Foundation & Crawlspace Repair Options to Avoid
Foundation & Crawlspace Repair Options to Avoid
Discovering a foundation or crawl space issue in your home can be incredibly stressful. After all, this structure supports and protects everything and everyone you hold dear. Naturally, upon noticing a problem, you may start scouring the internet or seeking advice from friends on social media for solutions. You'll quickly find that there are numerous options for foundation and crawl space repair, including some that seem remarkably affordable. However, before you consider DIY methods, hiring a local handyman, or opting for a budget-friendly "Chuck in a truck," its important to understand why cutting corners can often lead to more headaches than solutions.
Foundation Fixes, Good and Bad
If your homes foundation is sinking or settling, the most effective solution is to connect it to competent, load-bearing soil or bedrock. This is not a DIY project; it requires professional installation of piers. These long steel tubes are either pushed or mechanically screwed into the soil and attached to your homes foundation with heavy-duty brackets. When they reach bedrock or load-bearing strata, your homes foundation becomes stabilized and can often be lifted back to its original position. Some contractors may propose less-expensive alternatives like concrete underpinning or concrete piering. However, these methods have significant drawbacks:
Concrete Underpinning
Concrete underpinning involves excavating soil around your foundation and pouring larger concrete footings beneath the existing ones. Once the concrete cures, the soil is backfilled. Although this might seem logical;larger footings should provide better support ;it often fails because the new underpinning still rests on the problematic soil. Adding more weight to already weak soil can exacerbate the problem, making future repairs even more costly as all that new concrete will need to be removed. Contractors who lack specialization in foundation repair might not realize that this approach is insufficient.
Concrete Piers
Concrete piers involve stacking short, blunt concrete cylinders on top of each other and loosely binding them with wire. Shims are placed on the top cylinder, and the soil is backfilled. While concrete is strong, this method seldom works effectively because the wide cylinders (usually six to eight inches in diameter) are hard to push deep enough to reach stable soil. Additionally, without guidance, the piers often aren't installed straight. Over time, concrete can crack and crumble, leading to further instability. This explains why few reputable contractors use this method.
In summary, while budget-friendly options might seem appealing, they rarely offer a lasting solution and can lead to more extensive repairs in the future. Always opt for professional pier installation to ensure your foundation is properly stabilized.
Crawl Space Options
If you noticed your floors sagging or bouncing, it may indicate a significant issue lurking in your crawl space. The columns supporting the girders and joists might have been placed too far apart during construction, or moisture from the surrounding air could have caused them to rot and weaken. Either way, it's vital to support your floor promptly before the situation worsens.
The most effective solution is a heavy-duty jack system that can permanently stabilize your floor, and in many cases, lift it back to its original position. This system is just about the jacks; they must be attached to a sturdy wood or steel girder. To properly distribute the weight of the structure and prevent the jacks from sinking into the soil, each jack needs to be supported by a metal plate sitting on a two-foot hole filled with crushed stone. Once installed, these jacks can be adjusted to restore your floors to their original level.
Some contractors might suggest alternative methods for stabilizing a sagging floor. One such method involves installing concrete block columns. This requires pouring concrete footings throughout the crawl space. After curing, concrete blocks are stacked on top of these footings, sometimes with mortar between the blocks. Shims are then placed between the topmost block and the girder once the mortar cures. However, this method is time-consuming (concrete takes a long time to cure), non-adjustable, and does not address the underlying problem the soil beneath your home. Other contractors might propose using light-duty jack posts or shims as a fix; for sagging floors. These light-duty jack posts are available at most big-box home stores and might seem like a do-it-yourself solution. However, they are not designed to support live loads and load-bearing walls. They have adjustable top brackets meant only to tighten against the beam above, not lift an entire floor. Made of thin, unprotected or spray-painted steel, these posts corrode and weaken over time. Moreover, like block columns, they fail to address weak soils that can collapse under their base. Shims might seem like a cheap fix but are only a temporary solution, leading to repeated repairs to upstairs finishes. As with other methods, they don't tackle the root problem with your soil.
Ultimately, entrust your homes foundation or crawl space repairs to a specialist not a general contractor or handyman. Perform due diligence: ask questions, read reviews, and ensure you get a detailed quote and a transferrable warranty. You'll rest easier knowing you've made the right choice.
