Foundation Problems in Vine Grove, KY

Foundation problems can occur at any time of the year, regardless of the weather, but many foundation problems become obvious during our drier fall and winter months because the soil settles.

Foundation Problems Due to Moisture

Virtually all foundation problems like cracking brick, sagging floors, and bowing walls are rooted in the interaction between the soil surrounding your home and the presence or absence of moisture.

The soil here in Vine Grove, KY is compromised of a silty clay, that's pretty normal for river deposited areas like Hardin county. The silty clay is capable of absorbing a great deal of water. The biggest concern is that silty clay isn't going to uniformly absorb water--it's not like a sponge, for instance--which means that certain areas of soil will push harder on certain areas of your foundation. This can lead to bulging or bowing walls.

Foundation Problems Due to the Absence of Moisture

During the fall and winter months, silty clay soil like ours absorbs less moisture--either because it's drier, or because the ground freezes. This leads the silty clay to dessecate, or dry out. As the soil dries out, you will notice settling. Settling foundations are the most frequently referenced concern from homeowners because a settling foundation creates cracking around windows and doors on all levels, causes stair step cracking in brick and block walls and foundations, causes doors to stick, and cracks drywall and plaster.

Repairing Foundation Problems

It is very important to address possible foundation concerns quickly, especially this time of year because settling can increase in severity quickly, causing more damage. Additionally, when one area of your foundation is settling, it puts strain on the more stable areas of the foundation. A really good way to envision what's happening to your foundation is to hold a clipboard or oversized book with one hand on each of the shorter sides. Now, pull down lightly with your left hand, just like gravity is forcing your home down with that settling soil. You can feel the increased upward pull on your right hand because the entire structure is being forced to respond to what's happening on that lower side. The same goes for your foundation in most cases.

There are times that the force of a settling corner, for example, can crack the foundation and just break a corner off from the rest of the foundation, but that's a more extreme situation than we're focusing on today.

Deep Foundation Piering

Thankfully, there is a proven method of repair that will permenantly offweight a shifting or settling foundation onto more stable soil. This method is referred to commonly as deep foundation piering, piering, or resistance piering. Throughout the nation and across the world, as well as in our own backyards, installers and engineers have successfully installed and tested deep foundation piering and found that it is effective in virtually every soil and is long lasting.

Here's how it works:

Rugged steel brackets are mounted under your foundation footers to rest directly under the foundation walls. Galvinized steel piers are then hydraulically driven through the soil until the piers come to rest on bedrock or other load bearing strata. Hydraulic readings are taken to ensure that the piers are truly resting on that strata. Next, the foundation is hydraulically lifted using the resistence provided by the weight of the house (hence the name resistence piering) to return the foundation to level condition.

If you are seeing cracking, settling, bowing, or buckling, it's time to contact a professional who can help you determine how to repair these issues. The foundation experts at Healthy Spaces are happy to come to your home and provide a full evaluation, providing you with repair options for free. At Healthy Spaces, we are the experts of everything down under your home and we want to help put you back on a solid foundation!