December 31, 2009 By

Discount Foundation Repair in Dallas Ft Worth Texas/ Part 3 in a Series

This is part of a continuing series. Don’t be mis-lead by deep discount foundation repair .

A disreputable foundation repair company will short drive piers/pilings. Saves on material cost and installation time.   It is easy to drive short pilings in clay soil when concrete cylinders are used.  And for a couple of years, all will look fine.  But don’t be mislead.  Read on:

Pressed concrete piling depth is achieved by using hydraulic force against the weight of the house.  The dryer the clay, the more force is required to achieve pier depth.   The goal in driving pilings is to drive downward to the zone of minimal seasonal moisture variation, or rock.  At the zone of minimal seasonal moisture variation, the pier provides maximum long term support.

Four most concrete slab house repairs, at Granite Foundation Repair, we prefer steel pilings, which always drive to rock.  A lot can be done though to drive concrete cylinders/piers/pilings to maximum depth.  During dry weather, there are several tricks that a discount foundation repair company can use to level your house while attaining a pier depth of 3-5 feet.  This depth is good enough to lift the house, but not to provide long term stability.

What is the foundation repair company’s warranty and remedy for a sinking pier?  ADD MORE STEEL SHIMS. That often fails to stop future subsidence.

Here are 3 ways to achieve maximum depth, maximum stability, which the discounter will avoid:

1. Water injection:  At Granite Foundation Repair, we typically hydrate dry clay soil in 3-5 spots per pier using high pressure water injection.

2. Slow, steady hydraulic driving: A patient installation crew member can achieve 2-5 more feet of depth by using a slow push.

3. Don’t take breaks: When the drive of a single piling is interrupted for more than about 20 minutes, the force to resume the drive increases exponentially with time.  During a drive, a cone of soil occurs at the end of the concrete pier. When the drive stops, the cone disappears.  Resuming the drive means overcoming the forces of flat clay resistance.  Also, during a continuous drive, clay particles slip past the porous concrete. Stop the drive and the clay sticks to the cylinder.

Good stable foundation repair is as much about the process as it is about the base material.  Discount foundation repair is all about taking shortcuts to save the installer money.  In the long run the homeowner may have a lot more problems as a result of deeply discounted foundation repair.

Filed Under: Foundation Repair Methods Tagged With: , , ,
December 31, 2009 By

Discount Foundation Repair in Dallas Fort Worth Texas: Part 2 of a Series

Foundation Repair Cost can be cut by increasing pier spacings.  Discount foundation repair companies will claim to save you money by installing less piers than you need.

The Foundation Performance Association has adopted standards for concrete cylinder pier placement along the exterior walls for residential construction.  Below are  few excerpt from the report:

Single story brick veneer house shall have piers spaced no more than 8 feet apart.

Two story brick veneer house shall have piers spaced no more than 6 feet apart.

When a porch, patio or dormer extends more than 3 feet, there shall be a pier/piling at each inside corner, each outside corner, and with separations not to exceed 6 or 8 feet as defined above.

Where a wall changes direction, a pier or piling shall be placed at each corner.

Interior pier spacing is 8 feet on single story and 7 feet on two story.

There is a lot more to pier placement than these excerpts, but by now you should get the idea.

Compare repair plans.  Ask each company about the logic behind its pier placement.

We are not suggesting that every house exterior and interior needs to be wrapped with piers, but we are suggesting that a contractor can offer a cheap price by cutting out much needed piers.

Filed Under: Foundation Repair Information Tagged With: , , ,
December 31, 2009 By

Discounted Foundation Repair in Dallas Fort Worth Texas Part One of a Series

Far too many companies prey upon homeowners with the lure of discounted foundation repair.  This series of articles will touch upon several ways a foundation repair company can offer cheap, discounted foundation repair.

Part one: Are materials cheaper?  The foundation repair material is only cheaper if the discount foundation repair company uses inferior foundation repair materials.

One way to do this is to use low quality concrete pour samples, given away free by the state and federal highway concrete test houses.  The 12 inch cylinder looks like a normal pier component, but the giveaway is the absence of a hole in the center.  During highway construction, concrete samples are poured and tested for strength.  The lot of samples is retained until all reports are submitted. Then, pass or fail, the samples are scrap for the test house and given away to anyone who wants to cart them off.

So ask to see a sample of the pressed concrete pier before you sign the contract.  Then, be present during installation.

At Granite Foundation Repair we buy from reputable manufacturers who have submitted representative concrete cylinder pier samples to an independent test house.

Filed Under: Foundation Repair Information Tagged With: , , , ,