Foun­da­tion Under­pin­ning Systems

A foun­da­tion under­pin­ning sys­tem is used to add addi­tion­al sup­port to a home that is found to be sink­ing. When installed prop­er­ly it will pre­vent fur­ther ver­ti­cal set­tle­ment. Homes sink typ­i­cal­ly due to soil con­di­tions. In the Mid­west, clay soils are most com­mon. Clay soil expands when it rains and shrinks when it is dry. Extreme wet peri­ods fol­lowed by extend­ed drought con­di­tions can cause a home to sink. Changes could take years to notice, but over time you may see cracks in walls, unlev­el floors, doors and win­dows that stick and are hard to open.

Why would I need foun­da­tion Underpinning? 

If it has been deter­mined that your home is sink­ing, then a foun­da­tion under­pin­ning sys­tem can be a great solu­tion. There are two com­mon types of steel under­pin­ning sys­tems used in the indus­try. One is referred to as a Heli­cal Pier (a large, approx­i­mate­ly 10-inch diam­e­ter screw) while the oth­er is called a Resis­tance Pier (approx­i­mate­ly 3‑inch diam­e­ter pipe). 

What is a Heli­cal Pier in foun­da­tion repair? 

A Heli­cal Pier is a large steel screw approx­i­mate­ly 10-inch­es in diam­e­ter that is screwed into the earth in strate­gic loca­tions (approx­i­mate­ly 6‑feet apart). Large holes are dug next to the foun­da­tion in order to install these piers. Once the piers are dri­ven, a steel brack­et is placed under the foot­ing (the widened con­crete base the foun­da­tion wall sits on) and attached to the pier. 

What is a Resis­tance Pier in foun­da­tion repair? 

A Resis­tance Pier is an approx­i­mate­ly 3‑inch diam­e­ter steel pipe that is pushed into the earth, using a hydraulic cylin­der (spe­cial equip­ment used to cre­ate force to push the piers) to a depth where soils can sup­port the weight of the build­ing. It is not uncom­mon to dri­ve Resis­tance Piers 50-feet or more into the ground. These piers are typ­i­cal­ly placed approx­i­mate­ly 6‑feet apart and require that we dig large holes in order to install them next to the footing. 

What is the best way to fix a sink­ing foun­da­tion in the Midwest?

In the Mid­west, Resis­tance Piers are most com­mon­ly used to sta­bi­lize / lift a home that is found to be sink­ing. Because of the occa­sion­al sub­ze­ro tem­per­a­tures, we have a 36-inch frost line (depth the ground can typ­i­cal­ly freeze to) with 42-inch deep foot­ings. The deep­er the con­crete foot­ings the more the build­ing weighs which cre­ates an ide­al con­di­tion to use Resis­tance Piers. Resis­tance Piers rely on the weight of the build­ing to push the piers to the prop­er depth, which aver­ages 55-feet into the ground. Oth­er parts of the coun­try, with shal­low foun­da­tions and light frame struc­tures, would be bet­ter suit­ed for a Heli­cal Pier because it screws into the ground and does not rely on the weight of the building. 

Can foun­da­tion prob­lems be per­ma­nent­ly repaired? 

Yes, most sink­ing foun­da­tion prob­lems can be per­ma­nent­ly repaired if the entire prob­lem is addressed. The first step to ensur­ing a per­ma­nent fix is to iden­ti­fy what caused the build­ing to sink in the first place. While foun­da­tion con­trac­tors can quick­ly design and quote a prop­er pier­ing sys­tem, few take the time to deter­mine the root cause of the prob­lem and address it in their repair plan. This total solu­tion ensures a per­ma­nent repair. 

What can I do to keep my house from sinking? 

Improv­ing water man­age­ment around your home is the most impor­tant thing you can do to reduce the chance of your home sink­ing. Increas­ing the size of the gut­ter and down­spout sys­tem along with semi-annu­al gut­ter clean­ing is the first big step. Extend­ing the down­spouts and sump pump dis­charge 10 to 15-feet from your foun­da­tion ensures the water has less impact on the soil beneath the home. Re-pitch­ing pave­ment to fur­ther divert water away is also beneficial. 

Why Choose U.S. Waterproofing? 

Total peace of mind. We start with a free in-home con­sul­ta­tion where one of our high­ly trained Struc­tur­al Advi­sors will pro­vide you with a prop­er diag­no­sis, detailed repair plan, and cost of repair. 

We know home improve­ment projects can be over­whelm­ing, espe­cial­ly when it comes to your home’s foun­da­tion. To lessen your stress, we assign a Field Super­vi­sor to vis­it your home and review the project with you in depth. Your Field Super­vi­sor can answer all your ques­tions pri­or to sched­ul­ing the work. 

Our Pier­ing Sys­tems come with a wor­ry free 30-year trans­ferrable war­ran­ty (for res­i­den­tial home­own­ers). Since 1957, U.S Water­proof­ing has been com­mit­ted to unmatched cus­tomer ser­vice and get­ting the job done right the first time. We stand by our work and have over 500,000 sat­is­fied cus­tomers to our name. Sched­ule your free con­sul­ta­tion online today!