Do you need foundation leak repair? Is your foundation leak disturbing you and your family? This article will help you make the best educated decision. Let’s first start off with how to tell if you need foundation leak repair.
How To Tell If You Need Foundation Leak Repair
Some of these issues are caused by larger structural issues, which we will address further down.
Cracks – The biggest entry point for leaks is cracked walls. The way the crack looks can tell you a lot about what caused it. Vertical and horizontal cracks together mean that you are experiencing bowing or settling walls. Bowing walls appear to be bending inward. A crack that looks like a stair case usually indicates heaving or foundation settlement. Heaving is the upward movement of a foundation or slab caused by underlying soils that expand or swell.
Basement Windows – Over time almost all window wells will full up and leak due to clogging, lack of proper drainage, or rotted windows that need to be replaced.
Pipes – The leak doesn’t come from the pipe itself but from where the pipe meets the wall.
Seepage Through Basement Floor – Where your basement wall meets your floor, there is thing called a cove joint. This area is highly susceptible to water infiltration.
Seepage Over Top Of Wall – Leaks can enter due to improper grading, huge rainfalls, or faulty construction.
Concrete Honeycombing (Dry Pack) – This happens on poured concrete walls when the concrete is not consolidated well enough or when the concrete has a lot of rock in it and the rocks stick to each other
Now that you have found the leaks, it’s time to find the right repairs for each of them.
Non-Structural Leak Repair Solutions
There are a few different leak repair solutions, each depending on location. Polyurethane injections can fill different types of cracks and voids, but if the problem is the foundation’s structure, cement grouting can fill the voids, and lift slabs. Homes built over limestone are prone to soil erosion and movement.
Polyurethane Injections
Some contractors use a two-component high-strength structural polyurethane foam. It is mixed at a 1:1 ratio using a two-component pump and is often used to fill voids beneath concrete slabs or behind below-grade concrete structures.
Void filling is when spaces under your concrete, as a result of soil erosion or settlement, are filled in. Soil erosion occurs when water gets under your concrete slab, causing it to sink where the void is. If the soil under your foundation was not properly compacted in the first place, this will cause your concrete to sink as well.
Polyurethane has an advantage over other materials such as mudjacking. Using a polyurethane void fill material requires drilling smaller, fewer holes. The material fills the voids and stabilizes the concrete, reducing vibrations and rocking. This high-density material is lightweight, injected as a liquid, and after 15 seconds, reaches its final volume into a structural foam material. After it is cured, it will never lose its density and covers more area in less time.
Slab Lifting And Leveling
Slab lifting can be used with helical or push pile slab brackets. These brackets can be installed easily, and are meant to supply years of support. They are used in conjunction with helical or push piers. The bracket is installed on top of the helical pier to add strength to your concrete slab. They can be used on floating or poured-on-grade slabs.
Structural Leak Repair Solutions
Sometimes the leak is coming from an issue with your foundation’s structural integrity. Solutions for that include:
Compaction grouting is a method where fast-setting polyurethane foam is injected into loose soil. The foam expands, forming balls or columns of dense structural foam. The expansion compacts the surrounding soils and increases the load-bearing capacity.
Permeation grouting is how contractors can turn loose soil into a dense solid mass beneath a structure, increasing strength, stiffness and reducing permeability (the state or quality of a material or membrane that causes it to allow liquids or gases to pass through it). This helps with soil instability in areas like coastal regions.
Steel piers are some of the most common foundation leak repair solutions. They are driven down into the stable earth well below the structure and to “load-bearing strata.” What this means is that the pier is driven past soils and earth that can shift and move. The structure can sit atop the piers, and hydraulic jacks lift the structure to the correct position.
Helical piers work in a similar sense but through a different drilling method. Helical piers look like giant corkscrews and are twisted into the ground until they reach stable soil.
Wall plate anchors are designed to stop the inward movement from a bowing wall. Because the plate is placed outside in the soil, no additional stress is added to the home. But for the anchor to be installed, contractors need a minimum of 10 feet of yard to install it. They are one of the most economical methods of support. The anchors can be installed with portable equipment and cause very little disturbance to your landscape.
Helical tieback anchors look like corkscrews and are installed by rotating the anchor into the ground. They provide opposite pressure that cancels out the hydrostatic pressure, which caused the wall to bow in the first place. These are perfect when interior access is limited. Installation can be done in just one day! Helical anchors don’t use excavation. The anchor will immediately straighten and stabilize the wall.
A Carbon Fiber repair system reinforces foundation walls by linking the foundation base with the building’s frame. This system is one of the most robust options available on the market, so you can rest easy knowing that the bowing or leaning wall is strong and structurally sound again, which helps prevent future dynamic cracks. Once the carbon fiber application is completed, the area can be painted or covered, leaving a clean look with a small footprint.
Read more about – How wall anchor system works.
Who To Call For Foundation Leak Repair
If you have foundation leak problems, who should you call for help? These are professional solutions that require professional assistance. Check out Foundation Professionals of Florida, an award-winning and top-performing company. We specialize in all your foundation repair needs and can provide any of the services above.
