Structural Tidewater Engineers Pllc

NEWPORT NEWS | HAMPTON | WILLIAMSBURG | SUFFOLK | GLOUCESTER

VIRGINIA BEACH | NORFOLK | CHESAPEAKE | PORTSMOUTH | YORKTOWN    

consultation@tidewaterstructural.com

Call or Text a Structural Engineer at: 757.821.7336

Hours: Mon - Fri 8am to 6pm, Sat 8am to 12pm

Tidewater Structural

E N G I N E E R S  P L L C

DPOR License No. 0407007180

RAPID . RESPONSIVE . ECONOMICAL DESIGN

PAY ONLY FOR 100% SATISFACTION

CALL OR TEXT 757.821.7336


Tidewater Structural Engineers PLLC

1245 Cedar Road, Suite G-122

Chesapeake, VA 23322

Structural Tidewater Engineers Pllc

DPOR License No. 0407007180

VIRGINIA BEACH | NORFOLK | CHESAPEAKE | PORTSMOUTH | YORKTOWN    

NEWPORT NEWS | HAMPTON | WILLIAMSBURG | SUFFOLK | GLOUCESTER

FOUNDATION SETTLEMENT

AND WALL CRACKING (PART 2 of 3)


FOUNDATION REPAIR - PART 2 - PREVENTING FURTHER CRACKING


PART 1: WHY CRACKS HAVE OCCURRED

PART 2: PREVENTING FURTHER CRACKING  

PART 3: REPAIRING EXISTING CRACKING


It’s important to understand why your foundation has cracked in the first place - to prevent it from happening at other locations. Footings are not always constructed equally.  In some cases the construction quality may be poor, in some cases (particularly older homes) steel reinforcing bars may have been left out, in other cases the footing may have been undersized. Any of these conditions can cause the footing to fail in their own right, but more than likely the straw that broke the camel’s back, or footing’s back in this case, was poor drainage around your foundation. Your ground’s ability to support your footing (and home) is greatly reduced when it becomes saturated for extended periods of time.  Once this happens the footing has to act like a beam to span across weakened unsupportive soil. Sometimes it can and sometimes it can’t - crack!  There is your failed footing, and given time, the crack will propagate to, your brick veneer, and your interior finish, also causing windows and doors to stick.  It is imperative that homes have excellent drainage away from their foundation.  If not, a $1000 dollar drainage improvement can become a $40,000 dollar foundation repair, given enough time.  Water should be discharged a minimum of 15 feet away from a home’s foundation, and must be graded such that water does not flow back to the foundation.  If this isn’t an option, a french drain should be placed against your footing, with an automatic sump pump, to pump the water permanently away from the foundation. Doing this will help prevent cracks in the first place and slow the worsening of cracks where a footing has already failed.




























Water must be discharged a minimum of 10 feet away from a home’s foundation, and must be graded such that water does not flow back to the foundation.  If this isn’t an option, a french drain must be placed around your footing, with a sump pump, to pump the water permanently away from the foundation. Doing this will help prevent cracks in the first place and slow worsening cracks where a footing has already failed.  

In PART 3 we will discuss economical foundation repair options




























Water must be discharged a minimum of 10 feet away from a home’s foundation, and must be graded such that water does not flow back to the foundation.  If this isn’t an option, a french drain must be placed around your footing, with a sump pump, to pump the water permanently away from the foundation. Doing this will help prevent cracks in the first place and slow worsening cracks where a footing has already failed.  

In PART 3 we will discuss economical foundation repair options


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FOUNDATION CRACKS & CRACKING WALLS

SAGGING FLOORS

WALL REMOVAL