Foundation Repair Photo Album: Lifting of Settling Foundation and Subfloor - Portland, OR

These homeowners called on John's after noticing that the flooring in their home was sloped in several areas, preventing them from being able to shut doors smoothly. They figured this must be a structural issue, so they called on their local Structural Repair Experts here at John's. We assured them they had called the right place, and got them on our schedule. Our Design Specialist arrived at their home, listened to their concerns, and then performed a thorough inspection of both the homes crawl space and foundation. After completing his inspections, he approached the homeowners with his findings and offered them customized, professional solutions. He explained to them that he found many cracks in the concrete foundation walls, as well as crawl space posts that were not properly supporting the subfloor of the home. These issues were caused by water entering the crawl space for many years, leading to soil compression and expansion beneath the home. This had in turn, caused the uneven floors inside of the home. When our crew of Structural and Waterproofing Experts arrived at the home, they wasted no time and got straight to it! First, they addressed the settling foundation. For this, they began by cutting out sections of the concrete patio along the foundation wall, to make room to install Steel Push Piers. Push Piers are highly effective foundation lifting components, and will remain in place after installation to support the weight of the home and prevent future settling. To install them, our crew first bolted 12 Steel Brackets directly onto the foundation wall, spaced evenly apart along the settling wall. Next, using hydraulic force, they drove Steel Push Piers through the Brackets, deep into the weight bearing stratum of the earth. After reaching this highly dense and supportive soil, they continued driving the Piers down further, until the home was lifted back up to its correct and level height. After the installation was complete, they covered each of the Piers with soil, and then built concrete forms on top of them. To leave a nice finished appearance, they poured concrete into the forms, covering the Piers. This left the original concrete patio intact with no holes. The next task at this home was installing 11 Steel SmartJack Piers in the crawl space to lift the subfloor back up. SmartJacks are "jacked up" until the overhead floor is once again level. They remain in place and are adjustable in the future if need be. They are much longer lasting and more effective than traditional wooden posts. The final step in repairs at this home was installing our Pipe, Pump, Plastic System in the crawl space. This consisted of laying down 3" Perforated Pipe along the full interior perimeter of the space, to catch all water intrusion and route it to a SuperSump Pump, to be expelled safely away from the home. On top of the Piping, we laid down our 6 Mil Black Plastic Vapor Barrier, to prevent moisture from seeping in through the ground. The crawl space of this home has now been addressed, which will ensure that the disastrous affects of groundwater and will no longer befall this home. Additionally, the integrity of the entire structure of the home has now been restored, thanks to the expert installation of heavy-duty steel repair components by the experts here at John's! These homeowners made an excellent decision by rightfully entrusting John's to return safety, stability, and longevity to their family home.