Failing foundations can happen for a range of reasons. When you have a failure, what should you do? One historically bad idea is to bring in bags or trucks of concrete to pour under the existing home. The belief behind this is - Concrete is a solid base, it is used for footings, it spreads the load out, and it will fill all the voids. And while these are all true of concrete, the one aspect you do not see listed is the weight of concrete. Concrete weighs nearby 145 lbs./cubic ft, although depending on the mix it could be more or less. If you multiply by 27 you will get the weight by cubic yard (which is a thorough for concrete trucks) = 3915 lbs/cubic yard. (as a side note: soil can weigh between 60-120 lbs/cubic foot).
We will use an example of a angle of a home that is showing settlement on a 10x10 angle of the house. If a undertaker of a package deal decided to pour concrete under this corner, he may want to pour it one foot thick and may go 2-3 feet into the existing home. If that's the case then he would have poured 40-60 cubic ft of concrete (or 2-3 yards). This equates to adding between 7,830 and 11,745 lbs to the angle of your home. Stay with me - because an median particular story brick house on a slab weighs nearby 1,141 lbs per foot (or for this 10x10 area - 21,679 lbs). Basically, the undertaker of a package deal just increased the weight of your home by 50% - and this is using conservative numbers of what the undertaker of a package deal poured, and a very modest home (a 2 story brick house on a basement would have a weight of 3,656 lbs per foot). We have heard stories and seen jobs where the whole of concrete poured under a angle of house is 6-7 yards or nearby 25,000 lbs.
DRYWALL SETTLEMENT
All of this to say that if your home is settling due to poorly compacted soils, loose soils, organic debris, manufacturer debris, water issues, etc then the soil does not have the enough bearing capacity to preserve your home. If the soil was not good enough to preserve the existing structure, why would anyone add a 10-30,000 lb anchor to an already sinking foundation? Once more, what do you think this will do when you have to mend the house after the concrete is poured? This mend - which would have cost a few thousand dollars to begin with, will finally cost some thousand dollars - not to mention you may not be able to lift a buildings once you have added all the supplementary weight of concrete.
Before you decide to go with a undertaker of a package deal that wants to pour concrete under a angle of your home, or if you are reasoning of pouring concrete under your home, do some explore about helical piers and resistance piers. If you are a homeowner, then your largest speculation depends on how you decide to mend a sinking foundation.
Background: Helical and Resistance Piers are considered deep foundations, which mean they both lanch areas of poor soils to reach soils of enough bearing capacity. They do not add weight to your structure, and require itsybitsy disturbance nearby your home to install. They last for years and years and typically come with long warranties to protect against any future issues. Atlas Piers provides services in repairing foundations.
Use a Helical Or Resistance Pier Instead of Pouring Concrete Under a Failing Foundation DRYWALL SETTLEMENT
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