Foundation Miracle Saves Sinking Garage in Grand Rapids, MI

Wednesday, November 2nd, 2016 by Elena Behrman

Challenge

The two-story garage in this home had settled over the years, and the owners sought a draingage solution upstairs to eliminate the puddles that formed after any water entered the gargage. The owners had also previously consulted another company to install several piers beneath the home to fix the settling foundation and stabilize the separating walls. While the piers had helped stabilize the home for a while, the major problem was that the owners were told the foundation couldn’t be lifted, causing even more cracks to eventually emerge between the walls and floor in the upstairs garage.

Solution

After our Foundation SupportWorks team made several visits to the home, Virgil Ayers, owner of Ayers Basement Systems, stopped by to assess the magnitude of the issue. He concluded that the project was more complex than the initial waterproofing the homeowners were concerned about; the house needed to be lifted and leveled, and unlike the other guys, Ayers could certainly do that. It was determined that the best plan of action for the home was to first install a series of helical piers along the exterior side of the lower part of the garage.

These piers were installed deep into the soil, and heavy-duty brackets were positioned beneath the footing of the home. With a patented external sleeve to strengthen the pier and prevent buckling, our piers allow for the weight of the home to transfer through the piers to the deep soil surrounding them.

In addition to the helical piers, the SmartJack System was installed inside of the lower garage. These adjustable steel support beams can hold more than 60,000 lbs., and immediately helped stabilize the floors above, addressing the separating wall and floor concern in the upper level garage.

The final step in this foundation overhaul were several PolyLEVEL injections into the concrete outside of the lower level garage. Made of high-density, waterproof polymers, this injection helped lift and level several sections of uneven concrete.

Our three-pronged approach of lifting the home with helical piers, stabilizing the floors with SmartJacks, and leveling uneven concrete with PolyLEVEL, ensures that this home will forever be sturdy and immovable!