Foundation and Concrete Concerns on Detached Garage, Freedom, NH

Wednesday, October 4th, 2023 by Travis Kellogg

Challenge

The original owners of a home in Freedom, New Hampshire built a detached garage on their property in 2007. About 3 years ago the homeowners noticed cracking on the slab in the garage and the structure was pulling away from the sill plate. Concerned, the homeowners decided to call EFS for a free inspection of their garage because of our reputation and ability to find long-term solutions for homeowners. Our Design Specialist Jason Vachon met with the homeowners. During his time with them, he talked about their concerns and then inspected the detached garage to find a solution for them.

During Jason's inspection, he looked at the slab and around the foundation of the garage to find any issues. He found that the slab inside the garage was settling which had caused the cracking throughout the garage. But, Jason had also found that the front left portion of the garage was sinking considerably. Jason took down his measurements and began creating a solution for the homeowners.

Solution

Jason Vachon recommended installing 5 Push Piers, PolyLevel, and 210ft of NexusPro in the garage.

The Push Piers will be installed at the front left of the garage and wrapped around the corner. Three piers will be installed on the front and the other two piers will be installed on the left side of the garage so we can lift the sinking corner of the garage. We used our hydraulic press to lift the sinking corner approximately 5 inches to its original height. After the piers were fully installed the team then backfilled over them and then moved on to repairing the garage slab.

Inside the garage, our PolyLevel team began by drilling port holes with a 1/2" bit. We drilled portholes in a grid pattern throughout the slab so the team would be able to fill any voids and lift the sunken slab. The team lifted the entire slab before beginning to install the NexusPro to seal the cracks.

The team used a caulking gun to inject NexusPro into the cracks. Then we used metal "spoons" that vary in size to spread the NexusPro over the crack. The spoons will push the NexusPro into the crack to prevent debris and water from entering the cracks.

After the cracks were sealed the team then cleaned up the job site and did a walkthrough with the homeowner to see if they had any questions. After the walkthrough, the homeowners expressed their appreciation for what Erickson did to save their garage from further damage.