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- Hi there — have been trying to research this all night. We are planning a bedroom addition — all has been going well with planning until now we realize that a drainline to the septic is in the foundation area. It is not the main line but a feeder that comes out from the wall and immediately turns toward the main line. About 2 feet of this pipe is in the problem area. The pipe is fairly shallow — about 2 feet down. Cast iron, sandy soil. Older house that has never had significant septic issues. Is there a workaround foundation "technique" that addresses this issue
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Rob, I don't know of a 'foundation technique' for your problem, but here are my thoughts on the situation. In my opinion the best thing would be to hire a plumbing company to tunnel under the area of the line in question and re-rout it so it won't be under the new addition. This may sound drastic but it could save you so much trouble down the road. Old cast iron is very prone to breakage and/or rusting away and if that takes place under your new room, you will have a major headache rerpairing it then. Plus,it could cause foundation and interior damages to your new room which would require $$$$ to repair them.
Thanks for your question. Sincerely,Alan Ardoin.
- Should a contractor ALWAYS be able to find bedrock if they drill in helical or steel piers?
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Dear Ellen, another great question.
No, a contractor will not always find "bedrock" when installing Helical Piers or Steel piers, especially in the DFW Metroplex.
For starters, "bedrock" has a specific geological definition and is not found here in our area. This is why the contractor should make the effort to terminate their piers into "load bearing strata". The definition of load bearing strata can be a little subjective but it can also get technical. The main components of the definition, at least for my company, are: the pier should be at least 15' deep and should encounter a strata which produces enough resistance to support two times the weight of the structure it will carry.
Since any type of "rock" in this area of Texas can be at depths from 2 to 100 feet, affordability becomes a factor for the home owner. We have pushed our steel piers as deep as 98' in order to reach a strata that would not allow further advancement of the piers. This is where the helical piers come to the rescue of the budget.
The helical pier is designed to be installed at low speed and high torque until it bears into a strata which produces sufficient resistance to meet our criteria and then it is terminated. Sort of like when you screw a screw into a piece of lumber and the progress is easy until the screw reaches a harder layer of the wood and halts the process.
For example, where a thick bed of sand stone lies 85' deep and the steel pier would have to be driven that deep, the helical may only need to be advanced 35' deep to find a good strata for support. This is why my company has kept a database of the depths we have driven our steel piers on past jobs. When we are called to provide an estimate for a home owner, we can pull up past jobs nearest to their property and get a good idea where "load bearing strata" is and use that information to help advise the customer.
Again, feel free to forward any other questions you have and I will do my best to get you answers.
Sincerely, Alan Ardoin.
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1) How many beams would you expect to find under a home that is 63 feet wide and 26 feet deep, plus has a garage 18 by 18 added to the back of one side?
2) Should interior piers be placed under the beams if the foundation is getting raised at least 3 inches?
3) Would one expect to find a beam under a load supporting wall that runs 63 feet from the west to the east side down the center of the home (centered at 13 feet deep)? -
Dear Ellen,
Great Questions! While we are not builders or construction engineers, we have developed some construction-related perspectives due to the multitude of houses we have sought to repair. I am going to attempt to answer your questions based on the presumption that the home of which you speak is built on a slab on grade concrete foundation.
The number of beams one would expect to find and the number of beams present, if any, can be quite different. I would LIKE to find three beams from side to side; one being directly under the primary load bearing wall and another seven (7) feet offset on either side of it. If the foundation is going to be lifted three (3) or more inches then, YES, I would want the piers placed to directly support the beams.
It is not a matter of whether the foundation COULD BE LIFTED if the piers are not under the beams, but IT IS a matter of whether anything less will assure you of a LONG TERM HOLD without breaking the foundation at the point of contact at each pier.
As far as a beam being UNDER the load bearing wall, that is where one would hope to find one. But rarely have we found that to be the case; the most common situation we find is where the load bearing wall sits off from the beam two to three feet.
Some other concerns for you to consider are the pier type and depth, the stress the lift will place on all plumbing and the preparation of gas and electrical connections so they will lift with the house without being broken. Also,if you have not hired an independent engineer to design the scope of work to be attempted then I would highly recommend that.
If you have any more questions we can address please let me know.
Sincerely, Alan Ardoin.
- Can problems with the driveway show problems with the foundation itself (i.e. the driveway or outside walkway separating from the home)?
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Triwanna, thanks for the great question.
The good news is that the driveway and sidewalks are poured apart from the foundation and any movement they exhibit is not generally connected to the foundation.
As the soil goes through its movements the driveway,patios and sidewalks float with it and tend to pull away from the foundation and/or sink down. Many of these problems may be helped with a process called mud jacking,which we offer.
If your have any further questions, or would like us to come and inspect your situation,please let me know.
Sincerely,
Alan Ardoin
President of Ace Foundation - Will tree roots affect my pier and beam home?
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Dear Joni,thanks for the question. There are a few ways a tree may affect your Pier & Beam.
If the tree is fairly close to the foundation,say six feet or closer,the roots could push up on the perimeter beam as they grow larger and put upward pressure on the beam. This could cause the beam to crack. If the roots go under the perimeter beam and into the crawl space in search of water they could contribute to a couple of problems. The root could cause the soil around a pier or two to shrink due to loss of moisture and the pier(s) could settle away from the floor. This could cause the floor to sag or it could cause the floor to shake and vibrate as you walk across it. The other problem could be the roots breaking into your sewer drain pipes in order to get water. Then you have a plumbing problem to deal with.
Also,during the rainy season, the roots could act as paths for the outside water to follow into your crawl space and thus cause various problems.
I hope this answers your question,but feel free to let me know if you need further clarification.
Sincerely,
Alan Ardoin
President of Ace Foundation - Does your firm do work to repair upheavals in a slab foundation? If you do, is it possible to give me a very rough idea of the cost to do that type of repair?
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Great question. Sadly there really is no method to date for correcting an upheaval. The main thing we focus on is the cause of the heaval.
First check your plumbing for leaks and fix any leaks found. Once the leaks are eliminated it could take up to 6 months for the excess water under the area to dry out and sometimes the heave will go down,but not always.
Another source of water which could be causing the soil to heave is poor drainage around the foundation. The solution would be to correct the drainage problems and wait for the soil to dry out.
Other causes of heave are tree roots growing under the foundation and existing piers which have been pushed up by the expanding soil. This is most commonly true if the piers are concrete. In which case the piers can be exposed,any shims and blocks removed and the foundation allowed to come back down.
The cost to do that could range from $100.00 - $150.00 per pier. If the heave is isolated to a small area of a slab foundation,you could mark off the outer edge of the area,breakout the concrete,dig out the heaved soil and repour the concrete. The price would depend on the square footage of the area. Not to mention the emotional cost of going through it.
If your foundation is a pier and beam we could work at lowering the high area from underneath. If you want, we could come out and look at your situation for a better idea of what might be done.
Sincerely,
Alan Ardoin
President of Ace Foundation
