Foundation estimates are full of terms most homeowners have never needed before. Here is what the common methods actually do, in plain language, and the situations each one tends to suit.
Push piers
Steel pipe sections driven down through unstable soil until they reach load-bearing strata, using the weight of the house itself for resistance. Brackets then transfer the load from the footing onto the piers. Used where a foundation has settled downward and needs support that does not depend on the soil that failed. Often allows some lift back toward original position.
Helical piers
Screwed into the ground rather than driven, like a large steel screw. Because they do not rely on structural weight to install, they suit lighter structures, additions and porches, and are useful where driving piers is impractical. Same purpose as push piers: reach stable soil and carry the load.
Wall anchors
For walls moving sideways rather than settling. A plate on the interior wall connects by steel rod to an anchor buried in stable soil out in the yard. Tightening pulls against the pressure holding the wall in. Requires yard access for the exterior anchor, and can sometimes recover position gradually.
Carbon fiber straps
High-strength fabric bonded vertically to the inside face of a wall. Extremely strong in tension, so it resists further inward bowing. Best suited to walls with limited deflection that are otherwise sound. Minimally invasive, no exterior excavation, and they sit flat enough to finish over.
Steel I-beams
Vertical beams braced against the floor slab and the floor framing above to stop inward movement. Useful where yard access rules out anchors. They project into the room, so they suit unfinished basements better.
Which one is right
It depends on direction of movement, how far it has gone, wall construction, soil conditions and access. Settlement generally calls for piers. Lateral movement calls for anchors, carbon fiber or beams. A house with both may need a combination.
A fair warning
Be cautious with any company that recommends the same method for every house. If a contractor has decided what you need before evaluating which direction your foundation moved and why, that is a sales process, not a diagnosis.
Read more about our pier and beam work and structural lifting.
Not sure what you are looking at? We do free inspections across Warrensburg and the surrounding Johnson County area, and we will tell you honestly if you do not need work done. Call (816) 718-3385 or request an estimate.