Foundation Settling Repair in Alexandria, Kentucky

Challenge

This homeowner had us out before, earlier this year in January. They had us out to stabilize the backside of their garage, as it was sinking and leaving cracks around the garage. As we see with a lot of sinking foundations, the footers underneath the garage were probably not deep enough past the frost line in the soil. Winter climates can be tough for foundations with shallow footings, as the soil beneath the foundation goes through cycles of expanding and shrinking due to freezing and thawing. After the homeowner gave us a call, we sent one of our Inspectors out to explain what was happening to their foundation, and to explain how we could help stabilize it with our steel pier underpinnings. The homeowner agreed that it was time to stabilize that side of their garage before any further damage could occur.

At the time of this inspection in January, we also explained some concerns with the front side of their garage, where we had seen some minor signs of settling. However, we explained to the homeowner that at the time, it was not as big of an issue as the backside, but it could need repairing in the future. We then fixed the backside of the garage with our piers, and told them to give us a call if they notice the front side move any further.

Unfortunately for the homeowner, this most recent Summer brought drought like conditions, which accelerated their settling issues on the front side of the garage at an unpredicted rate. Summer droughts are also bad for foundations because the soil shrivels up really far, giving a lot of room for the foundation to sink into. The homeowner wasn't that bummed out about their settling issues though, because they knew they could trust us to fix it just as well as we did the first time. This time though, there was a slight hiccup with the pier underpinning process... A fake load-bearing wall.

Solution

Our Inspector was aware that the brick wall connected to the block foundation wall may not have been doing anything structurally to support the home, but we couldn't be sure until we went out to chip a little piece of the driveway off that was connected to the foundation wall. We then explained that if it was a fake wall, it was most likely going to have to be demolished because if it wasn't load-bearing, (doing anything to hold the house together structurally) it would be quite a safety concern for us. You see, in order for us to underpin the foundation with our steel piers, we would have to dig a trench along the outside of the foundation to be able to expose underneath the footer. We then would have to get into the trenches in order to install the piers. Sitting in these trenches with a heavy fake wall dangling over the head of our crew would be a recipe for disaster. The homeowner was completely sympathetic to our concerns and didn't really care for the brick anyway, so they gave us the greenlight to go ahead and install our piers no matter if the wall was fake or not.

Within the first couple minutes of our crew chipping and cleaning away the debris from the bottom of the fake wall, they were able to confirm that the wall was not connected to the footer and therefore was not tied into anything structurally. They then spent the next six minutes chipping away at the mortar in the fake wall. The wall came down very hard and easily, and the crew witnessed what could have happened to them in the trenches had we not been careful enough, ( although we always are).

From that point on the project became very standard. We first drilled the helical shaped piers deeply into load-bearing soil. By using pressure gauges, we are able to confirm that the piers reach load-bearing strata based on how hard it was becoming to drill the piers down. After that, we then attached our L-shaped brackets, which are able to give a firm connection between the piers and the footing of the home. The "L" shape allows the bracket to maximize the surface area of the connection to the footer. After the brackets, we were then able to attempt to lift the foundation using a hand-held hydraulic device, which is also attached to the bracket. Lifting is a complicated process, as sometimes lifting too far can cause damage to the home. Because the mortar between the bricks for this home was applied rather thickly, there were large gaps in the block wall. These large gaps connected to the floor joists above, which limited the range of our lifting depth. However, we were still able to get a rather solid lift that fixed the garage overhang without damaging anything, which the homeowner was very pleased with. The result of this is a stabilized foundation that won't sink any more. This project brought the homeowner peace of mind and the freedom to dress up their garage without having to worry about further finishing damages. 

This case study reveals an important truth about foundation repair: Things can get tricky. With so many different variables like load-bearing soils, complicated structural components, fake structural components, large excavators, safety guidelines, hydraulics, permits, utility lines, etc, etc.... It's important you pick a contractor you can trust to handle often one of the largest investments in your life, your home. With over 37 years of being in this business, we would like to say we have seen it all, but we know that's never the case when it comes to foundation repair.