Stabilize Your Foundation With Soil Stabilization and Concrete Lifting
Foundation cracks? Uneven concrete slabs? Soil stabilization may be in your future.
When too much water permeates the ground near your home, or if the soil was not properly prepared for building or adding concrete, the soil can erode.
The result can be cracks in your foundation and leaks in your basement, as well as unleveled sidewalks, walkways, and driveways that are a tripping hazard.
Both impact the curb appeal and safety of your home.
Foundation repair and removing and relaying concrete can be very costly, but soil stabilization and concrete lifting offer effective solutions that are also cost-effective.
Soil Expansion and Rain Can Result in Erosion When concrete is laid, whether for a foundation, a slab for a house, or for walkways and the like, keeping everything in place depends on building on stable soil.
This means there should be a low percentage of clay, as clay expands and moves the foundation.
Expansion that is not uniform leads to cracks.
If Mother Nature has not bestowed the area with good soil, a good builder will fill the dirt and properly compact it to minimize shifting and maximize drainage.
After a house is constructed, pelting rain that is not diverted with proper gutters, downspouts, and rain extension can also erode soil and infiltrate the foundation.
Ideally, you can keep your foundation in good shape with good stormwater management techniques and improving the drainage.
Soil Stabilization Fights Erosion One way to undo the damage caused by erosion is with soil stabilization, a technique of pumping low viscosity single component polyurethane into the ground.
The product binds loose soil and hardens it enough to make foundations.
Depending on moisture in the ground, the soil is stabilized within two hours.
Serious foundation problems often require repairs to the crack with epoxies and polyurethane foams in addition to infiltrating the soil.
If stabilizing soil does not help restore the foundation to its original position after slippage, a contractor may need to raise the house with piers for support.
The technique of injecting foam to stabilize soil can also lift up concrete surfaces like patios and walkways.
While injecting foam into the foundation can strengthen small nearby surfaces, additional slabjacking or foam jacking is usually needed on larger areas further away from the foundation.
To get the foam under the concrete lifted, the contractor drills holes into the concrete and injects the foam through the holes.
Slabjacking can level out concrete on driveways, sidewalks, walkways, around swimming pools, on steps, and garage floors.
Cost of Foam Injections to Stabilize Soil and Lift Concrete In comparison to other methods of soil stabilization and concrete repair, foam injection offers many advantages.
The process offers structural integrity, moisture resistance, high durability, and great compaction ability.
It is quick and clean.
While cost varies throughout the country, the process costs from $3-10 a square foot.
In contrast, adding slab peers to support a foundation might cost between $20-40 per square foot, while replacement might run upwards of $30 per square foot.
When working on slabs away from the foundation, the cost is usually based on the number of holes the contractor has to drill, with the cost to fill each hole being about $150.
When you have signs of foundation damage or have lifted concrete at your home, consider the benefits of soil stabilization and slab lifting with foam injections.
When too much water permeates the ground near your home, or if the soil was not properly prepared for building or adding concrete, the soil can erode.
The result can be cracks in your foundation and leaks in your basement, as well as unleveled sidewalks, walkways, and driveways that are a tripping hazard.
Both impact the curb appeal and safety of your home.
Foundation repair and removing and relaying concrete can be very costly, but soil stabilization and concrete lifting offer effective solutions that are also cost-effective.
Soil Expansion and Rain Can Result in Erosion When concrete is laid, whether for a foundation, a slab for a house, or for walkways and the like, keeping everything in place depends on building on stable soil.
This means there should be a low percentage of clay, as clay expands and moves the foundation.
Expansion that is not uniform leads to cracks.
If Mother Nature has not bestowed the area with good soil, a good builder will fill the dirt and properly compact it to minimize shifting and maximize drainage.
After a house is constructed, pelting rain that is not diverted with proper gutters, downspouts, and rain extension can also erode soil and infiltrate the foundation.
Ideally, you can keep your foundation in good shape with good stormwater management techniques and improving the drainage.
Soil Stabilization Fights Erosion One way to undo the damage caused by erosion is with soil stabilization, a technique of pumping low viscosity single component polyurethane into the ground.
The product binds loose soil and hardens it enough to make foundations.
Depending on moisture in the ground, the soil is stabilized within two hours.
Serious foundation problems often require repairs to the crack with epoxies and polyurethane foams in addition to infiltrating the soil.
If stabilizing soil does not help restore the foundation to its original position after slippage, a contractor may need to raise the house with piers for support.
The technique of injecting foam to stabilize soil can also lift up concrete surfaces like patios and walkways.
While injecting foam into the foundation can strengthen small nearby surfaces, additional slabjacking or foam jacking is usually needed on larger areas further away from the foundation.
To get the foam under the concrete lifted, the contractor drills holes into the concrete and injects the foam through the holes.
Slabjacking can level out concrete on driveways, sidewalks, walkways, around swimming pools, on steps, and garage floors.
Cost of Foam Injections to Stabilize Soil and Lift Concrete In comparison to other methods of soil stabilization and concrete repair, foam injection offers many advantages.
The process offers structural integrity, moisture resistance, high durability, and great compaction ability.
It is quick and clean.
While cost varies throughout the country, the process costs from $3-10 a square foot.
In contrast, adding slab peers to support a foundation might cost between $20-40 per square foot, while replacement might run upwards of $30 per square foot.
When working on slabs away from the foundation, the cost is usually based on the number of holes the contractor has to drill, with the cost to fill each hole being about $150.
When you have signs of foundation damage or have lifted concrete at your home, consider the benefits of soil stabilization and slab lifting with foam injections.
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