Ram Jack was first called to The Carling on Frankford which is an apartment complex in Carrollton, TX to perform a due diligence walk through in early 2024. During this initial inspection, the team noted that one of the buildings showed signs that recent foundation repair work had been performed., This was noted and flagged for the incoming ownership group. Several months later, while Ram Jack was completing foundation repairs on another structure on the property, the customer requested a full interior evaluation of the previously flagged building be performed.
The issue was obvious. The previous foundation repair company had over-lifted the exterior wall on one end of the 2-story structure. The exterior walls where the previous underpinning work had been performed was 4 ½-inches higher than the center of the building, while the remaining 80% of the building was relatively level. This dramatic elevation differential caused severe interior distress, including floor separation, out of plumb doors and large sheetrock cracking. After receiving permission from the client, Ram Jack excavated around the perimeter and uncovered the existing concrete pressed piles that had been used to over-lift the building.
The optimum solution is to try and lower the 20% of the building that was over-lifted to match the rest of the building. In order to do this, there must be a void under the exterior grade beam and the floor slab. In the course of the investigation, small holes were drilled through the high areas of the floor slab to verify and measure any void space beneath the slab. A void space was discovered and measured to be 6-inches deep in the highest areas. Therefore, it was economically and structurally feasible to lower the foundation to a reasonable elevation to match the rest of the building. However, the building would require a precise and engineered lowering process.
To design a safe and predictable plan, Ram Jack teamed up with Fortified Engineering Solutions. Fortified developed an engineered solution with a detailed repair sequence.
The solution consisted of shoring the over-lifted portion of the building with fifteen (15) patented Ram Jack driven steel piles. Once the piles were in place and the building shored, the crew would excavate beneath the perimeter grade beam, remove the existing pressed concrete piers, and then use Ram Jack’s synchronized hydraulic system to gradually lower the structure back to its proper elevation.
After presenting this plan to the ownership group’s Director of Construction and receiving approval, Ram Jack scheduled the project.
Ram Jack completed the corrective underpinning repair in 3-days. The crew installed all fifteen driven piles to an average depth of twenty-four feet, removed the existing pressed piers, and successfully lowered the structure between three and four inches. Once the building reached the proper elevation, the piles were locked to hold and support the building’s foundation on the new steel pile system.
With the foundation restored, the ownership group proceeded with interior repairs. Within a month, both the bottom and second-floor units were fully repaired and back on the market. What began as a significant structural imbalance caused by an improper foundation repair was resolved with an engineering partnership, precise equipment, using the right underpinning system and Ram Jack’s unique ability and experience to safely lower a muti-family structure.
Location: Carrollton, TX
Type: Multi-Unit Housing – Remedial Foundation Repair
Products Installed: 15 Driven Piles (Interior 4036.NS & 4021; Exterior 4021)
Depth: 24 ft average
Adjustment: Lowered 3–4 inches