“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 up 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 Florida 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 are subject to some types of damage and repair, but the difference between foundation problems and plumbing or electrical problems can be the difference between hundreds and tens of thousands of dollars.  If you live in an area of the southern United States, such as Florida, Georgia, or the Carolinas, it is possible that the soil underneath your house has a higher concentration of clay.  Clay is far easier to compact and is more viscous than normal soil, making it a dangerous substance to have underneath a concrete foundation and house that weighs hundreds of tons.  What’s more, the soil may not be properly aerated or may be too dry, leading to further imbalance of a foundation and creating the possibility of damage, cracks, shifting, or deterioration.

The soil of Florida and Georgia has a higher concentration of moisture than Midwestern states due to the proximity to the humidity-producing ocean as well as frequent rains (and even hurricanes).  When soil beneath a slab stagnates, however, it can easily lose the moisture from contact with the higher-temperature dirt around it.  When the earth beneath a house loses water, it creates foundation problems; some of these problems may be easily remedied by irrigating around the frame of the foundation, but others require more intensive solutions.  Florida experiences more rain than any state except Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington, making most irrigation unnecessary, but also increasing the chance of shifting soil.  As such, it is something of a double-edged sword to have a house in the southern-most state.

Georgia’s clay concentration is not always high, but many areas of the state are notorious for the red clay soil that gives a rust-colored appearance to the earth.  While these clays are extremely rich in nutrients and make for an abundance of produce, they can easily cause sliding and shifting of a concrete base.  Worse, the soil in Georgia is extremely old and weathered, meaning that it is less capable of forming firm bonds.  If you live in the Peach State, you will have to monitor your house’s foundation continually for harm to the concrete base.

Identifying foundation problems depends upon how severe the damage to the property is.  When there have only been minor shifts or hairline cracks, you will likely not notice any changes to the interior of your home.  When a serious fault develops, however, it may be visibly apparent.  The smooth level of a floor will turn into a bumpy, tilted surface.  Your walls may have cracks in places where they have to support the extra weight of a leaning area.  In cases when damage is severe, you may even have plumbing problems.

Repairing foundation problems can cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars.  If your Florida or Georgia home is experiencing severe erosion beneath the base of the foundation, you will have to re-pack the soil to create a proper density and then reinforce the concrete.  This can only be achieved by burrowing directly beneath the foundation with steel beams or concrete cylinders.  While a contractor is capable of fixing the damage in a single day, they will have to put beams every few steps around the entire frame of your house.  Some of these beams are immense, with a twenty-two inch base that fixes the sagging structure, while others are merely three inches in diameter.  This will not damage the house itself, as it is harmful to use the base as any sort of lever, and allows you to retain the value and integrity of your house rather than see it degrade.

“This article is written by an independent resource not affiliated with Ram Jack.”
The state of the soil in many southeastern states is relatively poor compared to other parts of the country.  Most of the topsoil in Florida and Georgia, for instance, was generated in the slow breakdown of the Appalachian mountains, meaning that it has difficulty retaining form and is very porous.  This is good news for farmers, but bad news for homeowners, as a soft and collapsible soil base can lead to major problems (and major price tags) with regard to foundation repair piers.  The concrete foundation base beneath your house is subject to normal wear and tear from pressure and soil acidity, but when the foundation itself begins to shift or break down, it can create a litany of headaches that require immediate attention.

Georgia soil is known as Tifton, meaning that the top foot or so of earth is loamy sand.  The attractive capability of sand is quite low, making it hazardous to construct buildings on top of a sandy base without adding moisture or chemical additives to the area.  Older houses, usually built prior to the Second World War, rarely used these additives to improve the quality of the ground, making them more precarious and more inclined to foundation damage.  Check your property with a simple ruler: if you can wedge it more than six or so inches in the ground, the soil is more sand than loam and could potentially cause foundation shifts.  Irrigation may make foundation repair piers unnecessary, however, it is not a substitute for an actual professional treatment.

Florida, likewise, has topsoil that is almost entirely sand, with a minimal amount of peat and limestone (neither of which are very amenable towards rigidity and structure).  The consistent heat tends to vaporize water out of the ground quickly, and in the dry season can lead to ossification of an entire area.  Keeping the area beneath a house moist and cool is crucial to avoid the damage that makes foundation repair piers crucial.  A geochemical engineer can take a sample of the dirt on your property and give an estimate about how strong it may be, and whether future repairs may be predicted and solved before they grow worse.

If you have found that your house may have foundation damage — cracked walls, doors that will not close, and raised floor surfaces are tell-tale signs — repairing the problem requires urgency.  A contractor can use a set of push piers in order to permanently keep your foundation level and strong, but the longer you wait, the more a concrete base may strain under an imbalanced load.  A full foundation replacement may not be necessary if a proper grid of foundation repair piers are put in place.  This grid circles the frame of your house, lifting up the entire base and supporting it with steel girders to prevent harm.

Florida and Georgia homes tend to be susceptible to foundation damage, however, a contractor can provide foundation repair piers at any time of the year, with minimal intrusion to any home.  Foundation underpinning places the steel piers as deep as thirty feet below the concrete base.  A torque motor will be used to drive the piers down into the ground, while clamps gird on to the base and temporarily take the strain of supporting a house off the concrete.  While other options can brace a foundation, only these types of steel pier beams reach deep enough for permanent support.  These piers have a lifelong guarantee (even in sandy soils of Florida and Georgia), meaning that one repair session offers a permanent solution to a considerable problem.  This process will automatically restore the value and integrity of your property.

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.

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