Fixing a Foundation Settlement in North Syracuse, NY

 April 12, 2010: This home in North Syracuse had a serious foundation settlement problem. The old drainage system was improperly installed, in a way that soil from underneath the house would be washed into the sump basin, pumped out by the sump pump, and piled away in the yard.
By the time David Wilcox had arrived to help, the improperly installed foundation drainage had caused the foundation to settle, the basement walls to crack, crumble and bow inward. Part of the basement floor had sunk up to 3 inches in some areas.
The home needed serious help. Dave and his team had to combine several foundation repair technologies to restore structural integrity to the foundation.
The existing foundation was underpinned using steel pillars. The steel pillars were driven into the ground past the eroded soil, to a point where the soil density was high enough to support the weight of the house. The pillars were then used to lift the foundation. A second, rebar-reinforced footing was poured on top of the old failing one. Damaged walls were rebuilt with rebar-reinforced frame and 10-inch concrete blocks. The bowing walls were stabilized using wall anchors. These wall anchors will eventually push the walls back into their original position. The sinking floor was removed and replaced. The drainage problem was addressed with the installation of a WaterGuard system and a new sump pump was installed as well. The WaterGuard system sits on top of the foundation system and, unlike the old French drain, only collects ground water preventing the soil around the foundation from being washed away.