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Underpinning A House: What To Know Before You Do It

In most cases, the subsurface necessitates underpinning a structure. Large cracks in the walls, especially around the door and window frames, may serve as an early warning sign. Whether this is due to erosion, abandoned mines, or poor soil quality, construction is impossible.


However, you may require underpinning a house if you have made renovations that have increased the weight on the foundations or if you are constructing an addition.


What Does Underpinning A House Mean?

Pinning a house means shifting the building's weight to the more stable ground below. To reach the load-bearing strata, underpinning a house pier must penetrate through layers of the increasingly solid base beneath the weaker soil. When the building's weight is distributed to stable ground, settlement is halted, and the foundation receives additional support. The value of a home can also be protected by underpinning it.


The Importance of Underpinning Your House

Underpinning a house is an old concept, but it's never been more important than now. Houses have shifted from being a collection of bricks above ground to being an actual structure built underneath the Earth. The point here is that houses need to be built on solid foundations; this is what allows them to last for generations instead of being knocked down by a giant earthquake or flood.


If you have ever seen a house fall down due to an unstable foundation, it is pretty scary. Uneven building soils can cause a lot of damage, especially in older and historic homes. In such cases, house underpinning can prevent this from happening to your home.


Here's When To Underpin A Home And Avoid Foundation Repair

When a house's foundation becomes too weak to hold the structure up, underpinning a house is required. In most cases, the issue lies with the soil beneath the foundation. Not all soils can withstand the weight of a house's foundation and structure. Foundation issues caused by poor soil quality include,

  1. Extensive soil is defined as soil that is rich in clay and has a broad particle size distribution. Once it absorbs water, it expands, but when it dries out, it contracts back to its original size. This seasonal expansion and contraction cause the ground to shift, which stresses the building's base.

  2. Poorly compacted soil - Before anything is built on top of earth excavated from a construction site and backfilled, the soil must be consolidated to the proper density. The differential settlement, in which one part of a building settles into the ground more than another, is almost inevitable if this still needs to be done. Damage to a building's structure is possible due to the tremendous pressure differential settlement puts on a foundation.

  3. Poor drainage around a house can cause soil erosion. The roots of the large trees in the yard have sucked up all the water, causing the soil to dry out and shrink, which can lead to gaps in the foundation. Trouble will arise if the foundation settles into these spaces.

  4. In a process known as soil creep, soil from a hill's upper layers gradually moves to its lower levels. Homes constructed on slopes often experience lateral movement due to soil creep.

How Much Does Underpinning Your House Cost?

You need to see your home in person to give you an accurate quote for underpinning a house. This is because there are many factors to consider, such as the nature and amount of the damage, the accessibility to the foundation, the necessity to remove and replace landscaping and concrete, the selected repair technique, etc. Because of this, don't share pricing information.

A foundation repair contractor in your region can check your home and give you an accurate estimate of how many underpinnings will cost. Most will provide a free inspection of your home's foundation and an estimate for the necessary repairs.

Conclusion

While it's sad to see homes with serious foundation problems, the good news is that there are solutions. Underpinning a house can be instituted quickly and effectively, and that anyone who owns a home - or is considering buying one - should know about and keep in mind. After all, homes are worth far more than their resale value, they're worth our peace of mind too.

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