Foundation Repair Photo Album: Lifting Settling Foundation With Steel Push Piers - Portland, OR

The foundation of this home had cracked in several places, alerting the homeowner to possible structural issues. She went online to figure out what company to call to come out and inspect the foundation. Through her online research, she learned that John's is the leading structural repair company in her area, and he was pleased after seeing many 5-Star Reviews on our completed work. She called us, and we got her on our schedule quickly. Our Structural Design Specialist arrived at the home, and performed a thorough and in-depth inspection of the entire foundation and crawl space. After his inspections, he presented his findings and solutions to the homeowner. In regards to the foundation, he found several vertical cracks - indicative of a settling foundation. He explained to the homeowner that the settling was caused by many years of compression and expansion of the soil beneath the home. In the crawl space, he found evidence of water intrusion, supporting the reasoning behind the compression and expansion of the soil supporting the home. To lift the settling foundation back to its correct and level height, he recommended installing Push Piers, and utilizing hydraulic force to lift the home back up. To ensure that the ground in the crawl space would remain dry and stable, he suggested waterproofing the space with our Pipe, Pump, Plastic System, to collect and expel all water intrusion safely away from the home. The homeowner agreed with both recommended solutions, and we got her on our schedule within a timely manner. When our crew of Structural and Waterproofing experts arrived, they began by digging out a portion of ground in front of the settling foundation wall, to make room to work. Next, they bolted 6 Steel Brackets directly onto the concrete foundation wall, to hold the Push Piers in place. With the Brackets secured, they used hydraulic force to drive Steel Push Piers through each Bracket, deep into the weight bearing stratum of the Earth. Once the Piers reached this highly dense and supportive soil, the crew continued driving the Piers down until the home was lifted back up to its appropriate height. After the successful lifting of the home, the crew covered up the Piers with the dirt they had previously dug out, leaving a nice finished appearance. Now it was time to waterproof the crawl space. First, our crew removed all of the old and nasty debris, and then they dug a narrow trench along the full interior perimeter of the space. Inside of the trench, they laid our 3" Perforated Piping, to collect and route all water into a SuperSump Pump. The Pump will then expel all water safely away from the home via a discharge line. To ensure proper electrical supply to the Pump, our Electrical Division installed a dedicated Outlet for the machine. Directly on top of the ground inside the crawl space, the crew laid down our 6 Mil Black Plastic Vapor Barrier, to prevent any moisture from leeching in through the ground. The foundation of this home will now be permanently supported by the installation of highly effective and heavy-duty Steel Push Piers. Our crew of Structural and Waterproofing Experts have successfully restored structural integrity and longevity to this family home! We are grateful that this homeowner rightfully entrusted us to complete these essential repairs. By hiring the Experts here at John's, this homeowner can rest assured, knowing that she hired the right company to protect the stability and life-long investment she has into her home!