Utah contractor fully licensed and insured by FoundationprosofUtah: Searching for a foundation repair company in Utah? If you want an unbiased opinion on your home, have a structural engineer assess your home. Engineers have nothing to sell but their services, so they will only recommend what is necessary to ensure the stability and and safety of a home. The average cost is around $400-$500.
These inspections should be conducted both inside the home (within the basement) and along all exterior surfaces of the foundation. In order to make absolutely sure your foundation is in the best possible condition, a professional should be the one to conduct the investigation of your foundation and assess the situation. By hiring a professional you are guaranteed a thorough investigation of your foundation. A professional has comprehensive knowledge of what your home foundation repair needs. They will not only fix the problem but give your home a stronger support system.
Avoid spending large amounts of money on misguided works that actually reduce the property’s value. Kerb appeal is obviously fundamental when it comes to attracting buyers, so doing anything that messes up an older building’s appearance, no matter how well-intentioned, can be counter-productive. The prime example of this is artificial stone cladding glued to the walls, which apart from looking dire has a tendency over time to start cracking with bits dropping off, blocking windows and air vents. Widening and enlarging window openings can create an instant ‘character transplant’, and putting plastic fascias and windows into period buildings is one of the quickest ways of losing money by slashing their market value.
Chad is a 3rd Generation contractor. He was raised in West Texas with strong family values. Being a third-generation graduate of Texas Tech University, Chad put himself through college just as his mother and grandmother did before him. After graduation Chad became a property adjuster specializing in foundation claims for State Farm because it not only required his new degree but also allowed him to use the contracting experience he gained while running his business during college. Upon the arrival of his third child with his wife Deena, Chad knew his income would have to increase. When Chad left State Farm, he went back into general contracting in Houston Texas. Discover more details at Salt Lake City Foundation Repair.
If your house is brand new those cracks are probably nothing much to worry about but do your homeowner due diligence and keep your eye on them over time. If they change in size or shape, or you see new ones, that’s a different story. Those cracks should be addressed quicker. Older homes can have foundations created from just about any material including stacked stones with mortar joints. I had one of these homes in the northeast U.S. and the foundation was in need of a bit of love; it and the house were over 150 years old. It’s easy to show age at 150! The foundation had a small leak in the older mortar and the water caused a slight bow; this happened long before I bought the home. One of the easiest ways to fix that was by doing basement foundation waterproofing. A waterproofing paint was applied to the whole wall from the inside. As I mentioned, the French drain was also installed in the yard to pull water away from the foundation. I made sure to complete these fixes as soon as I noticed the problem. The wall didn’t seem to move or leak again after I learned how to make those repairs to save my stone foundation.
Be careful with landscaping. Did you know that you can actually compromise your home’s foundation by planting trees too close to your home? Trees that develop deep roots in close proximity to the home’s foundation can actually cause a number of issues in the years to come. Make sure you know how far roots stretch before planting.
There are several causes for the foundation movement that occurs in and around your home. These problems in the Salt Lake City and surrounding areas are most commonly poor compaction, soil erosion and soil shrinking and expansion due to clay content. All of these causes are a direct result of the soil under your home and its temperature and water content. All of the solutions that we offer deal with eliminating or by-passing these causes.
If you’re building tiered retaining walls, set each tier back far enough to prevent the weight and pressure of the wall above from destroying the one below it. The rule of thumb is to separate wall tiers by a distance that’s no less than twice the height of the wall below. So if the bottom wall is 4 feet tall, the wall above it should be built at least 8 feet behind it. Walls more than 4 feet tall will likely require a building permit and a plan made by a licensed engineer. The engineer will specify the base’s width and depth, how far down the base course should be buried, and whether or not a geogrid (soil reinforcement system) should be used.After your drainpipe is in place, you should backfill the rest of the space behind the blocks with either sand or pea gravel—either will allow water to filter through to the drainpipe at the base of the wall. For the best results, backfill with a few inches of the material after laying each course of blocks, and use a hand tamper to compact the material. By tamping the backfill every six inches or so, you’ll ensure that it is packed tightly, which will provide additional support from the pressure of the soil behind the wall.