Homeowners in the greater Dallas metro area are very familiar with foundation failure. The soil in this area is known as expansive clay. It is very spongy soil.
Expansive clay, just like its name says, expands when it gets wet. If a house is built on expansive clay, the foundation is subject to a lot of pressure when the soil fills up with water.
When the soil subsequently dries out, it leaves holes under the foundation. Also, vegetation planted around the foundation in the expansive clay soil will affect the way the soil swells and contracts.
Besides poor soil, there are other reasons why foundations may fail. Sometimes the contractor did not properly compact the fill dirt before they laid the foundation. Sometimes the builder did not grade the yard correctly to make rainwater drain away from the house.
Other times, a tree near the home grows extensive roots into the foundation. Sometimes a homeowner may have a plumbing leak beneath their home that they are not aware of.
All houses will settle over time. A little settling is to be expected. But not a lot of settling. Sooner or later, many homeowners will need a foundation repair Mansfield, TX.
It is essential to the house’s future integrity to get foundations fixed as soon as a problem is spotted.
How to Spot Foundation Problems
When a homeowner is outside the house, they should not see any cracks in the foundation. Hairline cracks are regular settlements and nothing to worry about. If you do see damages, though, be sure to monitor it. If it starts to expand, call the professionals for an opinion.
If a crack is more than 1/8th inch wide or the crack is jagged and forms angles, that is the most serious.
In the interior of the house, the homeowner should take notice of doors that don’t close properly anymore, cracks in the wall, or floors that are uneven. Cracks that run at an angle from the edges of door moldings are often a sign of foundation issues. If floors have bulges in them, that’s not good. Cracks in ceilings are also a huge concern.
The obvious reason that foundation repairs must be fixed and not ignored is that the longer it goes without being fixed, the more damage is done to the house. Eventually, it will affect the value of the house.
Nobody wants to buy a house where the windows won’t open or close, and the doors don’t meet the openings. A homeowner can cover up cracks and repaint, but eventually, the drywall will break down and pull away from the studs. Cracked ceilings can fall down. And of course, there is always the issue of the house just plain falling over.
When they realize they need foundation repair, Mansfield, TX homeowners are wise to go to a professional foundation repair company. They can tackle this task with their heavy equipment and their expertise. They can repair the foundation when a homeowner cannot do it on their own.
Slabjacking
The methods used for repairing foundations depend on the kind of foundation. If the homeowner has a slab foundation, then the foundation repair company will use a technique called slab jacking.
Typically, the Texas expansive clay has expanded under one area of the slab under the house and not under a different location. This causes the slab to crack open when one side of the slab is higher than the other.
The professionals will drill holes in the concrete slab. Then they will pump a concrete grout through the holes into the soil below. Once that dries, it essentially forms a new slab that supports the cracked slab.
Slabjacking is also used if driveway concrete or sidewalk concrete has cracked or has sunk into the ground at an angle. The grout can be used to raise the lower side.
Sometimes foundation repair companies in Mansfield, TX, will add lime to the grout before injecting it into the holes. The lime acts as a soil stabilizer to help prevent new damage in the future.
Piering
When a home has a crawl space, a technique called piering is used.
First, a trench is dug around the present foundation. Then hydraulic piers are drilled into the earth until they hit a rock. Next, these hydraulic, mechanical jacks lift the beams that have settled and hold them in their proper place to stabilize the house.