Foundation Repair Vs. Total Foundation Replacement
Many homeowners feel that if their foundation is cracked or damaged, the logical thing to do is to replace it. However, as with most home repairs, it's important to consider ALL your options if you want to get the most for your money and the least disruption of daily family life.
Whether you choose to repair or replace your foundation, this is a job that you'll want done once - and done right! The most important thing is to find an effective, permanent solution from a contractor you can trust.
What's Causing My Foundation Problem?
The different types of soil around a foundation will behave in different ways as temperature and moisture conditions change, possibly affecting the condition of the foundation.
In a nutshell, foundation settlement is the movement your home experiences when the soil beneath it shrinks, settles, or can no longer support the structure's weight. Changes that occur in those soils such as drying and shrinking, wetting and softening, compacting and swelling all affect the stability, strength and overall condition of your foundation.
A foundation with bowing and buckling walls is showing signs of damage caused by expansive soils. When clay-rich soils absorb moisture, their volume increases dramatically. This can increase pressure on your home's foundation walls by thousands of pounds, causing walls to bow and buckle inward.
If your home is experiencing foundation issues it's not going to fix itself. As the constant cycle of wet and dry periods continues, your home is likely to experience ongoing damage. The sooner the problem is fixed, the better.
Foundation Replacement
With a total foundation replacement, heavy equipment is brought in to excavate the soil around your home, exposing the foundation. That means that anything around your home - porches, stairs, gardens, and other foliage - will be removed.
Anything around the foundation such as porches, steps, gardens, walkways, and foliage would be removed.
The house would need to be "jacked up" on temporary supports as the foundation walls and slab floor are removed. After the new foundation is built, the house is lowered into place, the soil is replaced and the landscape details are restored as much as possible.
This process is disruptive, time-consuming, and much more expensive than foundation repair.
Foundation Repair
Following a thorough foundation inspection, the foundation repair contractor will explain how and why the damage occurred, and how specialized materials and techniques can be used to make permanent repairs.
There are a variety of solutions available. For example, if you have bucking foundation walls, foundation wall anchors may be the best solution. If foundation settlement is the issue, foundation piers would be a better option.
Foundation repair can be performed year-round, and many repairs just take a day to complete. All of our foundation products include a 25-Year Manufacturer's Warranty, in addition to our own performance warranty.
More about our foundation repair products.
Should You Repair Your Foundation or Replace It?
It's important to note that foundation problems can occur in houses of any age, size, and style. An article from Consumer Reports has shown that an alarming 15% of new homes constructed also experience structural problems.
These problems generally have two causes: poor construction quality, and homes built on poorly compacted fill soils.
While there are some extreme cases where a foundation just can't be fixed, we recommend repairing the foundation whenever possible. Not only is a total foundation replacement extremely costly and disruptive, it doesn't address the true source of the problem: foundation soils.
If you build a new foundation on the same troublesome soil, you can expect the same results. The new foundation will fail over time just like the original.
What Makes Foundation Repair Better?
At Thrasher, we do more than simply repair your foundation. Our repair strategy takes problematic soils and site conditions into account so that the original problems don't reoccur.
For example, Push piers extend deep below your foundation, past poor supporting soils, down to bedrock or competent strata to stop settlement and permanently support your foundation.
As another option, wall anchors counteract the inward pressures of expanding soil by reaching out far beyond your foundation walls.
Why Hire A Supportworks Contractor?
At Thrasher, we are proud to be a respected member of the Supportworks international contractor network and to have our employees professionally certified through the International Headquarters in Omaha, NE. Supportworks is a leading designer, manufacturer, and distributor of foundation stabilization systems for new and existing residential, commercial, and industrial structures.
Many companies use words like "integrity" and "quality", but Supportworks takes those words to heart and reflects them in their day-to-day decision making and business operations. These values are upheld by their talented and dedicated staff, and by each of the nearly 100 independent dealers throughout North America.
All of Supportworks' foundation repair products include a written manufacturer's warranty, backed by an additional performance warranty from your local Supportworks contractor. When appropriate, products are designed with galvanized steel for corrosion resistance and long-lasting strength.
Contact the Foundation Repair Experts
As your locally owned and operated Supportworks contractor, we have the tools, training, and professional foundation services you need to permanently solve your problem. Our warrantied solutions can restore the value and structural stability of your home. We will help you find the best solution for your foundation problem.
We offer free foundation repair inspections throughout our service area. Each written quote includes an on-site inspection, professional answer to all of your foundation questions, and a free copy of our 90-page foundation repair book.
We proudly serve the Nebraska, Iowa, and Missouri area, including Lincoln, Omaha, Sioux City, and many areas nearby.
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