Living in Georgia or Alabama, homeowners are on the lookout for foundation issues due to the climate of their area. One of biggest threats to homes is the pressure that soil and water place on a foundation. Since the summers are hot and humid, drought conditions can definitely have an effect on the foundations. Dry conditions will shrink the soil from around the foundation. During a drought, trees will draw moisture from the deeper soils around and under your house making for more shrinkage of soil. When the moisture levels in the soils drop, the deeper soil can move causing damage to your foundation. If your home was built on expansive soils, you could see cracks and foundation settlement. This kind of soil contains minerals that absorb water. With less water, the soil will shrink and remove the support from your structure.
Having a rainy season in Georgia or Alabama can also cause damage to your foundation. When there is a heavy rain after drought conditions, the water will move into cracks and through the soil at a much faster rate. We know that water looks for a path where nothing is in its way. When it is moving smoothly along in the cracks in the dry soil, it might just find its way under your basement and around your foundation. This new water pressure will push against the cement and cause bowing walls and cracks in the foundation. When the soil has a heavy concentration of water in it, the weight pushing on the foundation can double. When this happens, the foundation can sink and no longer have the same support. A sinking foundation can cause the floors to slope, a leaning chimney, and windows and doors will be harder to open and close.
If you see signs of a sinkhole near your house, you need to have a professional come for an inspection. The hole in the ground is usually in the limestone beneath the ground soil. The limestone is slowly dissolved by the acids in rain. Of course this can threaten the support of any structure. Atlas Piers is the company to come and evaluate the situation and create a plan for the safety of your home.
Foundation Repair Georgia
For all these concerns to a foundation, Atlas Piers has a solution. Using the best products in the industry provided by Earth Contact Products(ECP), they will have a associate come to your home and assess your needs. One possible solution to create support for your home is the use of steel push piers. The push piers support your home from the underneath. In the underpinning the push pier is attached to an existing wall and then goes down in the ground to a more suitable and stable part of the earth, This way it is much easier to support the weight of the home. Helical piers can also be used to support bowing walls to stop cracking of the foundation. Atlas Piers is the company for this foundation repair Alabama and foundation repair Georgia.
