Settling Basement in Greenville, WI
Challenge
This home in Greenville, WI was only 13 years old but patched cracks in the poured walls in one corner of the basement had split open recently and were getting much larger. This family's goal was to finish off their basement but they knew they needed to address the settlement issues with their foundation before any framing and drywall work could be done.
When I took a look in their basement I discovered a long crack in the floor slab under their carpet. The foundation footing had broke in two places and settled almost 2 inches. Fortunately, in spite of the basement movement, the drywall cracks upstairs were still relatively small.
Solution
Our structure crew excavated down to the footing around the exterior perimeter and installed six Supportworks 288 Push Piers and one on the interior. The hilly geography of the area allowed the crew to hit the load bearing strata near the depth of 20 feet. Transferring the weight of the house onto the heavy engineered pier brackets, the foundation was lifted 1 and 1/4 inches and was permanently stabilized.
The crew completed the work by Mel-Rol, a waterproof membrane, fresh drain tile, and stone before backfilling and re-grading the exterior. Inside the concrete floor was patched and back to normal.
The family was now free to finish the lower level with no fear of future foundation failure.
