4 Ways To Improve A Building’s Foundation
Ensuring a building has a proper foundation is essential for a construction project. In this modern time where you can also buy steel online, you have to make sure of its quality and durability. Your company can be sure your building’s foundation is strong and reliable by sticking to the following guidelines.
Inspect The Soil Before Pouring Foundation
Reviewing the ground on which the foundation will be poured is critical. If the soil type and condition aren’t checked, there could be foundation instability down the road.
Talk to your structural engineer about soil inspections before laying the foundation. Many soil issues can be mitigated with professional ground improvement services.
The most common issue due to soil type and condition is masonry cracks. This problem may crop up when clay-based soil expands and contracts from moisture. Every time it expands, cracks may appear, causing the building to settle.
For example, in parts of Texas, there is ‘gumbo soil’ rich in clay that is sensitive to amounts of water in the soil. As the soil gets wet, it expands upward and places pressure on the foundation slab. Then it dries, and the soil shrinks, which may create hollows below the foundation.
This issue may be more common in parts of the country with a lot of rain, or brief periods of heavy downpours.
The good news is this problem can often be reinforced. The most likely repair to a building foundation with soil issues is to slab jack or pressure grout the problem area.
Of course, these repairs on an existing building foundation are expensive. That’s why it’s essential to engage with your ground improvement contractor before the foundation is even laid.
Pier Installation
This is the conventional way to strengthen a building’s damaged foundation. The foundation repair team installs piers under the foundation in properly treated ground to boost the structure’s load-bearing ability.
This solution also reduces potential issues with cracks in the concrete slabs and other damage issues.
Do More Than Patching Cracks
If the commercial building foundation shows cracks or uneven settling. The problems won’t decrease with time and will only get worse.
As time passes, the cracks will worsen as the foundation settles more and those narrow cracks become bigger. Then there will be stuck windows and doors, floors that tilt, and even possibly collapsed parts of the structure.
If you see any signs of cracks in a building foundation, bring in a commercial repair company and get the problem addressed.
Annual Foundation Inspections
The best way to deal with a foundation problem in a commercial building is to catch it before it gets worse. Your foundation maintenance and repair team should do regular inspections to ensure a strong foundation.
It’s also essential to use a foundation repair company that focuses only on commercial buildings. Most foundation repair entities work on residential homes; there are many more homeowners than building owners.
The technology is identical with both property types, but a commercial project requires more equipment and is more complex. They also are familiar with commercial building inspections and will ensure the repair is done up to local commercial building codes.
For example, many foundation repair companies just want to place shoring pads under the part of the foundation that sank. But the pads seldom fix the issue; the soil that caused the problem is still there, and they won’t help for long.
A commercial foundation repair company will probably use steel piers that are pounded down to stable bedrock.
There is little doubt that a foundation can be improved, but it is pricey once the building is already in place. But if there are foundation issues with your building, the methods mentioned above are the best way to deal with them.
However, don’t wait, as delaying foundation work just leads to more cost.
