In our customers' own words:
Problem signs to look out for when evaluating your home for foundation damage
If you’re searching for “foundation repair near me,” it’s likely because you’ve noticed some of the symptoms of foundation problems occurring inside and outside of your Charleston home, like foundation cracks or bowing walls.
Your foundation provides support to your home’s floors, walls, and ceilings, so even small amounts of settlement can leave its mark on the rest of your home. Here are the top symptoms problems to look out for when evaluating your home for foundation damage:
EXTERIOR WARNING SIGNS
INTERIOR WARNING SIGNS
Foundation Repair Solutions
Because there are a number of unique causes of foundation failure, we offer a variety of foundation services to ensure your foundation and peace of mind are restored. Our residential Charleston foundation repair solutions include:
Crawl Space Support Piers
Your foundation in Charleston is probably built above a crawl space rather than above a basement. Therefore, your home may start to experience the ill effects of bouncy floors if the wooden crawl space beams start to decay or are overspanned.
While a crawl space is a cost-effective method to get your home off the ground, it can experience the ill effects of structural damage. Crawl space support piers will get your foundation back into good shape. CNT Foundations provides extraordinary foundation repair solutions to homes with crawl spaces. Call 843-577-7268 today for your free, no-commitment appraisal.
Helical Piers
Helical piers are used to stabilize foundations that have begun to settle because of insufficient help from the dirt beneath them. Foundation settlement can manifest in signs like:
- Sticking doors and windows
- Uneven floors
- Tilting chimneys
- Cracking walls
- Floor and wall gaps
These issues can either be early indications of foundation failure or the underlying manifestations of structural damage. Helical piers are used to support your foundation in any areas where it may already be lacking support.
Underpinning
If your home is experiencing foundation failure in Charleston, foundation underpinning can increase your foundation depth and provide stability to a weak foundation. Underpinning works with your foundation to make it strong enough to support new or existing structures. CNT Foundations provides the areas around Charleston with underpinning as a foundation repair solution you can trust. Call 843-577-7268 for your free, no-obligation estimate.
Foundation underpinning is the process of securing your home by reaching past the weakened soil your foundation is currently built on and installing helical piers. This method of foundation repair directly addresses problems caused by expansive soil or excessive moisture by transferring the weight of your foundation to soil that can support it. Underpinning methods like helical piers and slab piers transfer your home’s weight from surface soil to deeper, more stable soil.
Slab Piers
If you have a concrete foundation, slab piers can be utilized underneath your foundation to help balance out your home.
Foundation settlement is regularly caused by expansive soil, leaks under your foundation, or poor drainage around your foundation. These issues indicate one thing: soil that can't hold up under the weight of your home. Gradually your foundation will begin to sink, and you'll see the signs around your home like:
- A cracked concrete slab
- Cracked drywall
- Gaps in your floors and walls
- Stuck doors and windows around your home
These signs can end up seriously damaging your home and every one of them imply that your concrete slab foundation is sinking.
Wall Anchors
Have you seen bowing or suspicious cracking in your foundation walls? These signs could demonstrate severe foundation problems caused by hydrostatic pressure from the dirt around and under your foundation.
Wall anchors work best if you have a few feet around the sides of your home to provide room for installation. The wall anchors reach out from your foundation walls into the solid dirt beyond your home, supporting the foundation wall from the inside. Our wall anchors and foundation straightening services provide vital resistance against hydrostatic pressure and other outside forces with the goal that your foundation walls remain stable. After some time, these wall anchors can stop inward bowing and even enable your foundation to resume its original position.
Concrete Masonry Units
When your foundation is sinking or settling, there are many different repair options available in Charleston. Concrete masonry units, or CMUs, are one great way to offer structural support that is both sturdy and cost-effective. These are extremely versatile and environmentally friendly, and can be used in a wide variety of applications. Because of their distinct advantages, CMUs are some of the best tools for addressing foundation settling in the Charleston area.
Here at CNT Foundations, we always use the most effective tools and techniques for the job, whether it’s to raise a home’s structure, level a pool deck, or repair a stairwell. CMUs, also known as architectural blocks, are cement blocks that come in many shapes and sizes, offering support underneath or around your property.
Remove/Replace Girder
A girder is a horizontal support structure that holds up the surrounding beams in a building. It can bear the load of the floor joists and distribute the weight evenly across the piers. Without a properly functioning girder, your home may develop issues such as sagging floors or wall cracks.
Over time, a girder can sustain damage and may need to be repaired or replaced to prevent foundation problems. Here are a few common issues that can affect your girder:
- Wood Rot or Termite Damage: Many girders are made of wood. If your crawl space experiences termite infestations or high humidity with excessive moisture, the wood can deteriorate and need replacement. If wood rot occurs due to humidity, we recommend a moisture control solution to prevent recurring issues.
- Sagging or Overspanned Beam: High humidity levels in your crawl space can cause the girder to sag. An overspanned beam can lead to uneven floors in your home. We will reinforce the girder with new support columns to prevent bending.
- Sinking Columns: If your crawl space has a dirt floor, settlement may occur over time. Changes in moisture levels in the soil can either exert pressure on the piers or cause them to sink. In either case, the floor may start to sag, resulting in uneven floors in your home.
Continuos Footing
A continuous footing spreads the weight of your home evenly across multiple points. If your crawl space has soil flooring, installing a continuous footing will help give additional support to the beams inside your crawl space. Typically, the balance is double the width of the foundation wall depending on how much the soil around your foundation can take. Soil can either expand or shrink depending on the moisture levels, which prompts settlement issues. Introducing a continuous footing to your structure will guarantee your home does not sink and cause foundation issues.
Our group at CNT Foundations will work with you to securely install a continuous footing to your crawl space. We have the experience and tools you expect that will help us keep your family safe during the construction process.
Call CNT Foundations in North Charleston today at Call 843-577-7268 to get your free assessment.
Foundation Repair FAQ
CNT Foundations has many services for foundation repair:
- Driveway & Sidewalk Repair
- Concrete Leveling
- New Construction Piles/Commercial Services
- Pool Deck Repair
- Floor Joists
- Crawl Space/Basement
- Spalling Concrete Repair
- Commercial/Industrial Foundation Repair
Unless it’s a minor fix, foundation repair is a job for professionals. They have the experience, the equipment, and the safety protocol knowledge necessary to perform major foundation repairs. If money is a concern, rest assured you’ll save more by paying a foundation professional to do the work.
We offer a lifetime warranty on our foundation repair projects.
It can typically range from 1 days to 1 month depending on the type of foundation repair work that is needed. It varies based on severity of the damage.
A structural engineer’s report is a vital step in repairing your foundation. This report should always be handled by a third-party state-certified structural engineer. This report aims to provide unbiased recommendations that can later be executed by a reputable foundation repair firm.
The costs for foundation repair work can range from $1,000 or more depending on the type of foundation repair work that is needed.
CNT Foundations is not the same as other foundation repair “specialists” since we aren’t sales representatives – we’re experts. We have been repairing foundations and fulfilling commercial contracts for more than 15 years.
We respect our values by giving our clients the most ideal experience, regardless of whether they require foundation repair or have another development venture in progress. We are devoted to building trust with our customers by exceeding client expectations all the time and are committed to completing the mission to your satisfaction.
