Click on a photo to enlarge.
These homeowners contacted Basement Systems of New York because they noticed throughout the entirety of their home their floors sagged and had a bounce to them. This was due in part to condensation and moisture attacking their wood, this ultimately rotted out all their floor joists and main girder.
To take care of the issue throughout the entire home we had to perform our work on three separate areas in their ginormous crawl space. These areas for our Installation Specialists were broken down into the room closest to the driveway, the middle room, and the room with the crawl space entrance. In doing this we made the project extremely decipherable to our foreman, as well allowed our team to tackle the most difficult areas first.
To take care of the issues in the room closest to the driveway we had to dig down several feet in order to establish our area to install our pre-cast footings. These pre-cast footings would eventually be the supports for our SmartJack support systems with steel i-beams. Once their new sports were installed we then began to sister all of their floor joists. After these steps were completed we then dug down in front of their damaged wall and formed a new stepped footing, which we pinned rebar into and then poured a new wall.
After completing this room we moved onto the middle room. Here we began establishing the areas for our pre-cast footings. We then proceeded to install our SmartJack support systems with steel i-beams. Once this was done we then sistered all of their floor joists. Finally, before finishing this area off we removed their old main girder and replaced it with a brand new quadruple 2x10 main girder.
Finally, we worked on the area of their crawl space that contained the entrance. Here we installed four SmartJack support systems with steel i-beams, which ran from the entryway to the front of their new main girder. We then sistered twenty-three of their floor joists.
Since implementing these systems the structural integrity of this home and its floors home have returned to the status they were in when the home was originally purchased over thirty years ago.
These homeowners originally called us out to inspect their homes' foundation just after purchasing their home because they noticed a lot of cracks in their foundation. Because of the issue, they began doing their due diligence and researched companies online. They found our company website, which told them that if you have cracks in your foundation, your floors may be out of level upstairs. Also, they were experiencing cracks above their windows and doors, which is a tell-tale sign that your foundation could be sinking.
They called us to see if there was a solution to rectify the problem. During the initial inspection of the home we took benchmark measurements and provided a full inspection of the foundation. This told us that the foundation without a doubt had sunken.
After providing them with the proposal, they were unfortunately unable to do the project due to lack of funds, and they needed some time to budget for their project. So two years later, they reached out and, said they were ready to do the project.
Because of the time that had passed, we had to reinspect their home. Upon this inspection due to increased settlement the project did have to expand. Originally the project called for eighteen push piers and turned into twenty-one piers because we had to support the sections that previously were not an issue.
Since completing their project they have noticed that their home feels so much stronger when they walk, they don't constantly hear noises that worry them, and they don't have issues with items in their home rolling away due to their home sinking. Most importantly to them, peace of mind has been restored to them and they can sleep peacefully at night now not having to worry if their home is going to fall.
When this homeowner originally purchased his home back in the 80s he added an addition onto their home to make their almost perfect home perfect. Little did they know that due to putting on the addition due to the soil conditions and many other factors that their home would settle and they would start to have issues with their floors being uneven, not being able to close doors, and bouncy floors. Because of these reasons, he contacted Basement Systems of New York to see what could be done to bring his home back to its former glory. The reason they chose to have us perform the work was due to our level of professionalism, along with our ability to complete projects in an efficient time frame.
To fix the foundation problems that their home and they were experiencing we needed to dig down six feet to install our sono tubes, these sono tubes would serve as the foundation for our sixteen new SmartJacks that would be installed. We then sistered every 2x6 floor joist with treated lumber. Finally, we installed 165 linear feet of main girders with our steel i-beams. We installed one i-beam on each end and two in the center.
Once all our systems were installed our Installation Specialists methodically and meticulously raised the home to level. With just a small amount of leveling and the doors slowly going back to normal the homeowner was ecstatic, once the entire project was completed he could not believe that his home was now back to how it was when he has first put the addition on.
In the spring of 2019, these homeowners had us waterproof their basement with our patented WaterGuard Sub-Floor Drainage System with our TripleSafe sump pump. Because of how well the system has worked for them over the past two years and how beautiful the original project came out they decided to contact us again to take care of the structural and moisture issues within their crawl space.
Because of the structural issues that they were experiencing in their crawl space, they noticed that their floors had sunken three inches over a six-foot span. Because of this sinking, they noticed in their home bouncing floors, chairs that would roll freely when someone got up and having to sleep with their head at the bottom of the bed in order to get a good night's sleep as well as to get out of their bed.
In order to take care of the issues that they were noticing in their home and restore structural integrity to their home, we had to install several of our patented products. We first started by sistering their rotten and cracked floor joints, we then replaced their sill plate on their front wall. Once these two steps were completed we were able to move on to the heavy lifting. We then installed two steel i-beams on the outside perimeters of the crawl space, which we supported with four SmartJacks with precast footings. Once these two supports were in place we installed an eight-inch wide flat stock steel under their main girder, which we then supported with an additional four Smartjacks. Finally, we laid gravel throughout the crawl space so we would lay our drain matting along the entirety of the floor before we encapsulated their crawl space with our CleanSpace vapor barrier.
These homeowners were a little apprehensive about removing and repairing their sill plate, but once they saw how level and structurally sound their home was their minds were put at ease. They could not have been any more ecstatic about how their project came out, but more importantly that they did not have to deal with the headache of chairs moving and being able to get a good night of sleep.
This homeowner contacted us because they believed their footing drains had been washed away and their foundation was dipping. they believed this because they were experiencing all the tell-tale signs of a sinking foundation.
Upon our Specialist inspecting the home he noticed that all these things were happening because the foundation was sinking. Once we determined this we could determine that the soil conditions around the home were horrible and that we needed to install our Stabillok push pier system to fix this. When we performed our exterior dig up we also saw that the foundation wall was extremely compromised due to not having a parge coating or waterproofing coating of any type. Because of this, we could not install our push piers underneath the wall and properly support the home because putting that pressure on top of the block would have led to more problems.
As a result, we regrouped and worked with our team of engineers and Stabillok headquarters to design a new solution to save this home. The solution that we came up with is unique and specific to this home. To properly support and stabilize this home, we installed triple 2x8's every thirty-two inches on center. Once done, we installed a six-inch I-Beam underneath them. What this is going to do is take the weight of our push piers and give us something solid to drive off. By doing this we have a situation where the wall and its unstable soil are no longer a factor.
By doing this the home will sit on our piers, our piers will be sitting in stable soil, and now their home is no longer in danger of sinking and falling over. By completing this project, we saved this home and turned a depreciating asset into an appreciating asset that these homeowners now feel safe living in.