“This article is written by an independent resource not affiliated with Ram Jack.”
Foundation damage is a terrifying prospect for many people. It is hard to ignore the images from old cartoons where houses split in half and crumble in front of their horrified owners. Perhaps even worse, it is hard to ignore the thought of money that must be spent on foundation repair. If you are dealing with a house that is structurally unsound, foundation repair how to may be at the front of your mind. Repair technology has come a long way in the last fifty years, however, and your problem may not be as horrible to fix as you think. With a little bit of research and planning, you can repair your foundation and make sure that it remains stable for years to come.

Before you call a repair company, it is necessary to determine first, what damage, if any, has occurred to your home. Foundation damage tends to start at the bottom of the house and work its way up, so the best place to start looking is at the foundation itself. Carefully walk around the entire building, checking for cracks in the foundation or walls. Do not assume that old, cracked brick is simply weathered. It may be the first sign of foundation damage. Check for signs of misalignment, such as spaces around the doors and windows. If the fascia board is pulling away from the house, it may indicate a problem with your foundation.

Once you have checked the entire perimeter of the house, it is time to take a look inside. Start with the basement and work your way up. Interior damage may look similar to exterior damage and can include cracks in the walls and gaps around doors and windows. Water leaking through the basement walls is an indication that it may be time for a lesson in foundation repair how to. Leaning walls and sloping floors should also set off warning bells. Windows and doors often stick as the result of bulges caused by misalignment. Cracks in the floor or tile may also be an indication of foundation damage. It is also important to check your garage for signs of damage. Carefully look for separation from the door, cracked brick or walls that are rotating out.

Once you discover that you have a foundation problem, you should attempt to determine its cause. Most of the time, foundations are damaged because of settling. The soil underneath the house either shrinks away from the house or compresses beneath it, causing part of the house to settle down into the empty space. This puts strain on the foundation and can bend it or cause it to crack. Changes in the soil can be caused by a number of things such as evaporating moisture, plumbing leaks, or improper soil preparation at the time of construction. Foundation damage can also be caused by improper construction techniques such as the use of low-grade concrete and too little steel.

If you live in South Carolina or Georgia there are a number of companies that you can call to fix your damaged foundation. The most reliable method of foundation repair how to is a process called underpinning. This process involves extending the foundation down into the ground. Depending how far above sea level you are, you may have to drill quite deep to find soil that is appropriately stable. It is important, however, to make sure that the foundation is properly stabilized. While filling the cracks and reinforcing the doors and windows may look alright for a while, your house must have a sound structure if you do not want to end up like a cartoon homeowner, watching your house disintegrate before your eyes.  

“This article is written by an independent resource not affiliated with Ram Jack.”
All houses require concrete foundations to support the weight of the building uniformly.  When damage to these foundations occur, it represents a major complication to the utility of a home and must be fixed immediately.  The foundation should be the first thing that any prospective homeowner inspects when purchasing a house, as foundation problems (or potential problems) are a major red flag.  If you can find indications of potential damage, it can save you thousands of dollars in the future when the foundation cracks or sinks into the ground.

The most obvious indication of foundation problems is an uneven floor.  You can usually tell when a floor is raised by even a fraction of an inch compared to the rest of the surface; the body automatically seeks equilibrium in balance and walking over an uneven surface automatically attracts attention.  Sometimes it may be more difficult to tell and requires a level.  In any case, flooring is the tell-tale sign of damage.  Other symptoms of a faulty foundation are where two contact points of a house meet to share the burden of weight.  These occur most often over doorways: if you see sagging doorframes or cracks running down from the top or sides, it indicates that one part of the frame is supporting more weight than the other.  The door itself may not be able to close all the way, may not lock properly, or may swing open without contact.  If windows do not close all the way or slide shut, it can also be a hint about your foundation problems.

Go about your house to check for foundation problems.  Place levels on bookshelves and furniture to determine if it is more than a few degrees away from an even 180 degree surface.  Check the outside to see if parts of the foundation have shifted out of the soil and are visible.  Stick a screwdriver into the concrete; if you only scratch the material then it may be fine, but if you can make a hole then the concrete may be deteriorating from too much moisture or high-acidity soil.  Older houses tended to be built with a foundation that had too much sand in the concrete, making it flake off and disintegrate over time.

A slab foundation, a typical base for smaller homes or rapidly-constructed houses, a structural engineer will be able to measure the frame and tell you if the foundation has a crack or is sinking.  It may cost several hundred dollars for this inspection and evaluation, along with several thousand dollars more if the engineer agrees to draw up the blueprints for getting under the house and solving the foundation problems.  In the best case scenario, the soil beneath your house has become too compact and you may expand it again by applying enough moisture.  The irrigation costs of this depend upon the part of the country you live, but should not cost more than a few hundred dollars per year.  The worst-case scenario, however, means that the entire foundation needs to be boosted.

When the foundation needs to be elevated, a team is needed to go underneath the concrete and gird the slab with enough steel piers to lift it back up.  These must be placed every six to eight feet around your yard, and the cost of one may be a thousand dollars.  The good news is that this is minimally intrusive on your house and yard, can be completed in a day, and will avoid future pitfalls.  What’s more, you will save money in the long run by fixing foundation problems when you sell your house in the future.

“This article is written by an independent resource not affiliated with Ram Jack.”
Your home may be the most sturdy building in the world, however, if it is built upon soil that cannot bear the weight of construction, it may result in damage to the foundation.  Foundation repair piers are necessary when expansive clay, mudslides, or poor maintenance cause the underlying structure of the house to become harmed.  Clay soil, for instance, has very little tensile strength, causing the burden of a house’s foundation to cause shifts over the course of years or even months.  There are no housing concerns that rival a foundation problem: if you do not repair the damage immediately, you run the risk of expensive deterioration that can render your home unsafe for you and your family.

You may not notice damage to the foundation of your home immediately.  Soil shifts are rarely uniform and the shape of most foundations are designed to carry weight unevenly if necessary.  The problem will become apparent in pier type foundations (as well as beam and slab types) when it has to settle against moving soil.  You will be able to see, and sometimes hear, massive cracks in the concrete.  Even if you cannot directly see the concrete, you may notice bulging floors, doors that do not close, furniture that tilts enough to be uncomfortable, or even cracks in your walls.  At this point, foundation repair piers are crucial to avoid electrical shortage, plumbing problems, and a major decrease in the value of your home.

The investment of foundation repair piers will pay for itself tenfold in the value of a home.  Each repair will have a different price tag due to the number of variables required by contractors. If it is a simple crack in the concrete, it may cost very little to mix and pour fresh material.  The cost of maintenance, however, is often complicated by the need for further analysis, such as a geochemical survey of the underlying soil.

The typical means of foundation repair piers involves driving pipes of steel deep into the base in order to lift up the faulting foundation and then fill the gap beneath it.  A push pier uses a galvanized steel pole with the hydraulic force of a five hundred horsepower car engine to delve into the soil, while helical piers use a torque motor to brace up the frame of the foundation.  When they reach the ground beneath the foundation of a house, jacks are attached that can elevate the foundation piers to a proper degree.  Several wall brackets are put in place to keep this angle constant and avoid future pitfalls.  If you need to repair the smaller foundations of decks or patios, the same method is used, but will likely only require a single bracket.

What are the advantages of using these steel frames as foundation repair piers?  They have a lower cost than replacing the actual foundation of the house, which can cost nearly as much as the house itself.  Furthermore, they are far less intrusive and can be completed externally.  You do not need to worry about ripping up the carpet and flooring of a basement.  You can keep on utilizing the plumbing and electricity of your house during the process.  It can repair any damage to the concrete base while also providing the space for more soil to be placed beneath the foundation, avoiding any more faults or cracks.  There is no heavy equipment that can churn up a yard: everything can easily be carried in and out, even the torque motors.

Ram Jack has spent over 40 years developing and refining their Foundation repair system to ensure the best quality in the industry.  The patented Ram Jack Steel piers are engineered to last a lifetime.  Exact specifications and strict guidelines ensure that the Ram Jack products have virtually no failure when installed by our trained and experienced technicians.

Ram Jack’s piers have the highest driving pressure…to locate stable bedrock, the thickest pier material to resist buckling and bowing, and the maximum pier load capacity to ensure structure stability for a lifetime….guaranteed.

Ram Jack technicians install our foundation repair system with no heavy equipment and very little excavation, so your lawn and landscaping is not disturbed.

Each Steel pier is driven deep into the soil until a solid layer of bedrock is found.  The depth of each pier may vary according to soil conditions.  Once all piers are securely set, the foundation is slowly lifted for maximum practical recovery.  This will permanently halt any further settlement and deterioration due to a failing foundation.

Our unique piling solutions provide the strength and stability that can only be found in the best American steel. The result is a lasting foundation, and the peace of mind of knowing you’re on solid ground for the life of your home.

Driving Head
The Ram Jack® driving head delivers rapid power to long sections of piling for faster installation and a stronger pile.

Hydraulic Rams
The Ram Jack system incorporates dual rams that drive deeper into permanent strata.

Guide Sleeve
Variable-length guide sleeves, which are preferred by engineers, are designed to stiffen the piling in less-compacted surface layers.

With 19 patents for advanced designs over the last 25 years, Ram Jack gets foundation repair. We also get the fact that no one wants to fix the same problem twice. That’s why we get the job done right the first time – every time. Call us today.