Aside from the creepy decor, Halloween season brings tales of terrors to scare the kids into sleeping early. From stories of monsters ready to grab them from under their beds to zombies rising from their graves, there are so many fun stories to tell! But did you know there are other terrifying things underneath your house, even without the ghost and ghouls? These might not scare children, but they definitely will frighten homeowners. Now, let’s get into what could be going on in the foundation of your home.
If you’re unaware of your house’s foundation’s current state, it is best to get it checked. Most people don’t really care much about their foundation since it isn’t really visible anyway. But this can lead to a myriad of problems down the road, not only beneath your house but above and inside as well. If these problems aren’t addressed immediately, from misaligned doors to crooked windows, your home will truly crumble.
You should always contact a professional, especially during the early signs of foundation damage. Doing so will help you avoid any further damage and save you from all the hassle and discomfort. One of our customers noticed that many of their doors were starting to stick on them. There was even a slope in the hallway near this area of trouble, obvious evidence of foundation damage. Let’s see how we handled it.
Foundation Repairs in Richardson TX and How We Handle Them Better
As we mentioned before, our client was having a bit of trouble with sticking doors, as well as sloping in the hallway. These symptoms of foundation damage created a hurdle for our client’s comfort and safety. If these problems were to continue, maneuvering the house would become a hassle. And if things were to worsen, they would have to deal with more damage and costly repairs.
Pesky Problems in Richardson Home
We went straight to finding out what caused these problems. After a thorough inspection, we discovered not just one but three culprits. First, poor drainage allowed water to flow under the house, which weakened the supporting clay and allowed them to settle irregularly. The second cause was lack of support or piers for the main wall, which most of the doors were sticking to. And lastly, we noticed some of the wood that this area was located over was starting to crack due to too much weight due to the lack of support.
Cracked Wood from Lack of Support
During this inspection, we also realized that this wasn’t the usual type of foundation we worked on. We normally work with “Concrete Slabs,” but their foundation was a “Pier & Beam Foundation.” The difference is that Pier & Beam foundations require small crawl spaces underneath the house. These crawl spaces have two parts: the wood beams or framing and the concrete piers that the framing sits on. In contrast, concrete slab foundations rest on the ground without a crawl space. Thanks to the crawl space, we wouldn’t need any concrete breakouts in the house. We were able to work around it without any trouble.
With that being said, we entered the crawl space from its entrance in the middle of the home.
To minimize any mess, we protected the floor with a canvas as we walked from the outside.
We started by reinforcing the cracked joist with new wood. Our team then installed three sonotube-type piers below the wall and the cracked pier of wood. We then poured concrete to form new piers, creating much needed additional support for the home.
The concrete was then reinforced with rebar and a large pad of concrete around the base to add more stability. We were also able to lift and shim the existing supports so that the doors would work better.
The other company that worked on the foundation seemed to have taken the cheaper and easier way out, seeing as they had just stacked some random blocks on top of each other to support the weight. Thankfully, our sonotube piers will do a much better job and provide a more permanent solution.
The pier and beams are fast settlers and need much more time to propagate their movement than slabs. So while the initial work took one day to complete, we also did a courtesy inspection one week after to correct some initial settlement issues.
Our client now felt more comfortable and safe in their home, which made our project a success!
Do you think you might be experiencing foundation problems? We’ll be more than happy to stop by, evaluate it, and determine the best solution. If you need foundation repair, we’re here to help. Call or text us at 214-326-0718 today. We’ll get the job done for you on time, on budget.
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