House Leveling
There can be various signs that mean you are in need of a house levelling service. If you notice cracks in your interior or exterior building walls, if windows do not open or close properly, uneven or slightly sagging floors, doors which no longer seem to fit the frame (not fully closing or opening), cracked tiling, gaps where walls meet floors or ceilings, or even your house looking visibly ‘uneven’ when viewed from outside, then these are likely signs that your foundation is no longer level. Ignoring these issue can lead to major structural damage and they need to be addressed immediately.
What is House Leveling?
Simply put, house leveling is a process of ‘lifting’ your home back to the way it was when it was newly built. It is a rather obvious thing to say, but houses weigh a lot! And no matter the type of foundation used on your property, over time these foundations can sink, settle, move or crack due to a number of factors. When this happens, foundation leveling is required to prevent serious structural damage. Depending on the type of foundation, and the causes of damage in the first place, our team of experts will advise on which leveling process is best to follow.
Pier and Beam Foundations
We approach pier and beam leveling in different ways according to the extent of damage or deterioration. Our main approach is by installing special steel or concrete pilings at crucial spots under the concrete perimeter beam to adjust the level to required measurements. For precise interior adjustments, we add ‘shims’ (thin and sometimes wedged pieces of material) at required interior spots to achieve desired levels. If our team identifies that any issues with crawl space foundations are due to damaged or poorly installed wood, then we can address those problems too and repair or replace if needed.
Concrete Slab Foundations
Different foundation types can experience different type of problems and thus, have different approaches for repairing the foundations. The American Concrete Institute has set a standard that for new homes, slabs are to be a maximum of 1.5 inches away from ‘perfectly level’. So, when carrying out concrete slab leveling, this is the standard Hutto Foundation Repair Experts aims for. To level concrete slab foundations, our experts may decide to excavate around your home in order to install steel or concrete pilings or concrete piers. Costs will vary according to method and extent of damage so call us for a free foundation inspection estimate.
Polyurethane Concrete Lifting
One other method which is not suitable for all circumstances or buildings is Polyurethane Concrete Lifting. This has mostly replaced the very old method of ‘mudjacking’. This long lasting and quick curing method involves ‘injecting’ a two-part mixture into any gaps to safely lift your concrete slabbing and foundations. This is a speedy (can usually be done in 2 days) method which is also environmentally friendly. There is also no need for excavation of the area and causes little disruption.
