Foundation Floor Joist, Crack Repair

Foundation Floor Joist, Concrete Block & Crack Repair

Home owners often complain about sagging floors, hard to open doors and windows and cracks in walls and ceilings wonder why they have this problem.  All of these complaints contributing source can be trace to foundation faults.  Hero Mold Company Foundation repair services cover footings, floor joist, concrete block and will remove all the reasons for the structural problems.

Foundation Fault: Indoor Warning Signs

• Sloping or Uneven Floors
• Moldings that have Shifted or Cracked
• Shifting of Inner Walls or Wall Rotation
• Bowing of Walls
• Cracks in Walls and Ceilings
• Cracks in Ceramic Tiles or Buckling of Wooden Floors
• Hard to Open Windows and Doors

Foundation Shift Warning

Concrete cures or dries slowly shrinking slightly as it does.  The spots where concrete doesn’t cure evenly may slightly crack.  Most Concrete and Block foundations have a few harmless Cracks.  Don’t panic at every crack you see- not all are concerning.  Knowing a little about cracks in foundations may help you decide when to seek help:

 

Hairline Cracks in Mortar between concrete block are seldom anything to worry about.  However, they should be sealed to prevent water seeping into the basement or crawl space.

 

 

 

 

L-shape Cracks are generally due to shrinkage, especially if they finish in a hairline crack. They are most often found in foundation sections that follows down a hillside.  It’s best to properly seal these cracks to stop water from coming in.

 

 

 

Staircase Cracks (follow masonry joints) that are wider than a ¼ inch indicate water pressure building outside the foundation walls.  Check grading around the home to make sure runoff is directed away from the home not towards.  Make sure downspouts have extenders to push the flow away from the foundation and make sure new plantings haven’t misdirected the storm runoff.

 

Bowed Foundation Walls also indicate moisture pressure- water is flowing toward the foundation.  Improper Grading and Clogged Gutters are often the culprit.

 

 

 

Horizontal Cracks are the most concerning type.  They indicate a problem with unstable soil bed under the home and the movement is breaking the foundation.   These cracks need to be fixed or sooner or later the home will collapse.

 

 

Why Foundations Crack:

• Unstable soils “shrink and swell” contains 5% or more of clay.   The more clay in the soil the greater the soil will expand and contract from wet to dry seasons.    Approximately 60% of homes in the United States are built on soils with some percentage of clay and of these about 50% will experience some damage. Soils with a high clay content can move a foundation seasonally by as much as 2 inches.  You could become aware of this as doors and windows become more difficult to open and close during wet periods and during dry periods doors may fail to close.
• Water is the most destructive force against a foundation.  Water will swell the soil surrounding the home, putting pressure on the foundation wall and footings which leads to cracks and worse.  Poor drainage around the home’s foundation has many sources: improper grading (ground should slope away 6 inches every 10 feet), new or overgrown plantings are sending runoff into the home or misdirection of rain gutters.
• Trees planted too close to the foundation may push roots into the foundation cracking it.
• House Settling, a foundation will settle a slight amount over a long period of time.  But if the home within the first 2 years, settles excessively its most likely due to insufficient soil compaction beneath the foundation.  Consider what happens when you push your hand down into soft clay, mud or loose soil- it sinks.
• Slope Creep is when the top layer of soil on a slope or hillside moves downhill. The rate of movement is conditional to type of soil, steepness of hillside, whether there is sufficient ground cover to stop erosion and amount of rain.   A gap appears between the foundation and patio, driveway, garage apron or front stoop.

Foundation Footing Repairs

When the mortar in your home’s foundation blocks are crumbling and the walls themselves are starting to bow out, it’s almost a guarantee the footings are bad too.  Most often this is cause by water flowing into the soil surrounding the foundation.   You need help because the homes stability is at risk.   Hero Mold Company has to deal with this quite often because a wet foundation also leads to severe mold problems.

How the foundation is repaired:

• First, we stop the water flowing into the foundation.  This could mean re-grading the property, setting up a sump pump in the basement or crawl space or digging a French drain around the home.
• Secondly, the foundation is repaired which could mean repairing the cracks or crumbling mortar with a strong epoxy especially made for these situations.  The Footings are then examined and repaired as necessary.  Information about Dehumidifier install in Crawl Space

Floor Joist Repairs

A wooden structure of ribbing used to support a floor over an open area such as a crawl space, basement is called a floor joist.  The first indication of trouble with a floor joist is a sloping or buckling floor.  Professional Inspection of the floor joists looks for:

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  Improperly Notched Floor Joist

  Floor Joists sometimes are improperly notched to install pipes, wiring or HVAC ducts.  Cutting too much off a support beam weakens them and overtime will cause the floor above to tilt.

• Damage due to wood destroying insects mostly subterranean termites but also powder post beetles, old borers, carpenter ants and occasionally carpenter bees.  Conditions likely to attract termites are wood posts making direct soil contact, wood debris, excessive moisture and mold fungi.
• Wood support post set directly onto dirt floors or inadequately supported with concrete poured around the post bases.  Wooden posts in contact with the soil will slowly rot and disappear causing the home to sink.
• Fixing Floor Joists will first remove the reason for decay (insect, moisture, improperly notched) and will sister the joist beam with a new one using a floor jack to hold in place if necessary.

The Locations we service can be found here