Stabilize Foundation Walls, North Swanzey, NH

Monday, July 11th, 2022 by Travis Kellogg

Challenge

A homeowner up in North Swanzey, New Hampshire, had previously gotten a quote in 2018 from Nate Erickson to fix a crack in their foundation wall. The couple decided not to act on creating a permanent solution for their home. A few years later, the cracks in their foundation had worsened and they reached back out to Erickson Foundation Solutions. The couple would like to have this home be their forever home.

Our design specialist Stephen Caron inspected the home and found some significant movement in the foundation walls. On the front foundation wall of the home, Stephen found a 3" inward bow and a downward settlement of 0.75". On the back wall of the foundation, the wall was settling toward the rear around 3.5" on the right, and 0.75" on the left. The wall had also settled at 2.62".

In order to address these issues, an additional challenge with the front foundation wall was the crew had to maneuver around the septic tank at the front of the home.

Goals for Project:

Repair forever home
Stabilize foundation wall
Protect the home from settlement

Solution

Stephen recommended installing 8 Geolocks on the front foundation wall of the home. Three of the Geolocks would have to be maneuvered and installed at an angle to avoid damaging the septic tank. On the back foundation wall, Stephen recommended installing 8 Helical Piers with Flush Mount Brackets and 45' of PolyLevel Frost Mitigation along the foundation. Finally, to control the humidity in the basement, Stephen recommended installing a SaniDry.

Our production team led by Ed N. exposed the footing on the front of the home and dug a trench 10 feet away from the home. The trench dug away from the home would house the Geolock plates. The other end of the Geolock would be installed against the inside of the foundation in the basement. The Geolocks would be connected by a 10-foot galvanized rod that pulled the two plates together to prevent the foundation from bowing further. Five of the Geolocks were installed straight off of the wall. Three of the Geolocks were installed at a 45-degree angle to avoid the septic tank.

Geolocks Installed into Trench

Geolocks Installed on Foundation Wall

Next, the team installed helical piers at the back of the home. Using the excavator with a hydraulic drive head, the team can drive the helical piers into the ground until sufficient pressure is achieved. After pressure is achieved, a flush mount is attached to the footing of the foundation. The helical piers are attached to the flush mount and capped. Before backfilling the piers, the team sprays 45' of PolyLevel Frost Mitigation to prevent frost in the wintertime.

Helical Piers and Frost Wall

The team backfilled and cleaned up the exterior of the home of all tools and debris. Ed did a final walkthrough with the homeowners and they were pleased with the job. The homeowners loved the work some much that they left a review thanking EFS and the crew.