Due to the prevalence of slab foundations in California, foundation sinking and settlement are common issues and thus so is the need for foundation leveling.
These issues occur when the soil under the concrete foundation shifts, allowing voids to form in the soil. The voids do not offer adequate support for the foundation, and it settles unevenly as a result.
Soil shifts due to earthquakes, erosion, or soil shrinkage can also cause concrete foundations to sink or settle. However, FOUNDATIONS ON THE LEVEL can fix these issues. Read on to learn more about the best foundation leveling options for California homes and find out how we can help.
Why is Foundation Leveling Important?
When your home begins to settle unevenly, the symptoms might seem like minor annoyances: your doors and windows begin to stick, you notice cracks beginning to form in walls, your chimney begins to lean.
You can fix or ignore the symptoms, but over time, they are likely only going to get worse and could graduate from minor annoyances to major structural problems for your home.
The longer you ignore the problems, the more serious they are likely to get. And with that, the cost of repairs will likely go up as well.
If you live in San Diego County or Orange County and are experiencing the symptoms of foundation problems, contact us for a free estimate or more information on which of our foundation leveling solutions might be right for you.
How Do You Level A Foundation?
As with many things in life, there is no one right way to level foundations. That’s why working with an experienced foundation repair contractor like FOUNDATIONS ON THE LEVEL is a must. It is important to get the right solution that matches your home, the amount of settlement, and the underlying soil conditions.
Here are a few of the ways in which we level foundations:
Resistance piers, also known as push piers, are commonly used to fix settling foundations.
We drive the piers into the soil under the concrete foundation until they are sitting on bedrock or a load-bearing stratum of soil, allowing the piers to provide greater support than the soil immediately under your home.
We then hydraulically lift the building to raise the foundation back to its original level. Brackets on the piers are attached to the building, transferring the load onto the piers.
We use steel resistance piers from ECP (Earth Contact Product), one of the top manufacturers in the country. They offer both concentric piers, which are installed directly beneath the footing or load, and eccentric piers, which are installed to the side of the structural load.
Give us a call to see if ECP steel resistance piers are the right choice for your foundation raising needs.
Helical pier installation is another type of underpinning that can help raise and stabilize sinking foundations in California homes and businesses.
These piers work much like resistance piers but have helical plates on them, giving them the resemblance of a giant screw (they are also sometimes called screw piers). This shape allows us to screw them into the ground instead of merely driven in.
It also allows us to use the torque measurements taken while “screwing” the piers into the ground to determine when the piers have reached sufficient depth to support the building.
ECP helical piers are a great choice to resist both tension and compressive force. They are commonly used in utility and civil construction projects, but can also be used in residential projects. A major benefit of these piers is that we can install them with minimal disturbance to your yard and property.
If you have a concrete slab foundation, polyurethane foam slab leveling may also be an option.
This option is most commonly used on a variety of types of concrete slabs: garage floors, driveways, sidewalks, and patios.
For this solution, we utilize Accella Polyurethane Systems. Accella offers a low-density, water-blown spray foam. We inject it underground through small holes drilled in the slab.
The foam expands after injection, simultaneously raising the slab above while also compressing the surrounding soil. This solution returns the slab to normal in no time and stabilizes the soil around the slab, preventing future settlement.
Choose FOUNDATIONS ON THE LEVEL to Level Your Foundation
We proudly offer both underpinning and polyurethane foam injection to raise and level concrete slabs and concrete foundations in California. Contact FOUNDATIONS ON THE LEVEL today to find the right foundation raising solution for you.
