Foundation Failure can occur to any age or size of house. Most foundation failures can be repaired. Some of the most common issues are:
- Bowing Block Walls
- Most noticeable by a horizontal crack in the block wall. Generally caused by hydrostatic water pressure building on the outside of a wall.
- Repair options include Helical Tieback Anchors, Carbon Fiber Reinforcement, I-Beams/Soldier Beams, Plate Anchors.
- Cracks in Poured Basement Walls
- Cracks that allow water to penetrate or get larger with time. Generally these cracks are vertical and could be caused by normal shrinkage/stress or from settlement issues.
- Brick Cracks
- Stair step cracking through mortar joints or cracking the brick.
- Leaning Chimneys
- When a chimney leans away from the house the chimney can be stabilized with helical or resistance piers.
- Note: Chimneys that lean over the home are rarely a foundation issue - these are most commonly a structural issue.
- Failing stoops or porches
- These are some of the most common issues and can be noticed by cracking between the stoop/house or stairs/stoop.
- In many cases stairs can be rebuilt less expensively than the repair cost. Repair options include helical piers and polyurethane foam.
- Cracked or Settling Concrete Slabs
- Concrete will nearly always crack - but when you notice one side of the crack is higher or lower than the other, or the crack is growing, you may have a problem. If this is on Driveways or Sidewalks, it is not a foundation problem and can be repaired by one of our partner companies.
- Cracking Above the Garage Column
- A crack above the center column of a two or three car garage can often mean the column is settling.
- Cracks above a double door opening that are wider at the bottom and smaller at the top are generally a steel lintel or beam problem and not a foundation issue.
All of the above can be a cause for serious concern. But not every issue needs to be repaired. If you have a foundation problem, you may also see sheet rock cracking, brick cracks or you find your floors are sloping towards one side of the house. If any of these issues are present at your home, you may have a foundation problem.
The majority of foundation problems are caused by:
- Poorly compacted fill materials
- Water drainage or pooling
- Organic debris or organic material in fill soils
- Shrinking or swelling soils (when present)
- While this happens in many parts of the United States - here is Georgia it is much less common.
For a list of the most common foundation repair problems check out our page "Common Problems in Foundation Settlement"
Atlanta Foundation Repair