Serving Tampa, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Miami and beyond
Serving Tampa, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Miami and beyond
Foundation Heave
Foundation heaving is the upward movement of a foundation or slab caused by underlying soils that expand or swell.
This occurs when there's an increase in moisture, or by freezing forces.
Foundation heaving is more common with slabs than foundations because slabs have less weight to resist heaving forces. Unless there is a long period of drought, heave most commonly occurs within the first few years of the building's construction.
Foundation heaving can lift an entire structure, but more often it forces parts of a foundation or slab upwards, while other sections remain stationary.
Have you noticed any of these signs of foundation heaving?
If so, your foundation or concrete slab floor may be moving upwards, leading to cracks in the walls and floors of your home.
LRE Foundation Repair is your local expert for foundation heave repair. We can help you identify the cause of your problem and provide you with a quality, long-lasting solution.
Call us today to get a free inspection on all our foundation repair services in Tampa, Orlando, Saint Petersburg and the nearby areas.
Be sure it's foundation heaving! Foundation heave and foundation settlement have similar symptoms, and to the untrained eye, it may appear that foundation walls are going down when in fact the floor is coming up. However, the solutions to these two problems are very different, making it essential to get a correct diagnosis.
To work with foundation repair experts who can properly diagnose your foundation problems, call us today.
Soils with a high clay content expand significantly when they get wet. The excavation for a foundation often gives the soil around and under a house a chance to dry out and shrink. After the house is built, clay-rich soil that gets soaked during wet spells can cause heaving problems while also damaging foundation walls.
Water increases in volume by nearly 10% when it freezes, and wet soil can expand even more when frozen. When wet soil freezes, the resulting pressure can cause the slab or foundation wall to shift and crack. The colder the temperature, the deeper the soil will freeze. Frost forces can lift a foundation dramatically - sometimes by several inches - leading to serious heave damage.
Leaks or breaks in plumbing lines that run underneath a concrete slab or through a foundation wall can deposit moisture underneath the foundation and slab. This moisture can be from supply lines, waste lines, or even your home's HVAC system. Over time, this moisture can cause the soils underneath the foundation to expand, which will then cause them to push up on the structure above.
Too much precipitation combined with too little drainage away from the house will lead to increased moisture underneath your foundation. Moisture that comes into contact with expansive soil can result in heaving of your foundation and slabs. Precipitation can also cause expansion in the soils on the sides of your foundation, leading to bowing, buckling walls.
We follow a detailed process when solving a foundation heaving problem.
Since unwanted water accumulating in the soil under your home - and the pressure it brings -- is typically the cause of slab and foundation heave, our first priority will be to eliminate water sources wherever possible.
We will check for underground water line leaks, clogged drains, broken sprinkler lines, as well as faulty gutter and leader systems. Once we fix water problems, we can begin making other repairs.
Each home is different, but most commonly, these are the types of repairs we make for foundation heaving problems:
Regardless of the cause, a professional foundation contractor is the best person to evaluate foundation heaving problems and suggest suitable solutions for your home.
At LRE Foundation Repair, we have the tools and training available to fix foundations and slabs that are experiencing problems with foundation heaving. We offer foundation and slab heave repair inspections to all within our Florida service area.
If you would like to schedule a free, no-obligation appointment with one of our foundation specialists, call 1-352-796-0229 or email us today!
We proudly serve Saint Petersburg, Tampa, Orlando, Sarasota, Spring Hill, Hudson, New Port Richey, Daytona Beach, and throughout the nearby areas.
