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Kathy's concerns about her cracking slab foundation were growing, so she called our professionals at Ayers. We sent a crew for an inspection of this area so we could make the proper recommendation which was our Helical Piers. This system consists of the helical plates welded to the pier shaft. The plates help to pull the pier into the soil during installation. It will provide anchoring strength as the weight of the foundation or structural element is transferred to the pier. This is a permanent and versatile solution. The piers are installed in the soil using our professional, small construction equipment or hand equipment. This solution will prevent any further foundation settling and in many cases, it has lifted the home back to a level position. Now Kathy has assured her foundation's safety!
This homeowner called us because over time their basement wall had began to bow inward. This was a slow process and has horizontal cracks around the bowing. They weren't experiencing any water issues...yet. We assured them it was best to get it fixed before they did have a foot of water in the basement or before the foundation failed.
After a careful inspection and talking to the homeowners we both decided the best solution to the problem would be to install our Carbon Fiber straps. Carbon fiber is made of a very high tensile strength that is impossible to stretch. This makes it easy to adhere the carbon fiber to the bowing wall. This makes the wall stay where it's at without getting any worse over more time.
Roger wanted to move back to Michigan with his family and create a forever home with the kids and grandkids. He was hoping to someday pass this home along to his children but he needed to home to last that long. Some of the floors in the home were tilting and he was worried that this was a sign of bigger issues with the foundation. When we had our inspection, we noticed that the floors were not being supported like they should, with some areas not really being supported at all. We used SmartJacks to stabilize the floors and even raise them back up to the correct level. These crawl space support posts are adjustable at anytime, in case the home needs it, so that the home is always supported and the homeowner can enjoy it for many years!
This homeowner in Alpena, MI called us because he had multiple problems with his foundation. The porch had caved in, the floors are no longer level, and as you can see in the “Before” photo, cracks were beginning to form on the outside. What you cannot see however, is that cracks were also forming on the inside of the house.
This foundation needs to be stabilized, and our Helical Piers are just the right application for this type of job. These are long steel shafts, placed deep into the ground of the soil. The footing of the home sits on top of these shafts using a heavy-duty steel anchor. Typically, like in this case, we install these anchors by excavating soil around the exterior of the home down to the footing and advancing the piers. These piers have the ability to help raise foundations back to their original position, and the installation is very fast and effective.
If you feel that you are beginning to have foundation issues in your home, please do not hesitate to call us. and we can come out for a free inspection.
This summer cottage in Presque Isle, MI was built in the early 70’s, and over the years, the walls and floors in the home had become a little unstable. Our System Design Specialist entered the cinderblock-walled crawl space to install the SmartJack system to address this problem. Three high strength, steel support beams were installed along the floor joists then tightened in place to immediately stabilize the joist and lift the walls and floors back to their original position. The only system of its kind to address problem soils beneath the home, SmartJacks’ custom-designed structural footing base is engineered to effectively bear the weight of the home. This long-term solution will allow this cottage to see many more summers!