Guide
Repair methods a company may propose
Proposals for the same house can name different methods. None is right for every house, and this page does not pick one. It explains what each is meant to do so you can ask why it was chosen for yours.
Underpinning
Piers that carry the slab down to firmer ground
- Steel push piers
- Lengths of steel pipe are pushed into the ground one after another by a hydraulic ram that pushes against the weight of the house. Pushing stops when the pipe meets enough resistance. A bracket under the slab edge then transfers the load to the pipe.
- Pressed concrete pilings
- The same idea using short precast concrete cylinders stacked and pressed down beneath the edge beam. How deep they go depends on how hard the soil pushes back on the day.
- Helical piers
- Steel shafts with screw-shaped plates are turned into the ground by a hydraulic motor. The turning force is measured and used to judge capacity. Because they do not rely on the building's weight, they suit lighter structures such as porches, chimneys and pier and beam houses.
- Drilled concrete piers
- A hole is drilled to a depth chosen by an engineer, often widened at the bottom, then filled with steel reinforcement and concrete. The concrete has to cure before the slab is lifted, so the job takes longer.
Without piers
Lifting, filling and sealing
- Slab lifting with grout
- Cement grout is pumped through small holes to fill empty space under concrete or to raise it. Often called mudjacking. Used for sunken porches, walks and driveways, and sometimes under a house slab.
- Slab lifting with foam
- Expanding polyurethane foam is injected in place of grout. It is lighter and sets quickly. The use is similar.
- Crack injection
- Epoxy is injected into a slab crack to tie the two sides together. A flexible sealant is used when the only aim is to keep water and insects out.
- Cable re-tensioning
- On a post-tensioned slab, cables that have lost tension are tested and tightened again. An engineer decides whether it applies.
Other foundations
Pier and beam floors and walls below ground
- Shims, posts and beams
- Under a raised wood floor the work is carpentry: new shims on existing piers, replaced or doubled beams and joists, and extra supports where a span is too long. See pier and beam foundation repair.
- Wall anchors and braces
- Steel anchors or beams that hold back a basement or retaining wall that is bowing inward. You will see them advertised, but slab houses in Frisco have no basement walls, so they rarely apply here.
Not every repair is structural
Water, roots and waiting
The Texas Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers lists a watering program, tree and root work, gutters, grading and drains as remedies in their own right. Its guidelines say that trying these and monitoring the house, before structural repair or in place of it, may be the prudent course.
The same document is candid about limits. It says perfection is not attainable, that a repair plan should state what it is meant to accomplish, and that underpinning one part of a house does not improve the parts left alone.
Five questions for whoever proposes a method
- What decides when the pier is deep enough: resistance, turning force or a designed depth?
- How deep do you expect to go on my street, and what happens to the price if you go deeper?
- Which engineer designed this, and will that engineer see the work?
- What is this repair meant to achieve, and what will it not change?
- What will the yard, the flower beds and any floors you open look like when you leave?
Foundation repair in Frisco and nearby
Describe the problem, book the inspection
This number is for foundation repair on houses. Say where the cracks are, which doors stick and how long it has been going on. If part of the house shifted all at once, there is a gas smell, or brickwork seems about to come down, clear the house and dial 911 or the gas utility before anything else.
Ready to have someone look at it?
Phone and say what you have noticed. The foundation repair company on the other end is independent of this site and takes on houses in your part of Collin or Denton County. Ask it for a time to come and inspect.
Call (972) 430-3959Your call may be recorded. Read how referrals are paid for and what happens to call details.