Foundation Repair Photo Album: Foundation Settlement in Evansville, IN

One of the most common foundation problems in Evansville is the compaction, or settling, of the fill soils around a home. This is due in part to the composite soil in the area. The soil in our area is comprised of a mixture of silty clay and loamy sand. Most of this soil was deposited through sedimentary run off over hundreds of years. This combination of soil leads to a variety of issues when combined with our level of ground water. The ground around the foundation settles because the loamy sand compacts with the influx of water from rain, sprinklers, etc. This leads to foundation settlement that can cause stair step cracking, doors and windows that do not open and close properly. In the following pictures, we will look at common indications of foundation settlement.

Overview of Foundation Settlement in Evansville Basement

In this photo, you can see the block foundation walls and the areas that have experienced stair-step cracking and foundation movement. In this situation, the corner of the home has settled as the fill soils around the foundation compacted. In the area direction above the air hockey table, you can see where an attempt to fill the cracking was made, but that the area is still visibly shifting.

Close up of Foundation Settlement in Corner of Evansville Basement

In this photo, you can see that the blocks of the wall are no longer sitting squarely atop one another. The corner of the foundation has settled away from the home and has lost elevation. This has also caused water entering the basement to pool in that corner. A settling corner of a home is an indication of foundation movement occuring in the home.

Close Up of Northeast Foundation Wall in Evansville Basement

In this shot, you can see where the foundation has cracked. The way that Healthy Spaces will go about repairing this damage is to insert deep foundation piers under the foundation to offload the weight of the home from the unstable soil onto a solid load-bearing strata, or bedrock. This will permenantly stabilize the foundation from vertical movement. This will be accomplished by placing a heavy duty steel bracket under the foundation footer and hydraullically driving a pier segments into the earth. The Healthy Spaces expert determined that a total of four push piers are needed to return this home to level condition. Two piers will be placed on the northeast side of the foundation and two on the southeast side to lift the foundation back to the proper height.

Water Intrusion Causing Foundation Settlement in Evansville Basement

Here, you can see how there has been water intrusion in the basement numerous times. Virtually every foundation settlement problem can be traced back to the absence of adequate groundwater, or the overabundance of water. In order to handle both the water intrusion and the foundation settlement, the experts at Healthy Spaces will be installing both a Waterguard system and a foundation stabilization push pier system.