Phoenix, AZ Underpinning Piers 6.2021

Friday, July 2nd, 2021 by Miguel Ramirez

Challenge

The Homeowners of this 2001’s house noticed some problems with the foundation, so they preferred to call Arizona Foundation Solutions for an accurate diagnose.

The signs of stress included:

Concrete cracks on the floor
Cracks on the ceiling
Concrete cracks on the wall’
Gap spaces between the wall and the floor

Every Foundation project starts with a level (A) inspection was made to see any visible damages. However, an additional (B) inspection had to get done due to the circumstances, so we needed an engineering perspective.

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 minor foundation settlement at the western portion of the Garage as shown by the lower readings on the topographical map. The drop off in floor elevations on the topographical map is consistent with a foundation settlement pattern. 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.

There are cracks in the floor slab. When the slab cracks all the way through, the separate sections can move independently of one another. This allows for severe damage to flooring and other signs of interior stress like pinched doors, drywall, and/or ceiling cracks.

The rebar in the stem wall along certain sides of the home has begun to rust. This has caused the rebar to deteriorate and the iron oxide to expand. The expansion from the iron oxide generates enough pressure to crack the stem wall. The corrosion of the bar has to typically exceed 20% before there is enough pressure to crack the stem wall. This issue should be dealt with properly to prevent the corrosion from spreading down the perimeter of the rebar and to return the original strength and span capacity to the stem wall.

The stem wall in certain areas around the home appears to be spalling. Spalling is when the concrete face of the stem wall is deteriorating. Spalling can occur when there is excess moisture near the foundation, minerals in the soil, and/or when the concrete was not mixed correctly. This is most often a cosmetic issue but if deterioration has occurred underneath the loads of the structure, it is no longer considered cosmetic.

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. For this engineered analysis, the deflection of the slab (L/529) was less than the allowable deflection limit of L/360. In addition, the tilt of the slab (0.17%) was less than the allowable tilt of 1.00%.

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 western portion of the Garage. The Garage 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.

Composite interlocking can be performed to tie the broken pieces of the concrete together. The existing cracks will be cleaned, and non-parallel lines will be cut across the existing cracks. Next carbon fiber laminate stitches will be inserted into the non-parallel cuts and then the gaps will be filled with a 2-part poly. Finally, the crack should be ground smooth to minimize the differential. If done properly, this will allow the slab to function as one floating unit to help prevent the damages to flooring, ceiling and walls. If this is instead expansion joint separation, the joint should be cleaned, routed, and re-caulked with an expansive joint filler. A determination as to which repair is needed will be made on site once the crack is exposed.

Arizona Foundation Solutions believes that the rusting rebar in the foundation stem wall needs repair. The stem wall must be chipped back to expose the corroded rebar. The rebar should then be cut out and replaced with a composite bar and dowelled to bridge the separation between the bars. The stem wall should then be patched and finished smooth. This will prevent the treated area from future rust and restore the ability of the stem wall to span small voids and support the load. It is recommended to wait at least one week before painting the surface of the stem wall.

The spalling stem wall can be cosmetically repaired. First the face of the stem wall needs to be chipped back to fractured rock. Then a cementitious patch can be applied and finished smooth. Please wait at least one week before painting the surface.

Since storm runoff is responsible for the majority of the moisture that pools next to the foundation, gutters need to be installed 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.