Excellent foundation repairs that meet budget and deadline
“Good, fast and cheap. I tell my clients that they can have two out of three, but never all three.” More than one contractor has offered this wisdom when describing how to do business successfully.
The longer version goes something like this: it takes skill, experience, and specialized tools to get a good job done quickly, and all of these ingredients cost more, so cheap can’t be combined with good and fast. On the other hand, fast and cheap is usually an achievable goal because you can use unskilled labor and tools that are not that expensive. If you want something good and cheap, expect the job to take longer because cheaper labor won’t have the tools or skill to work quickly.
Foundation repair can be an exception to the “2 of three” rule, as long as your foundation specialist has the right tools and materials to handle a wide range of foundation problems. Many foundation repairs can be done quickly, efficiently, and affordably, especially compared to total foundation replacement, which is often considered the “only” option.
Base example
Let’s look at a couple of foundation repair examples to see if this good, fast and inexpensive goal can really be achieved. For starters, we have a house with a basement wall that is being pushed in by expansive soil. A poured concrete foundation wall has cracked in a couple of places and is visibly bending inward.
Contractor number 1
The first contractor called in to assess the damage shakes his head and gives homeowners the bad news: “I’ve seen this type of damage before,” he says. “Unfortunately, the cracks and bowing are quite severe. The only way to permanently repair this damage is to demolish the arched wall and rebuild a new wall in its place. About 2 weeks. In addition to paying for the new wall, it will cost more. take demolished concrete to landfill. “
Evaluation and solution
This repair strategy may be good, but it is definitely not quick or affordable. But an experienced full-service foundation repair contractor might be able to do this elusive triple play. You could propose the installation of wall anchors to stabilize the arched wall and possibly bring it closer to its original position. Instead of taking two weeks and costing $ 30,000, a typical wall anchor repair can be completed in just a day or two for a fraction of the cost.
Base example number 2
What about a basement slab where a section has cracked and sagged several inches, rendering that part of the basement unusable? An experienced bricklayer could easily recommend removing some or all of the sagged slab and then pouring fresh concrete to restore the slab to its original condition.
Again, the contractor will have to deal with costly and disruptive demolition problems. And because easily compressed soil would stay in place under new concrete, there is a high probability that cracks and subsidence will recur.
The best repair
A faster, better, and less expensive way to address a laid slab problem is to place steel piers under the laid slab section until the piers reach a stable floor to support loads. The seated slab can then be raised to its original level position and anchored in place with brackets secured to the piers.
To finish the job, use mortar to fill the gaps under the slab and the holes for the pillars.
This is another example of a job well done, in a timely and affordable manner. But to achieve this trifecta, you need to find an experienced foundation repair specialist.
