In celebration of the Halloween season, people are up and about putting up plastic skeletons, paper bats, jack-o-lanterns, and many other in-season decorations that can give trick-or-treaters a good scare. But did you know your house is very much capable of giving such scares even if without the Halloween decor? As a homeowner, seeing any damage in your home is enough to send shivers down your spine. One such case is expansion joints that seem to open up for no obvious reason in your home.
Creepy decorations…
Or foundation problems…
Which is scarier???
An expansion joint is an assembly designed to hold parts of a structure together. When they open up, they often indicate foundation problems. Other signs of foundation issues include doors that don’t seem to be opening and closing properly, gaps around window frames, and uneven floorboards. All of these can be brought on by the moisture content and temperature changes that negatively affect foundations.
If you see any of these signs in your home, your first instinct should always be to phone a professional. Trying to fix them yourself, or even not doing anything at all, might worsen the damage. This week’s featured client saw that the expansion joints at the side of his home were opening up. Let’s see how we prevented it from becoming a much bigger problem.
Addressing the Cause of the Foundation Damage in Plano
A Plano homeowner called us because he noticed expansion joint openings in his home.
Open Expansion Joints, and Other Damage
As mentioned, these are some of the biggest signs of foundation damage and should be addressed immediately. If ignored, the foundation damage will progress into cracks in drywall, crooked doors and windows, broken tiles, and uneven flooring, all of which are very costly to repair and can affect the safety of your home. Your and your family’s health and safety may be at risk if you do not seek foundation repair.
After receiving the call, we arrived at the scene to figure out what the culprit was. We deduced that the large trees and crape myrtles were causing his problems in front of his house.
Trees—A Lot of Them
Trees and plants can pull out moisture from around and under foundations. They can absorb 200 gallons of water from the soil per day, drying it up and making the soil contract and the house lose foundation support.
To remedy this problem, we decided to install our PT3 pier. This involves steel piers (12 of them to be exact) that will be driven into the soil to provide a more stable base for our client’s foundation. Doing so helps regain the lost elevation brought by the weakening and loss of foundation support. PT3 is a great choice due to our steel piers’ sturdiness and stability, which are suitable for most soil types. Once inserted, the piers will strengthen the foundation and reduce the risk of any future problems.
Our Team at Work
Our State-of-the-Art Piers
We placed the steel piers around the perimeter at the front of the house where the problem was located. The team pushed them into the soil with approximately 10,000 PSI worth of force, so the piers wouldn’t deform while being pushed into the dirt. This was supposed to be completed in just a day, but unfortunately, we had to extend to about half a day due to vehicle problems on our part. Sometimes, unexpected factors can affect our projects, but we always deal with these complications through open communication with our clients.
All in all, despite the short delay, the project was a success. Not only was the problem solved, but the project improved the overall quality and safety of our client’s home.
Do you think you might be experiencing foundation problems? We’ll be more than happy to stop by, evaluate it, and determine the best solution. If you need foundation repair, we’re here to help. Call or text us at 214-326-0718 today. We’ll get the job done for you on time, on budget.
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