The foundation is a crucial part of your home and a common issue that can come up is sinking of the foundation or settling. This can lead to cracks in the walls and uneven floors. There are also many structural issues that can come up as a result of a sinking foundation.
There are companies that specialise in sinking slab foundation repair and once you contact them, they will visit the site to get to the root of the problem. Finding out why this happened is the first step in repairing the foundation. Sometimes this can happen when there is inadequate drainage or poor soil conditions. Also, if the foundation design has not been done properly at the start, it can give problems later. This is why a soil test is done at the beginning to understand the best type of foundation for the location. You need to have the right specialists at the beginning such as engineers and architects to guide you through the building process.
When repairing the foundation, you need to make sure that you select a professional with a lot of experience and expertise. This will ensure that they are able to consider all factors when coming up with a solution for the problem. You will need a foundation specialist or a professional engineer involved in the project so that the best solution can be reached.
Once you know what has caused the sinking, there are several ways to stabilise the foundation
A common method is installing piers which are concrete or steel columns that will be driven deep into the ground. Underpinning can also be done where the soil under the foundation is removed so that concrete footings can be installed to provide additional support for the foundation. These two methods are used for major repairs. But if you are dealing with a minor repair, one method that can be used is injecting grout into the soil under the foundation.
This is a special grout mixture that will combine with the soil under the foundation so that it can be supported effectively. Whenever you choose a foundation repair company, make sure they have experience in the method they recommend. You can ask them about how many times they have done the repair and common issues that can come up during this.
Sometimes water can pool around the foundation because there is no proper drainage
This will cause the soil to quickly become saturated with water and it will not be able to support the foundation properly. You can fix this by repairing all drainage systems on the property. These can be downspouts, gutters, drains etc. You need to make sure that the drains direct water away from the foundation so that this doesn’t happen again. There can also be some damage done to the foundation as a result of the sinking. You may need to fill cracks in the foundation walls or install new support beams. Sometimes you may need to replace the foundation walls which can be a major operation.
