Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Sinking Foundation or Concrete Slabs

Any sign of settling or movements of foundation are usually caused when a house is built on expansive clay, improperly compressed fill soils, or improper preservation in the perimeter of the foundations. The first line of action should be looking for those typical warning signs that show foundation or concrete slab failure. The settling of foundation not only devalues the property but also make them uninhabitable. In case of expansive soils, the main culprit is the water flowing towards the perimeter of the foundation that can cause swelling or shrinking of soil depending on the moisture content, which in turn moves the foundation of the house. The soils having more clay content are more prone to this swelling and shrinking and higher the content of clay more is the soil unstable. House constructed on such expansive soil show up problems in their basement mold Madison, foundations, and concrete slabs requiring foundation repair Madison.

In residential and commercial properties, any type of slab settlement results in possible damage to the structure eventually causing likely accidents and or loss of real estate value. Concrete slab settlement can cause improper drainage, tripping danger, uneven floors, ugly cracks, and malfunctioning of equipments. The basements also show up cracks and leakages and can cause basement mold Madison.

The common warning signs of foundation/slab malfunction are bulging and sinking floors, cracked walls and ceiling, difficult to close or open doors and windows, wall rotation, separating of wall from doors and windows, displaced moldings, out of kilter doors and windows, cracked sheetrock and cracks in floor that need foundation repair Madison. Settlement cracks are practically always vertical and should not be confused with horizontal cracks that appear upon lateral movement of the wall due to soil pressure.

Concrete Foundation Repair Methods have changed drastically with advent of newer technologies that require experts to do the repairs. In earlier days, before newer technologies, wood, concrete, cement and steel or a mixture of them would be poured, pushed, turned, but somehow forced into the ground trying to retrieve the foundations and slabs and it was a DIY technique. The other methods involved excavation of the foundation and concrete slabs to make them proper but would cause much disturbance to the dwellers

On the other hand, today's technology and trained experts, there are a number ways to raise a sunken foundation or lower a bulging one without very less or no to the routine life of the dwellers. The two most universally accepted methods of such a repair are called slabjacking and piering or hydraulic jacking. The difference in these two methods is that – the slabjacking procedure, grout, which is a type of binding material, is forced underneath a slab or beam and it produces a lifting force that re-establishes the slab or beam to its original elevation. In case of piering, hydraulic jacks are used to raise or stabilize concrete slabs, by help of steel posts that are driven all the way through unstable soil. The choice of repair method relies upon the type of problem existing.