Foundation Repair - How to Make Sure You Don't Get Ripped Off

Foundation is one of the greatest things considered in any building or structure.  In fact, in anything, may be a building or a relationship, a strong and sturdy foundation will help keep it together. However, in reality, even the strongest and sturdiest foundation has its’ own unique limitations. There will always come a time when these things are tested and you are left with two options - either you entirely take down the old, crumbling building and build a new one or just do foundation repair.

Firm Foundation

Taking down the entire structure then making a new foundation is a good option.  However, the sentimental value of the old structure, for instance the foundation of your ancestral house, is far more valuable than anything else in this world. If that’s the case, the best option is to go for a foundation repair.

The cost involved in foundation repair might be a little pricy.  However, you can always canvas and check for the company that could offer you protection against further structural damage while providing that service at an affordable price.   Foundation repair may be around $10,000 and so you have to make sure that it is worth it.  Before you choose, you can first ask for a quotation, that way you can estimate the expenses thus keeping track of your budget.

It is also best to call a professional team for foundation repair because they usually have warranties for their work.  On the average, companies offer a 10 year warranty and has insurance accompanied with it.

When to call for a repair?

When you’ve noticed bowing walls, cracked floor, sunken concrete foundations, it is definitely time to seek the help of professionals.  Delaying foundation repair may be very dangerous as it may lead to further structural damage, cracked and bowing walls. More than anything else, safety should be considered at all times.  Skilled professionals know what to do because they have handled similar problems before.  Further delaying the repair may just worsen the problem and may even become more costly. 

Methods involved

There are two ways to do foundation repair. The first is through piering. In piering, additional vertical posts are installed and connected to the horizontal posts to act as supports.  The supports add stability to the structure. The other one, which is slabjacking is a method of injecting a grout mixture to the slaps to fill the gap. The gap causes the sinking and through epoxy injection or urethane injection, the gap will be minimized, preventing further sinking. The grout mixture is slowly injected to fill the space underneath that slap. 

To avoid problems with foundation, it is recommended that a builder must first put in sand and gravel to the area.  This then should be compacted properly.  Proper compacting eliminates air voids and spaces, which is the cause for concrete sinking.