Deflection Of Fieldstone Foundation Wall, Manchester, NH
Challenge
A homeowner in Manchester, New Hampshire, purchased their home in 2021 and had plans to remodel the house that was built in the 1930s. Before they could remodel the home, the homeowners wanted to address the sagging floors and their fieldstone foundation wall being pushed outward. The homeowner had noticed the sagging floors and the fieldstone foundation bulging out when they first purchased the home in 2021. The homeowners decided to call EFS for a free inspection. Our Design Specialist Victor arrived at the home and the homeowner brought him through the home to conduct his inspection.
The main portion of Victor's inspection was done in the dirt crawlspace of the home. Victor first examined the foundation wall that was bulging. Victor found that the fieldstone foundation was being pushed inward by outside forces. Victor recommended installing an Auxiliary wall over the bulging section of the foundation wall to add extra support to it. Next, Victor began to look into the sagging floor issue. He looked at the floor system in the crawlspace and confirmed that the floors were sagging. To eliminate the sagging, Victor recommended installing SmartJacks into the crawlspace. During Victor's inspection, the homeowner mentioned how their crawlspace wasn't in optimum condition to store things or use in any manner. So Victor recommended adding a slab pour into the crawlspace to make it a clean and usable space. After Victor's inspection they filled out all of the necessary paperwork and he sent told the office that the homeowner was ready to have their job scheduled.
Solution
The job was scheduled for a couple of weeks after the inspection.
Our team arrived on site and began figuring out where each SmartJacks and Supplemental beam will be installed per Victor's drawing. The team used little bits of blue tape to mark where each one will be installed. After, the team then began digging footings for the SJs underneath each tape mark. The team used our big footings to rest on the dirt and support the floor system above. After the footings were secured the team then set the SmartJacks into each footing. Once that was complete the team then attached the adjustable brackets to the top of the support posts and either attached them directly to the beam above or to a supplemental beam. After all 6 of the SmartJacks were installed, the team then used the adjustable tops to lift and level the floor above. After the floor was leveled, the team then called a cement truck to pour a new slab. The team had to wait a couple of days for the slab to set. After the slab was set the team then began installing an Auxiliary wall to both sides of the crawlspace to add support to the fieldstone foundation walls. They first began by installing L brackets a couple of inches from the foundation wall. Then the team installed PowerBraces between the L brackets and the foundation wall. Once secured between the L brackets and the foundation wall the team installed the top bracket into the floor joist and secured it to the PowerBrace. After all five of the braces were installed against the foundation wall, the team then began to set up the forms for the Auxiliary wall. The team connected all of the forms and then called the concrete truck again to pour concrete into both of the forms. The team had to wait a couple of days before the concrete cured before they could remove the forms. After the concrete cured the team came back to the home and removed the forms from the Auxiliary walls. Before they left the team removed any imperfections from the concrete and cleaned up the job.
The homeowners were very pleased with the outcome of their project. This will now allow them to remodel their home how they please.
Project Summary
Products Installed: Auxiliary Wall, SmartJacks, Slab Pour
Design Specialist: Victor Tapia
Crew Leader: Nick Carelli
