Foundation settling and failure can strike any home in the country, but the unique soil structure and weather conditions in Texas can lead to some specific recurring issues. A pier-and-beam type of home, which is generally referred to as a “crawl space home,” can present some challenges when it comes to foundation failure. While a great number of homes will experience some type of perimeter settlement at their foundations, the pier-and-beam home interior is the structure that is most often affected by foundation movement. The causes for this are largely connected to the home’s initial construction.
Shifting Soil and Variable Weather Patterns
The underside of the pier-and-beam type of home sits directly upon the ground’s surface with the aid of some concrete blocks. The Texas topsoil is known to be heavily infused with a type of clay soil that tends to expand in the various types of weather conditions that the state experiences. When this clay substance meets with the wild seasonal cycles we all know very well, there can be a lot of movement below homes that occurs very close to the ground’s surface.
The most common type of repair for a pier-and-beam / crawl space type of home includes the insertion of steel or wood shims in between the wood structure and the concrete blocks. While this shim method can be a highly effective repair in the short term, this type of repair will nearly always have to be adjusted or reinforced every couple of years. This type of repair does indeed work, but over the life of a home, you will have to monitor it and revisit the repair work at regular intervals to ensure that your home’s foundation is stable.
A Solution that Lasts
The good news is that there is an alternative – a much more permanent and stable solution. Ram Jack has created a method that will far outlast the more temporary shim method of reinforcement and repair.
We install helical piles in the place of existing concrete blocks within the foundation. The home’s interior will then rest upon a load-bearing stratum that is far more resistant to the seasonal changes of Texas. This load-bearing stratum allows for a much more solid, consistent base for the home throughout all of the changing seasonal cycles that Texas is home to.
Interested in a long-term solution for your home – and your sanity? Contact the folks at Ram Jack to find out more about our innovative, more permanent solution to foundation settling and failure. Your home is your sanctuary; make sure it’s on a solid foundation.
