Foundation Cracks When to Raise a House


House lifting

There are many times which a house needs a concrete repair. There are floods, which can damage the foundation of house. There are sudden events which cause cracks in concrete. There is force applied to a driveway, which can cause cracks in the driveway. All these are reasons why a concrete repair is needed in a house.

Homeowners may be flummoxed to know that there house is in need of concrete repair. The owners of a home may have bought it years ago and struggled to understand how the wear and tear of difficulties over time can have an effect on concrete. These events and wear and tear can infrequently affect the structural integrity of a house.

There are some times when a house may be in need of repairs. If a wood beam falls out for instance, there may be a need to replace the wood beam. If the foundation is in a difficult position, there may be a need for a new foundation installation or a foundation repair that fixes all the damaged areas.

There are many solutions for this, including lifting the home. There are many ways to lift a home and although it would cost money, many homeowners find it valuable to lift a home, especially in areas where there has been heavy flooding, such as after a hurricane or a torrential downpour.

Some statistics about a house’s foundation include:

  • If your foundation has cracks wider than one fourth of an inch, you should take measures to fix it.
  • The soil around your home’s foundation should slope at least six inches for every 10 horizontal feet.
  • Plants should be placed a minimum of two feet from the foundation and low enough in the soil so as not to direct water toward the foundation.

A foundation is susceptible to flooding. A foundation is generally made out of concrete, which is why flooding impacts a house in the very way that should be most purposeful. A flooded house can lead to a eroding foundation, which can create a structural instability that can lead to the falling of a house or the crashing of one side of the house.

A foundation has general principles associated with it. First, it should be structurally sound, meaning no lines or cracks and certainly no fissures, which involve a breaking apart of the foundation. It should be level so that the house is level. And it should be hardy, meaning it is difficult to damage.

When there has been heavy flooding or any kind of damage to the foundation, it is a smart decision to call the contractors who specialize in the analyzing and determining of the quality of the foundation. They may have recommendations on how to fix the foundation. They can include numerous things. However, they may also recommend lifting the house.

House lifting or house elevation can be useful for repairing or installing a new foundation. Lifting a house involves going to the lowest point of house, which is usually the basement, and constructing a wire mix of cables that run across the house. These cables are tightened and then lifted using hydraulic lifters.

The hydraulic power lifters lift the home a little at a time, thereby reducing the possibility of damaging the home. The hydraulic power lifters are generally a good size, though they rely on the cable to lift the home from the inside. Once this is done, the repairs to the foundation can be made.

There are some statistics about raising a house. They include:

  • Elevating a house up to three or four feet above the existing ground level typically won’t have a major impact on its appearance and will require only minimal landscaping and regrading.
  • Raising a house is less expensive than building on top of the structure, saving as much as 50%.
  • The 15,140-ton Fu Gang Building in China?s Guangxi Province is the heaviest building to ever be moved fully intact. It took 11 days to move it 118 feet in 2004.

Concrete repair is a method that is used to repair the cracks and damages to concrete, which oftentimes can be extensive. Concrete repair and lifting houses happens especially in areas where there has been a great deal of flooding, such as the East Coast, where hurricanes batter the homes and the foundations of the home.


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