Over time, the foundation under your house can start to deteriorate, especially if the home is a hundred or more years old. The original foundation may need replacing, and a new concrete foundation is not as challenging to put in place as you may think.
Foundation Inspection
The first step in any foundation work is to have a full inspection done of the concrete foundation under the house. If the foundation is stone or brick, it indicates an extremely old foundation. Stone foundations date back thousands of years but stopped being used in the US around 1890, and brick was used into the 1920s but is only suitable for about a hundred years.
During the inspection of the foundation, the inspector will be looking for cracks, loose bricks and stones, and evidence of water damage to the cement or motor holding the foundation together. If you already have a concrete foundation, the inspector will be looking for similar issues like cracks, broken out sections of concrete, and water damage.
If the damage is too extensive to fix, the concrete foundation services contractor will recommend replacing the foundation with a new concrete foundation that will last another eighty to one hundred years if it is constructed properly.
Out With The Old
To replace the concrete foundation under your home, the concrete foundation services company will need to excavate around the house to expose the old foundation. Once that is complete, the house will be carefully jacked up off the existing foundation and supported on large beams while the work is being completed.
The old concrete foundation will be broken up and removed to make way for the new one. The concrete foundation services company will prepare the ground under the home, making sure it is level and can support the new foundation, then construct concrete forms for the concrete.
If you would like to add a basement under the home, the contractor may be able to do that during this time, so ask them about it and how it will affect the job's cost and timeline.
In With the New
Once the forms are complete, concrete is poured into the forms to create the new foundation's footings and walls. Some concrete foundation services companies will pour footings first as a base, then add the verticle walls on top of the footings, while others pour all of it at once.
Once the concrete is cured and the forms removed, the house is lowered onto the new foundation and secured in place. In most cases, this new foundation will outlive the homeowner and maybe even outlast the next owner.
For more information about concrete foundations, contact a company like Armada Poured Walls LLC.
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