Foundation Repair Wisconsin
People neglect certain things while taking care of their house. They look after the exterior, the interior, but they often ignore the house’s foundation. And believe us, most of the time it is undergoing some sort of damage. This could be damage caused by water, or because of other reasons like soil erosion, or the foundation just gets weak with age. The latter could also cause your foundation to settle, meaning your house could start gradually sinking into the soil.
A foundation is quite literally the main support to your house. So a damaged one is an issue that needs to be resolved as soon as possible. The damage could easily spread to measures beyond repair. This could cause permanent damage, which generally requires quite a budget to fix. If you believe you are facing such issues, do not fret. We have professionals at Wisconsin Foundation Repair that will patch up your house and restore it to its original structural integrity. Commercial or domestic, we can handle whatever you throw at us.
OUR TESTIMONIALS
Why should you hire Wisconsin Foundation Repair?
There is a mental checklist you more than often have to keep while hiring a company. After all, those people are going to be working inside your house right? You think to yourself, will they respect my time? Will they turn my house into a mess? Is this even a licensed company?
So, does Wisconsin Foundation Repair cut it?
We at Wisconsin Foundation Repair believe in treating our customers right, and working on every house as if it were our own home. Our professionals will communicate directly with you and keep you in check with every moving part of this long process. They will pinpoint all the problems in your house and come up with appropriate, cost-effective solutions that are the best bang for your buck. You’d be doing your house a favor by hiring us.
What Causes Foundation Problems in Wisconsin?
According to our experience, many factors cause foundation issues in Wisconsin. Generally, these include climate conditions, soil erosion, transpiration, poor construction, and others. The changes resulting from these problems usually occur in small increments over time, hence it is easy to neglect the signs.
Climate and Topography
There’s no telling about Wisconsin’s climate. It is said to be continental most of the time, but lakes Michigan and Superior tend to modify that. Most of the yearly rain falls during the growing season and the preceding storms from west to east stir up the climate.
Thunderstorms are almost exclusive to the summers, where northern Wisconsin experiences 30 and southern experiences about 40 storms per year. Wisconsin also experiences about 19 tornadoes in a year.
If the soil in an area is moderate to highly expansive. After high rainfall, the soil would absorb a lot of moisture and start to expand. It becomes like a sponge in water. When this moisture gets evaporated, the soil starts to shrink. This cycle continues under your house. Your foundation is built into this soil, so any change in the soil can have negative effects on your foundation.
Expansion of the soil can put pressure on your house’s foundation while shrinking of the soil can cause it to sink. This shrinking can also cause cracks to develop within your house. These cracks are the first warning sign of your house starting to get seriously damaged.
Thunderstorms are almost exclusive to the summers, where northern Wisconsin experiences 30 and southern experiences about 40 storms per year. Wisconsin also experiences about 19 tornadoes in a year.
If the soil in an area is moderate to highly expansive. After high rainfall, the soil would absorb a lot of moisture and start to expand. It becomes like a sponge in water. When this moisture gets evaporated, the soil starts to shrink. This cycle continues under your house. Your foundation is built into this soil, so any change in the soil can have negative effects on your foundation.
Expansion of the soil can put pressure on your house’s foundation while shrinking of the soil can cause it to sink. This shrinking can also cause cracks to develop within your house. These cracks are the first warning sign of your house starting to get seriously damaged.
Mass wasting
Gravity causes soil, sand, and rocks to move down slopes. These do so in the form of both a singular mass or by breaking into small debris. This movement is referred to as the slope movement. These usually have a motion similar to mudflows and debris flows.
Mass wasting can be divided into multiple forms, slides, creep, falls, all of these are unique in their way. Slope movement can take place between the course of a second or hundreds of years.
If your house is built on a natural or even an artificial slope, then it is going to be susceptible to mass wasting. This could be caused by a flaw in construction too if the ground was not initially leveled properly. Foundations are meant to keep your house stable and its position secure. That susceptibility is going to increase if the foundations start getting damaged and the house starts slowly moving on the slope. It might eventually lead to irreparable levels of damage.
Mass wasting can be divided into multiple forms, slides, creep, falls, all of these are unique in their way. Slope movement can take place between the course of a second or hundreds of years.
If your house is built on a natural or even an artificial slope, then it is going to be susceptible to mass wasting. This could be caused by a flaw in construction too if the ground was not initially leveled properly. Foundations are meant to keep your house stable and its position secure. That susceptibility is going to increase if the foundations start getting damaged and the house starts slowly moving on the slope. It might eventually lead to irreparable levels of damage.
Construction Problems
A foundation is not just a hole that has concrete poured into rebar. It is a lot more intricate process. It must fit the site like how two jigsaw pieces come together. And the quality of soil, backfill, the water table, among other things can affect your puzzle. Each piece should perfectly fit. The base should be properly compacted, the rebar should be set upright, the concrete should be free of voids. Miss out on any one of these and you're looking into some serious trouble. Mal-usage of steel and poor quality of concrete can cause movement in the slab and this could lead to eventual sinking.
When Should One Have a Foundation Repair?
You may be wondering, how do I know if my house requires foundation repair or not? Here are some common indications of foundation distress:
Exterior Signs
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Interior Signs
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Foundation Repair Vs. Foundation Replacement
Once people realize that their house’s foundation is damaged, they often think the most logical step to take is to replace it. This may work but it is important to consider all the possibilities before you make up your mind.
You need to account for your budget and how the repairs will affect your day to day routine. If you get your foundation repaired, heavy machinery is going to be used for that. It will take out the soil and bring out the foundation, exposing it. Doing so, anything growing or constructed around the foundation is going to be ruined.
Like a car with a punctured wheel, the house would be held up with temporary support because the main support is going to be removed and replaced. Once the foundation is reconstructed, the house will be lowered onto it and the aesthetic disruption around it will be redone. This process takes a lot of time and is too damaging overall. It is also a lot more expensive than repairing the foundation.
You need to account for your budget and how the repairs will affect your day to day routine. If you get your foundation repaired, heavy machinery is going to be used for that. It will take out the soil and bring out the foundation, exposing it. Doing so, anything growing or constructed around the foundation is going to be ruined.
Like a car with a punctured wheel, the house would be held up with temporary support because the main support is going to be removed and replaced. Once the foundation is reconstructed, the house will be lowered onto it and the aesthetic disruption around it will be redone. This process takes a lot of time and is too damaging overall. It is also a lot more expensive than repairing the foundation.
Why One Should Have Their Foundation Repaired:
Here at Wisconsin Foundation Repair, our professionals will thoroughly explain how and why your foundation is damaged to you first. They will tell you about the various methods that can be used to permanently repair your house. The repairs can be performed anytime and most of them only take as long as a day.
Foundation replacement not only ruins your house for a very long period and costs a lot, but it also fails to solve the very root of your foundation problem. Your foundation soil.
If you build a new foundation on the same disrupted soil, you can expect your brand new foundation to be ruined soon too. Therefore, you should only consider a replacement if your house’s foundation is beyond repair. Beyond that, a replacement does not do you any special favors.
Our professionals will not only repair the foundation of your house but also take your soil for analysis and pinpoint all the issues with it so that they can be resolved and your foundation can last for a long long time.
Foundation replacement not only ruins your house for a very long period and costs a lot, but it also fails to solve the very root of your foundation problem. Your foundation soil.
If you build a new foundation on the same disrupted soil, you can expect your brand new foundation to be ruined soon too. Therefore, you should only consider a replacement if your house’s foundation is beyond repair. Beyond that, a replacement does not do you any special favors.
Our professionals will not only repair the foundation of your house but also take your soil for analysis and pinpoint all the issues with it so that they can be resolved and your foundation can last for a long long time.
Foundation Repair Methods
1. Polyurethane Foam Foundation Repair
Wisconsin Foundation Repair utilizes polyurethane foam for foundation repair in Wisconsin. Polyurethane injections are a non-invasive, faster house foundation repair alternative. We have perfected this process and provide a great, long-lasting solution to stabilize distressed foundations without having to install interior pilings.
How it is done: Our highly-skilled foundation contractors start by location all the weak or subsiding areas in the structure’s foundation. After which they drill coin-sized holes through them. Every hole is used to inject our polyurethane foam solution. After the prep, the solution is injected directly below the foundation. It takes no more than a few seconds for the polyurethane foam to expand. The expansion of the foam raises the concrete.
No harmful or toxic gases or odors result from this chemical reaction. Expansion of polyurethane results in the stabilization of the soil base as it fills any soil fissures and voids nearby, and delicately compacts loose soil.
Once the soil reaches the refusal point, the foam will begin to lift the sunken foundations. Our technicians carefully monitor elevations during the jacking process to guarantee just the right life. If your particular situation does not require any life, they will cease the injection before any noticeable lift occurs.
Polyurethane injections are very versatile and can be used for even general concrete leveling at patios, pools, and driveways.
How it is done: Our highly-skilled foundation contractors start by location all the weak or subsiding areas in the structure’s foundation. After which they drill coin-sized holes through them. Every hole is used to inject our polyurethane foam solution. After the prep, the solution is injected directly below the foundation. It takes no more than a few seconds for the polyurethane foam to expand. The expansion of the foam raises the concrete.
No harmful or toxic gases or odors result from this chemical reaction. Expansion of polyurethane results in the stabilization of the soil base as it fills any soil fissures and voids nearby, and delicately compacts loose soil.
Once the soil reaches the refusal point, the foam will begin to lift the sunken foundations. Our technicians carefully monitor elevations during the jacking process to guarantee just the right life. If your particular situation does not require any life, they will cease the injection before any noticeable lift occurs.
Polyurethane injections are very versatile and can be used for even general concrete leveling at patios, pools, and driveways.
2. Concrete Cylinders
Home foundation repair with concrete cylinders or pressed piles is comparatively straightforward. The technique involves stabilizing the soil by driving concrete cylinders underneath the foundation. The number of concrete piles required depends on the soil conditions and the structure’s weight. This is done until the piles are deep enough to reach soil with enough bearing capacity to support your house’s structure.
3. Steel Piers
Steel piers are another great home foundation repair to fix instability. A hydraulic jack is attached to a galvanized pipe in every pier section. The repairing process involves driving the piers underneath the foundation, using a hydraulic motor, until they reach stable soil. After which the foundation is raised to its ideal position using hydraulic jacks.
4. Helical Piers
Helical piers are similar to steel piers with the addition of a helical threaded section. This allows them to get “screwed” under the surface. They can be beneficial in situations where the underlying soil makes it impossible to drive conventional piers underneath the foundation.
Helical piers are used just like steel piers for foundation repair. The building’s weight gets distributed throughout as they are placed underneath the foundation at even intervals.
Helical piers are used just like steel piers for foundation repair. The building’s weight gets distributed throughout as they are placed underneath the foundation at even intervals.
5. Concrete Piers
Reinforced concrete is used to make concrete piers. They prevent foundations from sinking and instability.
Concrete piers foundation repair involves drilling cylindrical holes underneath the foundation until stable soil is reached. Liquid concrete is then poured into these holes to make the foundation stable. Once the concrete hardens and cures, the structure is raised back to its ideal elevation using jacks.
Concrete piers foundation repair involves drilling cylindrical holes underneath the foundation until stable soil is reached. Liquid concrete is then poured into these holes to make the foundation stable. Once the concrete hardens and cures, the structure is raised back to its ideal elevation using jacks.
6. Mudjacking/Slab jacking
Mudjacking or slab jacking is a foundation repair process used to fix slab foundations. Slab jacking is carried out by drilling holes, at even intervals, through the foundation. A solution of solid materials and water (or polyurethane) is then poured into the clearance. This adds strength to the loose soil underneath the foundation. The drilled holes are plugged once this is done.
How Much Does Foundation Repair Cost?
While most foundation-related problems are much the same, a custom solution is required for every structure to ensure the best performance and value. The tools, time and material required, the severity of the situation and the type of the problem, all factor into how much you will be charged for foundation repair.
At Wisconsin Repair Foundation, we can ensure you will be charged as reasonably as possible for foundation repairs.
At Wisconsin Repair Foundation, we can ensure you will be charged as reasonably as possible for foundation repairs.
Get Inspected Today
If you are looking for foundation repair in Wisconsin or unsure if your house needs a foundation repair, get in touch with us today to get your place professionally inspected and assessed. Our experienced technicians will determine the foundation issues in your house and provide the most effective solutions for it.