Foundation Repair in Virginia Beach, Newport News, Norfolk, & Hampton Roads

Sometimes it can be difficult to pinpoint if home foundation repair work is needed. Our professionally trained staff has come up with several telltale signs that your foundation may have seen better days. You should consider reaching out to Bay Foundation Repair if you notice any of the following:

Cracked Foundation Bricks

Brick cracks, or “stair-step cracks,” are the most common sign that you have a crack in your foundation. As the foundation cracks get worse, due to differential settlement*, the cracks in the brick can widen and become longer. Over time these cracks will pose a greater risk to structural failure and possible injury.

*Differential settlement: term used in structural engineering that relates to how a building’s support foundation settles in an uneven fashion

Sloping Uneven Floors

Most homes are level when first constructed. Everything is supported from bottom to top on the home’s foundation. If the ground floors are uneven or sloped, your home is at risk for foundation settlement*. Your floors could be sloping due to a foundation settlement, a settled support pier, or weakened floor framing. If left untreated, settlement could lead to your home foundation’s structural collapse.

*Foundation settlement: refers to the distortion or disruption of parts of a building due to unequal compressions of its foundation; includes compressions from shrinkage or moisture retention.

A sticking exterior door is a common sign that some foundation settlement has begun. You will need a foundation repair company to come in and fix whatever issue is causing the sticking. If an interior door is sticking, your floor framing or support piers are the likely culprit.

Foundation Gaps Around Windows

If you notice gaps opening up around your windows, it is possible that foundation settlement is occuring. A common sign is the caulk around the window splitting or the window not functioning as it normally does. A professional foundation repair company will need to come in and address these gaps. They may lead to a more significant issue in the foundation.

Foundation Gaps In Trim

Any gaps in the trim in your home could point toward foundation settlement. This includes crown molding, door framing, and baseboards. If the gaps worsen over time, that is indicative of foundation repairs being required.

Rotten Joists and Beams

The wood supporting your floors is accessible in the crawl space. Wood rot is a sign that your foundation is decomposing from moisture. Wood decaying fungi often times grows on the floor joists and weakens the floors.

If you notice any of these signs in your home, we strongly recommend contacting a home foundation repair company that specializes in identifying the root of the problem. Our Expert House Foundation Repair Advisors are trained to diagnose the causes of your house settlement issues and can offer clear solutions to guarantee stabilization of your home’s foundation.

With foundation repair, our motto is “Trust the Experts.” Repairing your house’s foundation should be handled correctly the first time. We recommend you do not hire a contracting company that does house foundation repairs as a secondary service. Bay Foundation Repair is committed to foundation repairs – this is our speciality.

We understand you may be tempted to hire a handyman or contracting company that does foundation repairs as a secondary service to save money, but we implore you to give us a shot with a free consultation. Your home’s structural integrity is not worth taking shortcuts. Taking shortcuts on material costs will only lead to more expensive labor costs when those materials fail. You will also likely end up paying for the more expensive material anyway. At Bay Foundation Repair, our total costs are typically less than what other contractors or a handyman will charge.

Get it right the first time and hire the best local experts in house foundation repairs.

The biggest commonality with home foundation repairs is the soil surrounding the foundation. Soil leads to leveling issues and is the primary contributor to differential settlement. Since changes in soil moisture are what cause foundational issues, we must address the soil problem directly.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to dealing with soil issues. Each home foundation is different and should be approached with attention to its unique aspects. Our professionally trained home foundation repair experts can provide you with a detailed explanation of the problems with your surrounding soil or any other underlying issues contributing to your differential settlement.

As previously mentioned, each house foundation repair case is different. As such, there are multiple solutions that may be better suited to your specific foundation. Bay Foundation Repair offers the following solutions:

Crawl space jacks can be installed to offer stabilization to your floor structure. Dropped support piers or sagged beams or joists are leading causes of home foundation problems. We can install crawl space jacks that assist house foundation leveling.

In addition to house leveling jacks, we can install supplemental floor support beams. New beams, footings, and crawl space jacks should always be stronger than what is required in order to prevent structural failure. These beams will support your home’s joists ‘mid-span’ and restore strength to your floors. This will reduce the slope and bounce often seen with unsupported floors.

Foundation Push Piers

Foundation push piers are a level up from house leveling jacks because they penetrate through the weakest layer of soil and instead support your home on the stronger layers of soil underneath. We use the weight of the house to drive these push piers down into the soil until we find the strongest layer.

Once the strongest soil layer is found we can begin applying house leveling jacks. With the push piers in place and jacks as support, we can apply pressure to multiple piers and literally lift your house and strategically adjust it to where it has the best chance of natural correction.

We use Titan SP-90 foundation push piers for our home foundation repairs. Each one of these is capable of supporting up to 90,000 lbs. They are also all approved by a licensed professional structural engineer.

Helical Piers

Helical foundation piers are like giant screws or augers that are twisted into the ground to support your home’s structure. The surface area of the spiral coils, (“helices”), is what actually supports the weight of the entire structure.

These piers are more so recommended for new homes. We do not recommend using helical foundation piers on existing structures for the following reasons:

• The install could be ineffective without a proper, detailed analysis of the underlying soil layers.
• Roots, rocks, and other obstructions could provide false pressure readings and throw off the effectiveness of the piers due to inadequate support.
• Helical piers cannot be driven straight down with existing structures. Instead they are driven at an angle which creates a weaker footing in the soil.

Crawl Space Encapsulation

This method would be done in addition to one of the above foundation repair methods. Part of the reason your house could be experiencing foundation issues is your crawl space. If the crawl space is not properly conditioned it could lead to moisture retention, mold, or pest infestation that ultimately can seep into your home’s foundation.

Bay Foundation Repair also works on crawl space encapsulation and can perform the service for homeowners if needed. Our Expert Home Foundation Repair Experts will inform you if encapsulation even pertains to your situation.

Concrete Underpining

Otherwise known as a “footing underneath your footing,” concrete underpinning involves building a separate foundational layer made out of concrete underneath the existing foundation. We recommend this form of home foundation reinforcement when push piers are not an option due to the structure being too light or there not being enough room for the push pier installation equipment. It can also be slightly more affordable than push piers.

Determining the cost of home foundation repairs varies pending the extent of the work needed. We will perform a free inspection of your home and provide you an estimate of what we believe is best suited for your house foundation repairs. Our Bay Foundation Repair promise is $0 until the job is complete. Please reach out to us today to schedule a free home foundation inspection.