Fixed and Protected Foundation in Louisa, KY
Challenge
The homeowners got in touch with us because they noticed that the concrete slab floor of their garage was sinking. They had also noticed that the garage wall was beginning to tilt inward. The symptoms were getting worse over time and they knew something had to be done to correct the problem and prevent further damage. They had even stopped using the garage because of the movement. This family loves the house and wants their child to grow up there.
Our Solution Specialist Dustin was glad to come out and determine what he could do to help this family fix and protect their forever home. His inspection revealed that there were not only issues with the garage slab and wall, but there was also some cracking in the brick around the back of the house.
The symptoms the family was seeing were a result of vertical settlement in the home's foundation. Instability in the foundation was due to the soil it had been built on. Part of the hillside was flattened out with fill soil and over time that soil compressed causing problems with the original footer and the whole foundation. Dustin determined that the best way to fix the problem for good was to stabilize the shifting foundation along the back part of the house that sat over the fill soil.
The biggest concern for this family was fixing the problem for the long haul so they could enjoy many years in that house and maintain the property value.
Solution
Solution:
The homeowners took the time to get estimates from several companies but in the end, they felt the most comfortable going with Alford Home Solutions. This was partly because we use the best foundation repair products in the industry, but also Dustin's willingness to take the time explaining what was happening to their home. They were put at ease by Dustin's ability to clearly explain why his solution for their foundation issues would fix the problem and prevent more settling in the future. Dustin also made sure to explain the entire process to them so they would know what to expect from installation.
Our solution for the homeowners was to install push piers along the garage and in the back of the house to address the vertical settlement. Polylevel was used to lift and level the concrete slabs of the garage and driveway. Downspouts were diverted away from home to prevent future soil erosion. For the back side of the garage that was rotating out, helical tiebacks were installed as well.
Donnie, the Job Foreman, and his crew were very happy that we were able to achieve lift on the foundation, not just stabilization. The had the opportunity to show the customer as the lift was happening. The entire back of the garage was lifted, remaining cracks were tuck-pointed and the foundation was benchmarked.
We had great results, but Donnie's crew had some challenges with the installation. In digging out the footer, the crew found a damaged footer drain which they repaired. They also had to find a way to move a large AC unit. The unit was moved, the pad under it had to be jackhammered out during installation and a new pad had to be poured before it could be replaced.
Seeing that the garage floor was sinking because the back wall of the garage was rolling out, the helical tiebacks were installed with c-channels to keep the wall from doing further damage to the slab. These bars were also set into the push pier brackets at the base of the wall for extra stability. During the installation of the tiebacks, they found that the fill soil really hadn't compacted well because it kept spilling out of the installation holes.
The installation of the piers made for a tough dig because the area where they had to go in was covered by a concrete patio. Donnie and his crew carefully jackhammered the concrete and hand dug down to the footer for each pier. After installation, the holes were filled and concrete was poured back to repair the patio.
Even with all the difficulties, we were able to stabilize the home and achieve lift on the structure. That home now has a stable foundation and the family that lives there can have peace of mind that they fixed the whole problem.
Project Summary
Solution Specialist: Dustin Hatfield
Job Foreman: Donnie Hoffman
Products Installed: Push Piers, Helical Tie-Backs with C-Channel, Polylevel, Trench Drain, Exterior Drainage
