Foundation Settlement Repair in Nogales, AZ
Challenge
The owners of this early 1970’s block construction, single family ranch home reached out to us after noticing a few issues that may indicate a foundation problem.
A level A inspection indicated a forensic foundation inspection was needed. AZFS Consultant, Brian Guthrie, brought our Engineering Team in on this project.
Exterior Inspection: The exterior of the location was visually inspected. Items such as foundation cracks, exterior wall cracks, improper grading, type of structure, poor drainage, gutters or no gutters, bowed retaining walls, large trees close to the foundation and any type of obstructions that may or may not influence the repair process were noted and recorded.
Interior Inspection: The interior of the location was visually inspected. Items such as floor cracks, wall cracks, ceiling cracks, sloping floors, uneven counter tops, doors and windows that are out of alignment, cracked window glass and bowed walls were noted and recorded.
Manometer Survey: The manometer survey, also known as a floor survey, is a measurement of the differences of interior floor elevations. The flatness of the interior floor was measured using a highly accurate survey device known as a Manometer. The entire interior floor area was surveyed and the elevations were recorded. These data points were then entered into a computer program that provides a topographical map showing the high and low elevation contours of the floor surface. This topographical map shows where the foundation is no longer level and shows where support and stabilization is needed. The floor survey also demonstrates whether any floor slab heave or settlement exists.
After examining the home and performing the manometer survey, Arizona Foundation Solutions believes the home could be experiencing foundation settlement at the west, northwest and southwestern portions of the home and at the north/northwest portion of the Garage as shown by the damage and lower readings (see Topographical Map). The drop off in floor elevations on the topographical map is consistent with a foundation settlement pattern.
Foundation settlement can be caused by one or any combination of many factors, including:
- sub-grade saturation of moisture due to poor drainage
- years of storm runoff
- plumbing leaks
-improper compaction
-the lack of a proper foundation system
-and/or (in most cases) natural earth movement
The Foundation Performance Association (FPA) “Guidelines for the Evaluation of Foundation Movement for Residential And Other Low-Rise Buildings” were adopted to correlate acceptable and unacceptable distress phenomena with actual survey elevations. Deflection and Tilt calculations were performed and compared to allowable values.
Solution
Arizona Foundation Solutions believes that the proper way to permanently stop the perimeter foundation settlement is to underpin the areas that are experiencing movement. Underpinning is the process of installing deep foundation elements called piles. Piles are engineered foundation supports that are driven down past the unstable soils and are then locked up into load bearing strata, which can support the loads that are transferred to them. Once the piles have been installed, they can be used to lift the perimeter foundation up to its Highest Practical Maximum. The piles should be spaced approximately six to eight feet on center and should start and stop near the hinge points of movement (exact spacing to be determined after load bearing calculations). In this case, the piles would be located at the west, northwest and southwestern portions of the home and at the north/northwest portion of the Garage. The slab can then be treated by injecting a lightweight expansive polyurethane to fill existing voids and lift the floor slab. This is done by drilling small 3/8” holes in the slab after which polyurethane grout is injected directly under the slab to raise it up to its Highest Practical Maximum. Using the expansive materials will help prevent additional slab settlement by compacting the upper layer of soil as it expands.
The homeowner informed AZFS that the Patio may be sloping downward. Due to the lack of damage, we believe that the Patio may have been built at a slope. The Patio should be monitored and should damage arise in the future, AZFS should be contacted to perform a monometer survey of the Patio at a discounted price.
Since storm runoff is responsible for the majority of the moisture that pools next to the foundation, gutters need to be installed and modified to prevent the storm runoff from increasing the amount of foundation movement. A proper gutter system should be installed to discharge the storm runoff a minimum of 10 feet, preferably 20 feet away from the foundation. We do not recommend installing gutters that discharge next to the foundation as this will only increase the probability of a foundation problem.
Project Summary
Engineer: Michael S.
Consultant: Brian Guthrie
