If you’re a homeowner, chances are that your home is built on or around a concrete slab foundation. Knowing how to look after your slab foundation is vital for keeping your house structurally safe and stable – so here are some tips for taking care of the concrete slab foundation around your home. Keep reading to find out everything you need to know about maintaining your concrete slab foundation!

Start with Regular Maintenance:

Regular maintenance is crucial to keeping your concrete slab foundation in good condition. It’s essential to inspect your foundation regularly to ensure that any cracks or issues are addressed before they become more significant problems. Concrete cracking can quickly escalate and cause considerable damage. It’s always easier and less expensive to remedy the issue early on. By taking these simple measures, you can save time and money in the long run and enjoy peace of mind with a well-maintained foundation. So, start taking care of your concrete slab foundation today and extend the life of your home!

Pressure Wash the Slab Foundation:

If you notice that your slab foundation is looking dingy or has dirt and mildew buildup, consider pressure washing. This powerful tool can help blast away grime and debris that has accumulated over time, leaving your foundation looking revitalized and new again. Not only will a clean foundation enhance your home’s curb appeal, but it can also help prevent further damage and deterioration from occurring. Pressure washing, when done correctly, is a safe and effective way to spruce up your foundation and ensure it withstands the test of time.

Seal Cracks Promptly:

Your foundation is the literal base of your home or building, so it’s essential to take care of it promptly if you notice any cracks. While a small crack may seem like no big deal, it can quickly escalate into a much larger issue if left unaddressed. Water damage can seep into these cracks and undermine the entire slab, leading to costly repairs and compromised structural integrity. That’s why using a concrete repair product to seal up any damages as soon as they are noticed is crucial. By taking proactive steps to maintain your foundation, you can rest assured that your home or building will remain stable and safe for years to come.

Proper Drainage is Key:

When it comes to maintaining your property, ensuring proper drainage should be at the top of your list. Neglecting your drainage system can lead to water accumulation and ultimately cause damage to your foundation. Don’t let water pooling lead to erosion, mold, or structural damage. Maintaining an up-to-date drainage system will prevent these issues from causing unnecessary stress and expenses. By investing in your drainage system, you’ll ensure that your property remains in tip-top shape for years to come. Keep your foundation and property secure and protected by making sure your drainage is up-to-date and functioning correctly.

Address Soil Movement Issues:

Soil movement around your foundation can be a cause for alarm. It can indicate that there is underlying damage and that your foundation is at risk. To address this issue, it is crucial to bring in a professional who can assess the situation and take necessary actions to protect your foundation from further damage. This is not a task that you should attempt to handle on your own. An expert can diagnose the severity of the soil movement and recommend the appropriate solution to stabilize the soil and protect the foundation. Don’t ignore the signs of soil movement. Bring in a professional today to safeguard your home’s foundation.

Invest In Protective Coatings:

If you’re looking for a way to make your concrete slab foundation last longer, investing in protective coatings is an intelligent choice. Concrete is a durable material, but it’s not invincible. Over time, it can crack, break, and become damaged by moisture, chemicals, and other environmental factors. By applying a protective coating, you can help to prevent these issues and keep your foundation looking great for years to come. Protective coatings are available in a range of materials and finishes, so you can choose the one that’s best suited for your needs and budget. Whether you’re looking for a clear sealant to protect against moisture, a decorative finish to add some flair, or both, there’s a coating out there that will do the trick.

As the summer season rolls around, you may already feel the heat! But many homeowners need to realize that with searing temperatures come an increased chance of your home’s foundation experiencing problematic damage due to extreme weather conditions. So let’s explore this issue together by looking at why hot summer weather can lead to serious foundation issues and how you can best safeguard your property’s foundation before it’s too late. From structural cracks appearing in walls and floors to width-wise expansion that can cause shifting foundations, understanding these dangers will help you protect your most significant investment from a sudden disaster.

What are the Signs of Foundation Damage due to Heat?

Heat and extreme temperature changes can cause severe damage to a home’s foundation. Predicting the full extent of the damage requires professional inspection, but you can look for sure warning signs that may indicate that your foundation is at risk. If you notice warped flooring, gaps between walls and floorboards, uneven stairs, or sticking door frames, this could indicate that heat also caused foundation damage. Areas near garden beds or flower pots that have cracked around the edges indicate that the soil has expanded due to heat in those areas. Other signs may include doors and windows having difficulty opening or closing along their edges or cracks in brick or stone façade on the exterior of your home due to the expanding soil below it.

How to Inspect for Foundation Damage During the Summer?

With the increased temperatures and rainfall, summer is the perfect time to keep an eye on your foundation. Inspecting for signs of water damage on a foundation should be done every season to ensure it is still solid and stable. To do that, check your home’s foundation for any cracks or surface damage, paying particular attention to mortar along brick joints. Also, inspect windows, doors, and other framings for signs of warping or decay. If you have any vegetation around your foundation, such as bushes or trees, make sure their roots are close enough, leading to the long-term stress of your foundation walls by having them professionally trimmed. Finally, if you see any pests like termites or carpenter ants near your house’s ground floor or basement, quickly arrange a pest control treatment, as they will kickstart further damage to your foundation.

Causes of Foundation Problems in the Summer

During the hot summer months, foundation problems can become magnified. Summer’s heat and dryness can cause cracks in your home’s foundation, resulting in costly repair bills. But there are some proactive measures you can take to help protect your foundation from the elements. For example, ensuring all trees, shrubs, and other plants near your home’s foundation remain correctly hydrated can help reduce unnecessary pressure caused by soil shrinkage due to a lack of moisture. Additionally, you should inspect the soil grade around your home for proper drainage and ensure any window wells or gutters nearby are in working order. Taking these precautions in the early portions of summer will go a long way toward maintaining a stable and secure foundation for your home throughout the season.

Prevention and Solutions for Foundation Problems

Foundation problems are an issue that should not be taken lightly, as they can cause significant structural damage to your home if left unresolved. It is essential to take steps towards prevention—regularly check for any cracks in the foundation and address them immediately with a professional contractor. If stormwater exposure is causing erosion of the surrounding soil, ensure your gutters and downspouts are working correctly to move water away from the foundation. Sealing the exterior walls can help prevent damage caused by water infiltration. Suppose you already have significant damage due to neglected foundation issues. In that case, deeper solutions, such as underpinning certain foundation parts or installing drain tiles around its perimeter, may be required. A qualified contractor will be able to assess what needs to be done and ensure that any repairs are done correctly to preserve your home’s structural integrity.

Final Reminders

With the hot summer months well underway, it’s important to take extra measures to protect your home from the potential damage that warm temperatures can cause. A house with a slab foundation can easily be impacted by changes in external heat levels, making it vital to pay attention to any signs of cracking or movement. The most common issue with foundations during hot weather is called “heave,” where there are strong shifts in the soil underneath, causing movement of the concrete up and outward. It’s also important to make sure that you’re watering your lawn and flower beds regularly as this will help keep the soil moist, which helps reduce heave. Monitor your basement walls closely for any signs of moisture, and do not overburden old foundations with heavy furniture. Such proactive actions should give you confidence in protecting your foundation against conditions brought about by hot weather.

Do you have any signs of foundation repair in your home? Symptoms of foundation problems can range from small, almost invisible cracks to significant, hazardous issues that can compromise the structural integrity of your home. It’s essential to recognize the signs of a foundation problem and take the necessary steps to fix it. Here are some common symptoms that you might need foundation repair:

Cracks in Walls or Floors: Small hairline cracks in walls may seem minor, but they could be a sign that your home’s foundation is settling. If these cracks spread over time or begin to bow or curve, you should contact a professional for an inspection. It would help if you also looked for cracked tiles or flooring as well as warping or bowing walls which can indicate more significant structural problems.

Misaligned Doors and Windows: Out-of-plumb doors and windows can be another indication of foundation settlement. If your doors won’t close correctly or if there are gaps around doors and windows, this could be an indication that you need to address your home’s structural integrity with repairs.

Uneven Floors: Uneven floors may be a sign that there is an issue with the frame below them. This could be because of sinking foundations, soil washouts, dry rot, or even termite damage. Regardless of the cause, if you notice sloping floors, it’s important to have them inspected and repaired right away.

Sticking Doors: If one side of a door sticks while the other doesn’t, this could signal misalignment due to shifting foundations. Again, this is something that a professional should inspect before any further damage occurs.

Bowed Walls: Bowed walls are one of the most visible indicators that you need major foundation repairs on your property. These turned walls usually happen when large amounts of water enter the soil beneath your house, causing it to become unstable and shift over time. In these cases, it’s essential to hire a specialist to assess and make any necessary repairs in order to restore stability to your home’s structure.

Gaps Between Joists: Gaps between joists can indicate severe instability within the framework below your floorboards and even inside your basement walls or crawl spaces, where water seepage can occur without being noticed at first glance; again, this requires an inspection by a professional who will assess whether shoring solutions are needed such as additional piers (also known as pilings) which help support existing foundations from under the ground level up through all levels of construction. In some cases underpinning solutions might also be required underneath footings at different levels throughout entire construction projects in order to ensure overall stability for many years ahead – so don’t wait too long after noticing these types of gaps. Instead, contact professionals right away!

Water Damage & Mold Growth: Water damage often goes unnoticed until it’s too late – mold growth appears in hidden corners like attics, basements, crawlspaces, etc., indicating current (or past) moisture problems within structures caused due to excessive rainwater saturation over extended periods time leading up to settling/shifting conditions at base structures (which will require immediate attention). Additionally, check around areas like bathrooms/kitchens where plumbing leaks may reveal evidence of water buildup behind wall surfaces/ceilings, which will eventually lead to degradation of wallboard materials, thus creating visual warning signs later down the road that go unchecked for great lengths time – it is always best to catch these signs early before further costly damages occur.

Why CenTex Foundation Repair?

After 25 years of doing this, you learn to do things the RIGHT way. Unlike some outfits, we’re not in this for the experience. Already have plenty of that.

We give you more options
Because every foundation is unique, and you deserve the RIGHT solution. Heck, we even invented a new option with our exclusive CENTERBEAM STEEL PIER™.

We give you A TRUE Lifetime Warranty
Far too many foundation guys go out of business before you can ever redeem their warranty. But our warranty is legit.

We offer affordable payments that fit YOUR budget
Zero down with an average approval of 82%.

We’re always on the level
A crack in your sheetrock doesn’t necessarily mean you need foundation repair. We’ve built our success on telling our customers the TRUTH.

Like most people, homeowners have a limited amount of attention to give to any specific thing. Between jobs and personal obligations, most homeowners fall into an “out-of-sight, out-of-mind” approach when it comes to their homes. Unless something goes obviously wrong, they don’t worry about it. Unfortunately, that approach often lets moisture create foundation problems for you. Unlike some problems, foundation repair generally isn’t something you can DIY and it’s usually expensive. The longer the problem persists, the worse it gets. If you’re wondering how moisture can undermine your foundation, keep reading.

Types of Foundations

Before getting into the details of water and soil movement, it can prove helpful if you have a basic working knowledge of the two main types of foundations you find in homes. There are concrete slab foundations and pier and beam foundations.

Pier and Beam Foundation

The pier and beam approach supports the house by creating concrete pads. Those pads provide support for vertical posts at specific distances from each other. The posts support heavy crossbeams that run beneath the house.

You see these more often in older homes. You also see them more often in areas prone to flooding. This approach creates a crawlspace beneath the house. That empty space can give the water somewhere to go as long as the flooding isn’t too intense.

Concrete Slab

With a concrete slab foundation, the builders prepare the ground ahead of time by digging down and laying in a layer of sand or fine gravel. This provides some drainage from beneath the slab. Then, they put down a thick layer of concrete that becomes the slab.

If the home will include a basement, the same basic process happens. It just happens deeper down in the ground and will typically include concrete block walls that come up seven or eight feet around the edges.

While the concrete slab foundation approach is more common, it’s also a more costly approach because it uses substantially more concrete than the pier and beam method.

The Basics of Moisture-Related Foundation Damage

The most common way that moisture damages a foundation is through simple expansion and contraction. As the soil around your home gets wet, it expands. This alone can cause damage by putting pressure on your foundation. When the soil dries out, it contracts away from your foundation. This can create pockets of space around the foundation where water can accumulate the next time it rains.

Even worse, this process can slowly erode the soil around and even under your home. That erosion under your home can leave a slab foundation with uneven support. Then, as your home settles over time, it can eventually crack your slab foundation.

With the pier and beam foundations, erosion can prove even more problematic. If the soil beneath a couple of the posts under your home erodes, it leaves parts of your floor with no real support. While it might not collapse overnight, it puts pressure on that area of the floor and all of the structures around the unsupported spots.

Prevention

Prevention is the name of the game when it comes to your foundation. Granted, you can’t stop water from affecting the soil around your home. You can take steps to minimize the amount of water that hangs around right next to your foundation.

You need good drainage around your foundation. You can achieve some of that with basic grading of your lawn. While it doesn’t need to be extreme, your yard should gently slope away from the structure. That encourages surface water to flow away from your foundation.

Other options include building a rain garden, installing a drainage pipe, or even improving the soil around your home. You can also extend the length of your gutter drain, so the water exits it farther away from your foundation.

Foundation Problems and You

Many homeowners don’t look at their foundations all that often. If you’re not confident about your foundation’s condition, you can schedule inspections with a foundation company. They can alert you to any problems they spot. They can also give you some advice and possibly even referrals for improving the drainage situation around your home.

If there is damage to your foundation, don’t leave it for a more convenient time. Foundations problems only get worse the longer you leave them. You should schedule a consultation with a foundation repair service, such as CenTex Foundation Repair, to get an estimate for repairs.

For those not aware, Thursday, December 21, 2022, marks the official start of the Winter season in the Northern Hemisphere, which means cooler temperatures will soon be upon us here in the Lonestar state. For those who own homes, this is the time of year when you want to inspect your home as thoroughly and as frequently as time allows. Available data shows much of Texas has an average low temperature of 36 degrees Fahrenheit and an average high temperature of 59 degrees Fahrenheit during the winter. Compared to other states in the U.S., Texas doesn’t get that cold in the winter, but it gets cold enough to cause foundation damage, according to CenTex Foundation Repair, a leading foundation repair and house leveling services company in Central Texas,

How To Tell if Winter Has Damaged Your Foundation

When they do finally spot foundation damage, most homeowners are in disbelief. Most find it difficult to wrap their minds around how mildly cool temperatures could cause foundation damage that significantly affects their home. But the damage was not done by cooler temperatures alone but rather by a mix of cooler temperatures coupled with snowfall, freezing rain, and, in some cases, ice, all of which are common in many parts of Texas during winter. When cooler temperatures and varying forms of moisture permeate the soil that surrounds a home, it causes that soil to expand. The expansion of that soil causes the home’s foundation to settle, which often causes structural damage. Sometimes, signs of weather-related foundation and structural damage are subtle. Other times, they are unmistakable. Some of these signs include

Cracks

When temperatures drop below freezing, Texas experiences its fair share of frost. This frost freezes the top layer of soil surrounding a home. When outside temperatures warm up, the frozen soil thaws, and the moisture from the snowfall, ice, and rain that caused it to freeze sinks deeper into the Earth. During Texas winters, this freeze-thaw cycle happens repeatedly. The more this happens, the more the soil surrounding a home expands. The pressure generated by these expansions is enough to crack the concrete slab foundation that supports a home, not to mention its walls, floors, and ceilings. In addition to frost, cracks in a home’s foundation and interior and exterior can also stem from thermal expansion and concrete contraction, both of which by poor weather conditions.

Drainage Problems

When a home’s foundation is severely damaged, elevation problems are usually not too far behind. Foundational elevation problems can prevent snowmelt and rainwater from draining away from front doors, garages, and other access points. If foundational elevation problems are not corrected, snowmelt and rainwater will ultimately make their way into a home and cause considerable water damage. Since we are on the topic, it is worth noting that such foundational elevation issues seldom occur when a home is on a pier and beam foundation. Unlike homes that sit on a concrete slab foundation, homes sitting on a pier and beam foundation are higher off the ground, which allows water to drain away a lot easier.

Foundation Shifting

Like cracks, the constant freeze-thaw cycles commonly associated with winter in Texas make it more likely for foundational shifts to occur. Common signs of a shifting foundation include the following:

• A Lopsided or cracked chimney
• Cracked walls or ceilings
• Sticking windows or doors
• Uneven or slanted floors

While most Texas winters are damp, some are dry. During these temporary dry spells, the soil a home sits on starts to crack, shrink, and pull away from the foundation due to repeated freeze-thaw cycles. And this causes cracks and voids to form under the foundation, making it difficult for the foundation to support the weight of the home. When damp conditions return, moisture makes its way into that now less-stable soil. And when it does, the foundation loses its ability to support the home, and eventually, the foundation starts to shift.

In summary, several things can suggest your home’s foundation has been harmed by winter, from cracked walls and ceilings to drainage problems and shifts in the foundation. That said, if you notice any of these issues on your property this winter, it is best to have them inspected by a licensed and trusted foundation repair services company as soon as possible.

As a homeowner, there are many expensive problems to have with a home. One that many people worry about is a crumbling concrete foundation. Not only does it indicate a structural problem with your home, but it can mean a large unexpected expense for your budget.

Warning Signs of a Crumbling Foundation

Knowing the key signs to look for when it comes to a crumbling foundation is essential for all homeowners. Typically, the sooner you catch the problem, the less expensive it will be to handle. The following are all key warning signs that your foundation is likely starting to crumble:

• Cracks in your floors and walls
• Windows and doors that stick
• Gaps between your trim and floor

Whenever you first notice any of these signs that your foundation is crumbling, it’s imperative that you contact a professional to get a thorough inspection of the problem. The longer you let this issue develop, the more extensive the damage to your home’s foundation is going to be.

Most Common Causes of a Crumbling Foundation

While getting your foundation fixed is imperative to the overall health of your home, it’s only half of the solution. You need to know the culprit behind why your foundation started crumbling in the first place. This way, you can remedy the culprit so that it doesn’t create more damage in the future.

Non-Compacted Soil

Whenever a new home is built, the soil around it needs to be properly compacted. If it isn’t, then your home will settle in the soil over time. This can cause a shifting in your slab foundation that leads to crumbling damage.

Water

Water is one of the biggest culprits of a crumbling concrete foundation. Water can seep into small cracks and fractures in your concrete. When this happens, it will freeze in the colder weather and cause the crack or small fracture to expand.

It won’t take long for water to cause the blocks of a pier and beam foundation to start crumbling. If water is your culprit, it’s best to fix any drainage issues that your home has via a French drain, sump pump, or other solution to keep water from penetrating the foundation of your home.

Construction Materials

Construction materials continue to change over decades of home building. Homes that were built around the 1920s dealt with many material shortages. This led builders to mix up concrete with whatever materials were lying around. The result is a weakened concrete mixture that starts to crumble over time.

Geographical Region

Different regions of the country have varying soil types. Some soils are highly prone to holding excessive moisture, while others aren’t. Nowadays, home builders know which materials work best to extend the life of a home in a high moisture area as compared to a home in a lower moisture area.

Unfortunately, many homes just a couple of decades ago were all constructed of standard materials. This has led some homes to simply have their foundation deteriorate prematurely due to the soil at their geographical location.

How is a Crumbling Foundation Repaired?

When it comes to foundation repair, it’s always essential to call in a licensed and skilled professional like CenTex Foundation Repair for assistance. This type of professional will be able to properly assess the situation and determine the best route for repairing your specific issue.

Concrete Injections

If you’re dealing with a small contained area of a crumbling foundation, then injecting concrete into the cracks may be the quickest and most effective solution. The idea is that it will fill the gaps instead of letting water penetrate them and cause unwanted expansion that leads to crumbling.

Excavate and Install New Footings

If you’re dealing with a large amount of your foundation crumbling, then a more extensive approach will be necessary. A foundation repair company will excavate the land around your home and install new footings. This is the most effective way to deal with large amounts of crumbling to ensure the longevity of a prospective home.

Anchors

Anchors can be a great way to help ensure that your foundation stays in place. These anchors are drilled into the actual foundation of your home. The other end is drilled into the soil, where specialized anchors grip the soil. These tieback anchors are perfect for preventing your home’s vertical shifting and most damage from horizontal loads.

If you’re currently experiencing any crumbling with your foundation, then it’s time to give the experts at CenTex Foundation Repair a call today.

While you may be pulling out those winter clothes to help protect your body from the frigid temperatures, that’s not all that you need to do. Your home is highly susceptible to cold weather, especially your foundation. Preventing problems this winter is a necessity to ensure the safety and health of your family and your home.

Clean Your Gutters

While you may think of your gutters as a necessary accessory for your roof, that’s not their only purpose. They help to divert water away from the foundation of your home. Without proper diversion, water can pool and create a whole slew of issues like settling and health hazards. It’s best to clear out your gutters and downspouts before the winter season to prevent any clogging.

Insulate Your Pipes

The piping that runs throughout your home is highly susceptible to freezing during wintertime weather. When pipes freeze, they can easily burst and lead to excessive water damage. This problem can be easily avoided with the use of insulation on your piping. You can opt for tubular or tape insulation that works to keep your pipes above freezing temperatures.

Seal Up Any Foundation Cracking

Over time, your foundation may develop slight cracks. After having them properly assessed by a foundation expert to ensure that they’re not overly damaging to your home, it’s necessary to seal them up. If you don’t, water will penetrate them as the snow melts. As it gets cold, the water will freeze up and naturally expand. This will result in the cracks expanding even further and creating more damage to your home’s foundation.

Slope the Soil Around Your Home

Regardless of whether your home is built on a concrete slab or with pier and beam construction, it’s very important to the health of your home that the soil around it slopes away from your home. This helps to naturally force water away from your home with gravity,.

When moisture enters the soil and freezes, it will naturally expand. The soil will push upward to accommodate the expansion. If it can’t, it will push outward. By sloping your soil, you can ensure that it has adequate space to expand without putting any undue pressure on the outer foundation walls of your home.

Install Adequate Drainage Around Your Home

The goal of any homeowner should be to keep water as far away from their home as possible. One of the most popular ways to do this is with a french drain system. This involves placing a corrugated slotted pipe under the ground just slightly outside of your exterior walls.

As the water sinks into the soil, it will naturally follow the path of least resistance. In this case, that’s down the corrugated pipe. This pipe will lead to an area away from your home and sometimes even a drainage ditch. When you have adequate drainage installed around your basement, you don’t have to worry about excessive water pooling or damage during the winter season.

Get an Annual Inspection

As a smart homeowner, it pays to get an annual inspection of your home’s base. This will allow you to be alerted of issues while they’re small and cheap to fix. Additionally, it will allow you to fix these issues before the winter weather turns them into more massive problems.

Install a Frost-Free Discharge Line

If your home relies on a sump pump to remove excess water, then it’s necessary to properly prep it for winter. You should have a frost-free discharge line installed. This way, the exterior of your line that reaches the outdoors to discharge excess water doesn’t end up freezing. A frozen discharge line would mean that water can freely back up into your basement and cause major water damage issues.

Shovel Snow Away From Your Home

If you get snow throughout the winter season, then it’s absolutely vital that you pay attention to where you shovel it. Don’t just throw it against your home. This holds especially true for those who use snow rakes to remove excess snow from their roofs. Stacking snow up against your home can lead to excessive water and, eventually, penetration into your basement walls.

The foundation is arguably the most essential structural component of any home. It’s vital that you properly prep it for the cold winter season to ensure that it makes it through without any damage.

This Winter, No matter the cause or if the cracks are aesthetic or potentially hazardous, you can contact Centex Foundation Repair to fix the problem as professionally and quickly as possible. They will provide you with a full estimate on your slab foundation repair costs, give you plenty of options for financing and even offer you a lifetime warranty on the repairs.

When you’re building your home, one of the most important things to consider is the foundation. There are several different types of foundations, and they have a huge impact on your home’s stability. Two of the most common options are concrete slab foundations and pier and beam foundations. Both styles have their own benefits and repair requirements, so the right choice will mostly depend on your unique needs.

What’s the Difference Between Concrete Slab and Pier and Beam Foundations?

To understand how these types of foundation repair work, it’s important to understand how these foundations are made. A concrete slab foundation is the most common foundation in modern homes. It’s made of a big square of concrete poured directly into the ground. Some slab foundations may have cables or steel rods that help to reinforce the concrete.

A pier and beam foundation is more common in homes built before the 1960s. This is the type of foundation used for a home with a crawlspace. Piers made of concrete and rebar are driven deep into the ground. Then beams are rested on these piers to hold up the rest of the house.

Pros and Cons of These Foundation Types

If you’re currently in the process of picking out your foundation, you need to carefully consider the benefits of each foundation style.

The advantages of concrete slab foundations include:

• They’re very affordable to make.
• Water pipes in the slab are less likely to crack in a hard freeze.
• You can easily seal your home to keep rodents and other pests out.

Meanwhile, pier and beam foundations come with these perks:

• It’s easier to fix electrical and plumbing items, since you don’t have to break open a slab to access them.
• You can add extra insulation in between the piers and beams.
• Shifting soil won’t affect your foundation.
• This foundation is resting on bedrock, so it’s sturdier than a concrete slab.

Which Style of Foundation Is Easier to Repair?

If a foundation inspection brings up issues with your current foundation, you have a few different options. It is technically possible to convert between concrete slab or pier and beam foundations, but this is a very costly, time-consuming venture. Instead, you’re usually better off just repairing your current one.

Pier and beam foundations are usually cheaper to fix since you can do things like house leveling by just adjusting a single pier. Another perk of pier and beam foundation is that this older construction style lets you easily swap out individual parts as needed. However, concrete slab repair is often quicker. Furthermore, slabs don’t require as much maintenance, so they will need repairs less often.

Whether you have a slab foundation or a pier and beam foundation, it’s important to stay on top of foundation repairs. Ignoring a small problem can lead to big issues later on. To make the right decisions for your home, you need to carefully consider your needs and take the time to consult with foundation repair inspections.

When your foundation needs repairs, you have many options to choose from. Some foundations might need a simple patch, while others might need heavy reinforcement. Learning about the different types of home foundation repair can help you discover which style is best for your situation.

Masonry Patches

A patch can help reinforce the structure when cracks run through a foundation. These patches usually involve adding masonry to the crack and then covering it with a waterproof sealant. These patches blend hydraulic cement, silicone, vinyl concrete, polyurethane, or epoxy. 

This repair method works very well for handling cracks undermining a foundation. However, remember that these patches are not guaranteed to solve everything. For example, if the cracks are caused by shifting soil underneath the home, the patched foundation will just crack again in another spot.

Slab Jacking

Slab jacking may be an option whenever a concrete slab foundation is uneven. Also called mud jacking or concrete lifting, this technique starts with drilling small holes in the foundation. The technician then injects a polyurethane or cement mixture into the holes to fill up the area under the slab. They push up the slab until it is level again.

These repairs work best for foundations where the soil has shifted and left a space underneath. Though they can technically be done on whole houses, slab jacking techniques work best in smaller areas. Home foundation repair companies often use this repair for fixing porches, walkways, driveways, or garages. 

Soil Stabilization

Soil stabilization works by adding materials to the ground to support your existing foundation more thoroughly. Unlike slab jacking, the material is blended throughout the soil instead of pumped into one hollow spot.

This home foundation repair method is minimally invasive while being longer-lasting than slab jacking. However, it requires expert knowledge of how various soil types shift and compress over the years.

Piling and Piering

This foundation repair method involves pressing long piers or piles into the ground underneath the foundation. The underlying bedrock or soil holds them in place while they support the house. Multiple materials are used for this home foundation repair type, including steel beams, molded concrete, or poured concrete.

The big advantage of these techniques is that they are effective and long-lasting. Once the piers are in place, you can be confident your foundation is properly supported. However, this tends to be a lengthier project that requires specialized equipment. It is usually only recommended in places where the foundation is very unstable.

Ultimately, each one of these repairs has its specific benefits and uses. It is not always obvious which style of home foundation repair will work for your house. To make the right choice, you will need professional assistance. Contact our team for an expert evaluation if you want the best foundation home repair for your situation.