Pooling Groundwater Can Cause Structural Issues

When it rains, we are usually more concerned with not get caught in it and getting drenched to the bone. The real concern should be whether your foundation is getting drenched. Standing water can cause a variety of structural and concrete-related issues in your home's foundation/overall structural stability. If these problems aren't addressed as soon as they're discovered, you risk needing very costly repairs.

Prevent Pooling Water Around Your Foundation

Water Channeled Too Close to Home

Rainwater collecting and pooling up around the foundation of a home can enter concrete because the water fills the porous concrete's tiny holes. Over time, the water seeping into the concrete foundation will begin to break down the concrete. In turn, the foundation will begin to shift and the home will become unsettled; this can become dangerous in some circumstances. Catching these problems early on will help keep your family safe.

Erosion

Another way that that pooled water can damage your home is through erosion. If the water can seep through the soil, it will begin to wash away every time it rains, eventually causing a shift in the settlement and cause walls and concrete slabs to crack or settle. Because the soil is softening and being eroded away, your home will also begin to sink, causing further cracking.

Solutions to Repair & Prevent Damaged Concrete and Foundation Walls

Wall Systems

As pooling water funnels through that loose backfill soil surrounding your home, it can bear down on your foundation walls, resulting in horizontal cracks, bows, buckling, shearing, or even wall collapse. This water pressure is coined hydrostatic pressure, and it can wreak havoc on your walls. At Fortress, we install three variations of patented wall repair systems – PowerBraces, GeoLock Wall Anchors, and CarbonArmor strips, to prevent hydrostatic pressure from further damaging your walls. Products used are customized to repair your home’s specific demands, and each product is nationally-backed by a transferable, life-of-structure warranty, permanently protecting your home from future damage.

Piering System

Sometimes, roof water funnels underneath your foundation walls, rather than against it. When this happens, the soil supporting your home will erode over time, leaving void pockets in the dirt. That dirt can’t support those heavy foundation walls, and your walls will start to shift, or settle, resulting in vertical or stair step cracks. Depending on your situation, you may need either a Push Pier, Helical Pier, or Slab Pier to stabilize your home. Each patented pier is engineer-designed to bracket against the foundation footing before being hydraulically-driven deep into the soil below until bedrock or load-bearing strata is reached. This essentially provides legs for your home, permanently stabilizing your settling walls and potentially lifting those walls back to their original form.

A Variety Of Foundation Repair Services

If you’re looking for contracting experts in Harrisonburg and the surrounding areas, look no further than Fortress Foundation Solutions, the premier foundation repair, and waterproofing professionals!

Call us today at 1-434-473-7012 or contact us online for a free estimate!