Foundation Underpinning – Does Your Home Need It?
If you own a home in Los Angeles, the property may need foundation underpinning.
Underpinning is a process that is used to repair, strengthen, or increase the depth of an existing foundation by lowering the footing which allows the property to rest on more supportive soil.
Once the soil is excavated, the soil is replaced with new material – usually concrete – which then forms the new foundation that lies beneath the existing one.
There are a number of reasons to underpin a foundation. A home may need underpinning to lower the basement floor, add a second or third story, change the configuration of load-bearing walls inside the building, and in some cases to repair a foundation that has settled or rotated at certain points.
When used to repair an existing home foundation, underpinning strengthens the current foundation by lowering the basement floor, which effectively “raises” the ceiling and gives you much more useable space.
There are different types of underpinning methods that are used in different situations. Typically, underpinning is done to extend the foundation deeper until it reaches a more supportive soil layer, or increase its breadth so that the weight of the house is distributed more evenly.
Mass concrete underpinning is the oldest and most common method used, which involves digging under the existing foundation and reinforcing as you go, then filling in with concrete.
More advanced methods include beam and base underpinning, mini-piled underpinning, and even injected structural resin- a newer method that involves injecting resin and hardeners into the ground beneath the original foundation.
If you’ve noticed the following signs in your home, you may need foundation underpinning:
- Cracks that are wider than ¼ inch.
- Diagonal cracks in the walls or flooring.
- Cracked or buckled walls
- Cracked concrete floors.
The best way to determine what type of foundation underpinning is necessary is by contacting a foundation repair company, like Julian Construction, and having one of their qualified specialists conduct a foundation inspection.
At Julian Construction, we’ll conduct a free home inspection for you, complete with a quote for repair.
We have extensive experience serving our Los Angeles community and nearby regions. In fact, Julian Construction has inspected over 30,000 structures in the area!
Julian Construction was formed in 1994 and our focus has always been on building foundations, doing foundation repair and replacement, earthquake retrofitting, and house leveling.
When you work with Julian Construction, you get the principles of the company and the workers of Julian Construction under your home.
And in order to keep foundation repair affordable for our customers, we offer a price guarantee — because we know our quote for repair will represent your very best value.
Give us a call at call (323) 733-3377 to schedule your free inspection or complete the inspection request form.
