expensive repairs. Visit Website to learn more.
Steel piers are a staple in the foundation repair industry. They are a great option for fixing many common problems such as sagging floors, doors that no longer open and tilting or sinking walls. They are especially useful in repairing foundations that have experienced significant soil movement.
Compared to concrete, steel piers are more durable and can be driven to exceptional depths, even up to solid bedrock. This allows them to provide unparalleled stability and support. They also require less time to install and are much cheaper than concrete piers. This is one of the main reasons why so many contractors use them in their repair services.
A variety of factors go into deciding whether or not steel piers are the best choice for a specific foundation issue. Ultimately, a qualified foundation repair specialist will be able to determine which type of repair method is most appropriate. They will look at a number of factors including the location of the home, how deep the piers need to be, soil conditions and other relevant information.
With both concrete and steel piers, the installation process involves digging holes around the foundation. Once the holes are excavated, temporary brackets will be installed to help hold up the foundation while the work is being done. Next, a hydraulic tool will be used to press 12-inch tall precast concrete pier segments into the holes. These are then driven vertically into the ground until they reach a suitable load-bearing stratum.
These piers are then capped with an anchor plate that is welded to the shaft of the pier. The piers are then connected to the foundation using steel brackets and are load tested by an experienced professional to ensure that they can safely bear the weight of the structure.
If you decide to go with the steel pier method, there are several different types that you can choose from. The most popular is the ECP steel push pier, which eliminates the need for bottle jacks and shims during the lifting process. It also uses a system called concentric loading, which helps to distribute the weight evenly throughout the structure.
Concrete Pile
Pile construction is an extremely versatile and popular method of foundation building and repair. It can be used in a variety of different applications, including marine and residential foundation construction and repair. Piles are known for their high load capacity, resistance to flooding and excess drainage, and ease of installation. However, they are not without their disadvantages. Piles are susceptible to corrosion and can be subject to damage from environmental hazards such as ice or salt spray.
To counteract this, there are a number of foundation repair methods available that can be used to encase the pile and protect it from further damage. These repair techniques can also help to restore the load bearing capacity of the pile.
One common type of pile used in structural projects is the concrete pile, a precast, prestressed cylinder pile constructed from reinforced concrete. These piles can be drilled or driven into the ground to provide support for a variety of projects. These piles are typically used to transfer loads to deeper, stronger layers of soil or rock, making them especially useful in locations where the surface layer of ground has insufficient load-bearing strength.
Unlike steel piles, concrete piles are not as impervious to the elements. They can, however, be damaged by environmental hazards such as moisture or oxygen, which leads to corrosion and can significantly reduce the life of a pile. In order to prevent this, a coating can be applied to the pile, which acts as a barrier and keeps out moisture and oxygen, keeping the pile protected and intact.
Another common way to repair damaged piles is through the use of pile jackets, a shell-like structure that can be wrapped around the pile. These jackets are made from glass fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) and are typically provided in two half-shells that are then connected together in the field using straps or bolts. These jackets are particularly useful for repairs of submerged piles because they can be installed in the water without requiring a scaffolding system or divers. The FRP material also offers a corrosion resistant coating, which helps to protect the pile from further damage.
Poured Concrete Piers
When the soil that a home is built on shifts, foundation damage occurs. This movement can lead to sagging floors and walls, and can be caused by various conditions such as expansive clay soils that expand when they are wet and contract when they dry. Expansive soils are common throughout much of the United States, and they cause problems for homes built on pier and beam foundations.
In many cases, these pier and beam foundations can be repaired with slabjacking or high-density polyurethane foam (which will be discussed in the next section), but in other situations, it may be necessary to use a different repair method such as traditional drilled concrete piers.
The poured concrete pier system is one of the oldest methods used to repair slab-on-grade foundations, and it is still a very popular solution for residential homeowners. The piers are drilled into the ground to a depth of 20-30 feet, and they are fitted with bells at their end for added support. The piers are then filled with a mix of water, Portland cement, and topsoil, creating a flowing mud-like material called a slurry. The slurry is pumped under the home using a hydraulic pump and the home’s weight is transferred onto the piers.
Once the piers are installed, they must be allowed to cure for about 10 days before the foundation is leveled again. During the curing process, the foundation repair crew will no longer be working on the house and the concrete piers will provide a much stronger and more stable solution for your foundation than the original wood or brick piers.
The downside to this method is that it can take weeks for a contractor to install a poured concrete pier system in an existing home, and they require a large amount of labor to drill holes in the foundation and then fill them with concrete. This system is also not as effective as steel piers, and it can be more likely to fail with time if the soil has poor load-bearing capacity. This is often the case in homes with poorly compacted soils or if the pier system was not drilled deep enough into bedrock.
Epoxy Injection
Rather than demolishing and replacing the foundation, epoxy crack injections are a way to restore stability without disturbing the structure. By injecting an epoxy resin into the cracks, it essentially glues them together, and can revert concrete slabs back to their original structural design. However, it is important to determine the original cause of the cracking in order to guarantee a long-lasting repair.
To begin, the cracks must be cleaned of dirt and any water that may be seeping in. This is crucial because epoxy will not bond to wet concrete, and the resulting leaks could actually make the cracking worse. Before starting, it is also necessary to ensure the area will be dry for the duration of the injection process.
Once the area is clean, surface ports are drilled into the concrete wall at various points along the crack. These are plastic tubes that guide the epoxy resin into the cracks. Once a port is filled, it is plugged with the provided cap. This allows more ports to be injected from the same spot, so the process can be repeated if needed. For wider cracks, specialized corner ports are available to reach hard-to-reach areas of the structure.
Epoxy injections are suitable for both commercial and residential structures, and can be a cost-effective solution to costly demolition and replacement. They can be used for everything from deteriorated support columns to fractured basement walls. Cracks can be injected horizontally, vertically, and diagonally, so the method is a good choice for nearly any situation.
The final step in this procedure is to start injecting the epoxy at 20-40 psi at the lowest point of the crack and work upwards until polymer begins to ooze out of the port above it. Then, you can plug that port with a cap and move on to the next one. Continue this process until the entire crack is filled to the desired level, front to back.
When the injection is complete, it will take between 1 to 2 days for the epoxy to cure fully. After this, the injection ports can be removed by striking them with a hammer or using a power grinder. A surface seal paste can then be applied over the injection ports and exposed cracks to protect against weathering.