Housing Foundation Design

You realize that you have some large cracks and some damage to your building foundation. What are you going to do about the damage and is it even that big of a deal? Here are 3 methods for repairing your house foundation that you might find extremely helpful, especially if you have any damage.

1. Large Crack Cosmetic Repairs

Large cracks can be filled with cement, cement-based epoxies, caulking or other types of adhesives. By filling the cracks, you’re not fixing the structural damage, you’re simply making it look a little better. Don’t be fooled by professionals who guarantee their products to work miracles on your building foundation.

2. Fixing Large Structural Cracks

You have a crack in your foundation that you can stick your finger in and you would like to fix it. A general contractor, real estate professional, handyman or other home repair professionals, aren’t going to be much help to you here. You’re going to need to contact a structural or civil engineer to make the correct repairs. Feel free to contact a general contractor or other contractors, but these professionals will usually need to contact some type of engineer, to figure out what needs to be done.

3. Fixing Small Cracks

If your dealing with a small foundation crack. Something that’s less than 1/16 of an inch wide, you could fill it with a concrete epoxy or caulking and then monitor it. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to take a few pictures of the building foundation where the small cracks have been filled with caulking and date them.

This wouldn’t be a bad idea or all of your foundation cracks. Take a few pictures and keep records of any structural movement or cracks that are getting larger over time.

A house is no better than the foundation on which it is sitting, and in turn a foundation is no better than the soil that is under it. In preparation for the foundation sub-straight, all of the sod must be scalped, or in common language, removed, (a 6 inch minimum) and a mixture of clay and sand known as “select fill” must be brought in and compacted. Now that his has been accomplished, you are ready to build a foundation that will be properly supported.

Over the last couple of decades during the housing boom, many home builders were building houses in areas where the soil had a tendency to shift. Since most of the best ground in populated areas had already been taken, builders and developers found it necessary to sub-divide residential lots in areas with poor soil conditions for foundations; good to grow corn perhaps, but not so good for building houses.

When many house foundations in a particular area fail, the excuse is that it’s an act of God, and that there is nothing anyone can do about it. In reality, a builder is without excuse since there are geotechnical engineers available for testing and issuing an expert report with recommendations.

All engineers will recommend scalping at least 6 inches of top soil from the building site because it is considered “unstable sod”. Plant life does well in top soil because it will not compact, which allows the foliage to flourish. For excellent compaction and stabilization, a builder needs to bring in “select fill” which is a mixture of clay and sand.

If you should have a failed house foundation, you will need to hire a foundation repair company to place concrete piers around the perimeter of your house. Hydraulic jacks then lift and level the house with these new supports. Once you have determined that you have a failed foundation, act quickly because it will only get worse. If you should sell you home, by law you will be required to disclose any known problems, if you don’t, the buyer will have future recourse against you. Continue Reading

If your home has any foundational or structural issues, choosing the right house foundation repair company to do the repair work on your home is essential, in order to ensure the job gets done right. No matter how small the problem may seem, you have to make sure that it is taken care of immediately, so as to not get any worse, and potentially cause much bigger problems in the future. The foundation of the home has to be solid. So, even if the issue seems trivial, or seems like it is just a small dip in the kitchen tile, it has to be checked out, just to make sure it is not a bigger problem you are not seeing underneath the home’s structure.

So, if you need to find the right house foundation repair company, you have to make sure that you get reviews and referrals from individuals who have had the same problem, or from online sources where you can get information on all companies where you live, and the services they offer. You must make sure that the company you do hire is licensed, has the best personnel and staff doing the repair services, and that they have the best equipment and machinery when working on any foundational issues in your home, or working on fixing any small dip or crack in a tile, which may lead to further problems in the future.

As a home owner you have to know that your home is structurally sound. For this reason, you have to know which foundation repair company to use, even if it is just to check the structure, so that they will do the job right. No matter how minute the problem may seem, it can lead to something much worse if you do not check on it, when you first notice it. Making sure that you get any problem fixed immediately should be a home owner’s first concern, especially when it involves foundational or any structural problems with the home.

Knowing that you have taken all precautions to get the home checked, and if there are problems, getting the house foundation repair work done immediately, is all you can do. But, you have to make sure that you check into the problem, rather than leave it alone, and think it can’t get any worse, or that it is not an issue at all. It is better to check it early on, and if there is a problem fix it, rather than wait until the problem gets so large that major work will be required on the home.