Slab Repair in Southern California
The soil in Southern California is unique and can have intense effects on a home’s slab. Clay is the main component of soil throughout the region, and because of this, there is often ground heaving that results in settlement and cracks in foundation slabs. Luckily, there is a great solution for these problems in both residential and commercial circumstances.
Why is my slab settling/cracking?
Clay soil has many qualities and disadvantages that do not make it a great material for your home to be sitting on top of. For one, clay drastically expands and contracts depending on the amount of moisture and water it retains. Since Southern California experiences both seasons of heavy rain and seasons of drought, ground heaving is a common problem among many home and business-owners. When the soil swells up, the slab is pushed upward, and similarly, when it shrinks, the slab shifts often causing settlement and jeopardizes the structural integrity of your home.
Signs of slab settlement
There are a few ways that a homeowner can easily recognize slab settlement. These include:
- Floor slab is noticeably sloping
- Walls are pulling away from the floor or ceiling
- Cracks in the concrete floor, tile or separation in hardwood flooring
- Walls pulling away from adjacent walls
If any of these are familiar to you, then it’s definitely time to contact a professional slab repair contractor.
Slab repair techniques/products
Foundation Supportworks offers a slab pier system that can be installed to stabilize your shifting, settling or cracked concrete slab. The process requires a trained and certified foundation repair professional to properly prepare for the installation by mapping out the appropriate locations for each pier to be installed. After that, a small hole is drilled through your concrete slab floor to prepare for a slab bracket, where it is then placed beneath the concrete slab in that location.
Next, steel tubes are hydraulically driven down through the bracket to reach strong, load-bearing soils beneath the slab. Foundation Supportworks uses these steel tubes because their made of galvanized steel so they’ll never corrode or weaken over time. They want to provide a solution that effectively lifts the slab and permanently repairs the problem for years to come. Once the tubes are in place, grout is pumped under the slab to fill any voids that may have been formed from the job. Lastly, it’s important that proper sealing and cleanup is done. Concrete is used to completely cover and smooth over the holes created from the pier system.
Contact your local slab repair contractor
If you see cracks in the foundation floor or notice that your walls are pulling away from the floor or ceiling, it’s time to get some professional help because your foundation is in trouble. Don’t let these foundation settlement problems get worse by ignoring them. Unfortunately, the clay soil under your home will continue to heave - causing settlement, shifting, and cracking. Saber Foundation Repair, located in Lake Elsinore, CA, services Southern California with a variety of foundation solutions. They serve valued home and business owners throughout San Diego, Oceanside, Ramona, Riverside, Anaheim and the surrounding areas in Southern California. Contact Saber today for a free estimate!
