Basement Floor Heaving Equals Big Problems

Cracks in floors and walls, sticking doors and windows, and uneven floors are signs of a foundation heave problem.

Heaving happens when expansive soil swells and pushes your foundation up. It can be extremely noticeable on basement floors and interior footings. 

Heaving is complicated to diagnose

Heaving damage can look a lot like settlement, which is when your foundation is actually sinking. But instead, heaving is the opposite. It's the phenomenon that pushes your floors and footings up, which causes the interior walls to be pushed into the second floor.

Heaving occurs when moisture is added to or returns to the soil, causing it to expand. It then pushes up the floor slabs and interior footings.

Heave usually happens with newer homes. When a home is built, the builders dig a hole. And that hole remains exposed to sunlight for weeks. With so much direct sun exposure, moisture in the soil gets dried up and the ground shrinks. This is more common in the summer or if there's little rain. 

When that basement slab is poured, the moisture in the soil returns, causing it to expand, and therefore, pushing upwards on the basement floor slab and footings.

As foundation repair experts, we've also witnessed heave with homes built over old agricultural fields where old crops weren't fully excavated and removed. In this case, those old crops are drawing moisture to the surface, causing the soil to expand.

Regardless, heave is powerful and can take significant value away from your home.

It can cause cracks in the basement floor slab, and uneven floors, making finishing a basement difficult. When the soil heaving gets invasive, interior framed walls, load-bearing and non-load bearing, gets pushed upwards, affecting the primary floor framing system.

Drywall cracks can start to appear, floors become uneven and doors get harder to open. Like foundation settlement, heave can be invasive and cause significant damage to the home.

Usually, soil heave under a slab will slow down as the soil reaches its original moisture levels. This means the problem will get worse for a few years before slowing down. If the cosmetic damage isn't too severe, some homeowners choose to live with the issue long-term. 

In other cases, the damage will be too severe you'll want to solve the issue and get the home back to its original condition.

Several things can be done to address this problem, and the solution depends on the severity of the problem. Here are a few potential solutions based on the challenges that you are facing.

Solution for basement floor slab heaving

If your issue is primarily the basement floor slabs being humped in the middle, you might be able to address just the slab.

Removing slab due to heave

For example, if the basement is unfinished and the interior footings have not moved, you can remove and replace the basement slab.

You will want to ensure that a geotechnical engineer reviews the soil and assists the concrete contractor to make sure the underlying soil has the appropriate moisture content. 

If the ground is especially problematic, it may need to be removed and replaced with a more competent material.

Solution for basement slab and non-load bearing walls

If the interior walls in your finished basement are being pushed up unto your second floor joists, you will have to take a more invasive approach.

In most cases, you'll have to remove the basement slab, excavate below the bottom of the slab about 12". Then install helical piers to support a new structural slab.

After that's done, a void form can be established. This concrete form goes under the concrete and creates a space for the soil to move in without impacting the new structural concrete slab. Once the helical piers and void form are installed, a structural slab can be installed and the basement can be updated. 

Re-pouring slab

Solution for basement slab and load-bearing walls

If the heave is impacting the interior load-bearing walls, that means the problem is severe. This type of heave causes significant damage.

In this case, all of the above solutions need to be done, with the addition of piers under the interior load bearing walls and footings. 

By installing these interior piers, we can excavate under the interior footings, lower them back down to their original position, and install a void form under the footings to prevent issues. 

This is the most invasive approach, but it will prevent further problems from occurring in the home.

 

Finished replaced slab

If you're in our service area, we'd love to help. We have a unique geotechnical solution to basement floor heave that restores property value. If you think you are experiencing this problem, contact us for a free home inspection from one of our experienced specialists.

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