Multiple Different Foundation Concerns, Melrose, MA

Wednesday, June 14th, 2023 by Travis Kellogg

Challenge

A homeowner in Melrose, Massachusetts had several issues with their home's foundation, including cracking, shifting, sinking, leaking, and bowing. They were worried about their home's structural integrity and wanted a professional opinion. The homeowner contacted Erickson Foundation Solutions for a free inspection. Our Design Specialist/Project Manager met with the homeowner, carefully examined the inside and outside of the foundation, and listened to their concerns. Nate assured the homeowner that we could address all of their issues and create a customized solution for their home.

Solution

After an inspection by Nate, it was recommended to use Helical Piers and Push Piers to stabilize the foundation, Geolocks to stabilize the foundation walls, Injection Crack Sealant to fill foundation cracks, PolyLevel Injection to fill the void beneath the basement slab, and finally more PolyLevel as frost mitigation for the Helical and Push Piers. The Installation Team, led by Neal Foley, arrived at the home for the first day of the job and started by planning to stabilize the foundation walls. They created a trench in the garage to install the Geolocks and pull the foundation wall back to a straight position. The Geolock rod was sent through the foundation wall and into the trench in the garage. The team secured a Geolock Plate to each end of the rod and proceeded to tighten the rods to straighten the wall. Once the straightening procedure was complete, the team backfilled the trench and poured new concrete into the garage. Next, the team installed the piers to stabilize the foundation wall. They exposed the footing of the foundation and installed 17 Push Piers to the back wall of the foundation to prevent it from settling. After installing the brackets on the footing of the foundation, they used a hydraulic press to push the piers down into the ground until they reached sufficient pressure to stabilize the foundation. The team then sprayed PolyLevel over the push piers to mitigate frost and backfilled dirt over it. After installing the Push Piers and Frost Mitigation, the team moved on to installing the Helical Piers under the second-floor sunroom. They set up temporary posts under the sunroom to support it while installing the new Helical Piers. The team used a hydraulic drive head attachment on their excavator to drive the helical piers into the soil until they reached sufficient pressure. After the correct pressure was achieved, the team installed the porch bracket and cut 6X6 PT to be the vertical supports. The supports were attached to the bracket and then up to the bottom of the sunroom. After installing all the piers and Geolocks, the team worked on the inside of the basement. They used PolyLevel to fill the void in one corner of the basement by creating a porthole in the concrete slab so they could inject PolyLevel under the slab. The last item on the list was to seal 18 feet of cracks in the basement using Injection Crack Sealant. The team used the sealant to expand to fit an area, allowing them to seal the cracks in the foundation wall. The project was completed, and the team walked the homeowner through everything that was installed into the home. The homeowner was impressed with the results of the project and no longer has to worry about the foundation.