SmartJacks Fix Unstable Crawl Space in Roscommon, MI

Wednesday, May 24th, 2017 by Brittany Gutman

Challenge

Half of this property was built on top of a crawl space and the other half on a concrete slab. The home was starting to settle on the crawl space end of the property and the floors above the space were sagging. When our team of experts visited the home, we found that the support beams in the crawl space were damaged due to rot and mold. At the time, there were no cracks in the dry wall or ceilings of the home and the doors and windows were operating properly. Without a proper fix, the structural issues within this home would worsen and cause serious problems for this homeowner.

Solution

In order to stabilize the failing crawl space and ensure the settling home above is leveled, we installed SmartJacks and new galvanized steel beams.

To begin this project we installed 24 galvanized steel beams to replace the ineffective wood ones that were originally found in the home. These beams will help support the floor joists and weight of the home above.

Next we installed the SmartJack system that is used to stabilize the crawlspace. To begin, we removed a small cube of soil at the location of each SmartJack installation. We then filled the hole with concrete and placed a structural footing within it. A strong steel column was then sized for the height of the crawl space and connected to the structural footing at one end and the steel beams at the other end. After the system was tightened, the home was stabilized and the floors were lifted back to the correct position. Rotting wood beams was a problem for this homeowner in the past, but with the zinc coating on this system, mold and rot will never be an issue.