What is a Footing?

The footing (a.k.a. "spread footing") is the bottom part of the foundation and is usually made of concrete and reinforced with steel (rebar). The footing forms the base of the foundation and spreads the vertical loads from building.

Footing requirements are usually covered by municipal building codes and sized with respect to the bearing capacity of the soil and the building's weight. While we typically don't need to worry about this in north Texas and southern Oklahoma, other areas may be subject to seasonal frost. In these areas, the bottom of the footing must be below the frost line to prevent damage to the footing because of frost heave.

Types of Footings

The most common types of footings are:

Spot Footings

A spot or pad footing is used to support a single point of contact, such as under a pier or post. Spot footings are usually a 2' by 2' square pad, 10" to 12" thick, and made with reinforced concrete.

Continuous Spread Footing

A continuous spread footing is mainly used to provide a stable base around the perimeter of a building. Spread footings are often augmented with interior spot footings. The spread footing supports the weight of the exterior or foundation walls. The thickness of the footing provides the necessary strength for that support. The wide width of the footing base provides a large area with which to transfer the weight from the walls to the ground. This is key to preventing settlement.

Grade Beam Footing

A grade beam footing is a continuous reinforced-concrete member used to support loads with minimal bending. Grade beams are capable of spanning across non-load bearing areas, and are commonly supported by soil or pilings.Grade beam footings differ from continuous spread footings in how they distribute loads. The depth of a grade beam footing is designed to distribute loads to bearing points, while the width of a continuous spread footing is designed to transfer loads to the ground.

Get more information by visiting www.AceFoundation.com.

What is Epoxy Injection?

Epoxy Injection is for concrete what welding is for steel. Often when a foundation fails, large cracks develop and remain in the flooring or grade beams even after foundation underpinning. These cracks can remain as weak points and/or can allow moisture to seep into the living area.

We repair foundation cracks by injecting a high strength epoxy resin under high pressure into the crack and sealing it. The makers of the resin claim that once the epoxy resin dries, the foundation won't crack in the same place again.

Get more information by visiting www.AceFoundation.com.

What are Voidfilling and Mudjacking?

Mudjacking

Mudjacking is an additional foundation repair technique used to fix sinking and shifts in flat concrete areas. The process uses pressurized mud rather than piers. The mud is typically comprised of sandy loam soil, water and some cement for stiffness. The mixture is pumped under the foundation through a hose until the void is filled and creates lift of the desired areas.

Ace Foundation recommends mudjacking only for flat concrete surfaces such as garage floors, driveways, pool and patio decks.

We do not recommend mudjacking for the lifting of structural load bearing foundations/surfaces for the following reasons: The performance depends on the soil beneath. The lifting process may break sewer pipes and quickly fill them with the mud, requiring expensive plumbing repairs. A uniform lift is very difficult due to the different weight and thickness of the slab.

Many foundation repair contractors, as well as structural engineers, like to use piers on the perimeter grade beams to repair failed foundations and to use mudjacking on foundations with interior failure such as sinking or sagging floors.

Mudjacking is a procedure which involves drilling two inch (2") diameter holes through the floor in the affected area, bringing in a hose, about the size of a firehose, with a nozzle that fits in the holes and pumping a thick mud grout under the floor. The grout is typically comprised of sandy loam soil, water and about twelve percent (12%) cement.

The grout is pumped under the foundation with several hundred pounds of pressure until all voids are filled and the back pressure lifts the foundation to where it needs to be.

Mudjacking has been successfully used to lift streets, porches, and driveways at a cost much lower than replacement, but Ace Foundation does not recommend the use of mudjacking on homes or buildings for several reasons.

One big reason we do not recommend mudjacking is that the process cannot be fully controlled by the contractor once the grout leaves the nozzle.

The grout always takes the path of least resistance, which means once it leaves the nozzle the grout can come up through bathtub, leaveouts, shallow areas of concrete flooring, etc. The main danger that the mudjacking process poses is to plumbing under the foundation. As the back pressure increases, the foundation begins to raise and the possibility of plumbing lines separating increases. The moment a sewer line breaks, the grout starts entering the line and the cement can set before a plumber can clean it out. Once the grout sets, the plumbing line has to be broken out and replaced.

Mudjacking also tends to be a temporary method of repair. In order for the grout to hold the foundation in position it depends on the soil beneath it to remain in place. If the soil moves due to loss of moisture then the grout will not be able to hold the load.

Ace Foundation installs STEEL INTERIOR PIERS and accomplishes all lifting with them. We then have a plumber test for leaks in the plumbing lines and the home owner has the opportunity to repair the leaks.

We then fill the void between the floor and the soil with the same process as mudjacking yet with pressure and grout that are safer for the plumbing. This approach allows Ace Foundation to control damage and to provide the home owner with a longer lasting repair.

Voidfilling

If the lift of a foundation creates a void under the slab's interior, then we use a technique called voidfilling. Voidfilling is basically the same procedure as mudjacking but with some key differences.

• We do not mix cement in our mud for voidfilling.
• We only use light pressure to pump the mud into the void.
• The foundation load is carried by our piers and not by the mud.
• Mudjacking carries no warranty, but our steel piers do.

Get more information by visiting www.AceFoundation.com.

What is a French drain?

A French drain is a trench that is dug higher at one end and lined with filter cloth. Next, a perforated PVC pipe is placed in the trench and covered with gravel. This type of drain works very well for its first few years, but tends to be less effective after 5 years due to clogging.

The best French drains use superior drainage materials (never gravel!) that resist clogging and will provide more years of effective service.

Get more information by visiting our www.AceFoundation.com.

All About Drainage Systems

Now that summer is upon us -- complete with sizzling temperatures and (for some of us) drought conditions -- enjoy this extra post.

Landscaping maintenance is important for the beauty of homes as most home owners spend great amounts of time and money on their landscaping.

However, proper drainage around the house is of greater importance than just beauty, especially in areas where homes are built over large stratas of clay soil. Clay soil is an expansive soil that shrinks or swells throughout the seasonal changes, thus causing foundation problems.

The key ingredient which triggers the shrink/swell action is water. As clay soil loses water it shrinks and when it absorbs water it expands. While it is important to keep clay soil wet around your foundation during periods of little rainfall, it is just as important to keep excess water from ponding around your foundation during rainy seasons. If excess of water ponds around a foundation, clay soil will absorb it and expand. The more water there is around the foundation, the more the soil can expand. It is not uncommon for the soil to lift the area above normal grade. Thus, when a dry period sets in, the soil will shrink and allow the foundation to drop more than normal.

There are many things a home owner can do to correct surface drainage problems. The yard around your home should be graded to slope away from your foundation. This slope will drain water away from the house and, thus, the foundation. Once away from the house, the yard should be sloped to allow the water to drain toward the street or alley. Builders, landscapers and home owners often make changes to the landscape that prevent the runoff of excess water.

You need to inspect the landscape around your home for areas that trap water. The best time to do is immediately following rainfall. Look for flower and shrub beds which hold water and make the changes needed to allow the water to drain away.

Make sure your gutter downspouts discharge water away from the foundation rather than dumping it into a plant bed or next to the house. Sometimes all you need to do is extend the downspouts so they discharge at a safe place, and some houses would be better off without gutters.

Many drainage problems are not simple to solve,that is where Ace Foundation comes in.Some homes are built "in a hole" where all of the landscaping slopes toward the foundation. Some homes are built over old creeks, springs, or other underground drainage areas that are not visible, yet they cause damage to the foundation.

Ace Foundation has been fighting drainage problems for a long time, so if you can't engineer your own solution give us a call. We will perform a free on site inspection for you and if we think you can correct the problem yourself we will tell you.

Get more information by visiting www.AceFoundation.com.

What is a sump pump?

The best way to discharge a drain system is by gravity, but some situations make that impossible.

In these cases, the water is collected in a hole with a collection basin called a sump and then it's pumped out to a desired location. The pump stays plugged in and has an automatic shutoff.

Get more information by visiting our website, www.AceFoundation.com.