Home Front Decoration

Archive for August, 2009

A strong foundation is a must have for your home. You would not like to have your home seriously damaged because you did not invest in maintaining a strong foundation. An unsteady home foundation may render it unsafe. It requires immediate repair to prevent further damage. Often the material used for constructing a foundation dictates its quality. It can be built of brick, stone, preservative-treated lumber, poured concrete or concrete block.

For this, the services of a foundation contractor are required. Usually, the movement of the soil around your house makes the foundation unsteady. Other reasons can be compacted soil or improper maintenance around foundations.

Foundation contractors offer some form of underpinning to repair a shaky interior. They will be able to evaluate the situation and solve the problem.

How to find a professional foundation contractor

Finding the right foundation contractor can be difficult. However, there are numerous resources like searching the internet for foundation repair specialists or checking with the Better Business Bureau. Remember that there are different types of foundations, so it is important to employ an experienced contractor in the appropriate area. Many types of materials can be used by the contractor such as concrete blocks or even pressure-treated wood.

There are some preventive measures that you can take to ensure a trouble free home.

* A drainage system can be installed at the bottom of the foundation footing. This would remove the water leakage and prevent water flowing through the seam between the footing and the foundation wall.

* Moisture is a killer for a strong foundation. Install a moisture barrier and capillary break under slab floor containing polyethylene vapor.

* Ensure that the gutters are well designed to drain the water completely away from your house.

* The installation of moisture and air leakage control techniques maximizes the strength and durability of the base of your home.

Concrete is an amazing product. It has been used for centuries with it’s origins dating back to around 300 B.C. Though there are reports that the use of concrete preceded that time the first to use concrete effectively were the Romans. Ancient Rome had an abundance of ash, lime and water, the key ingredients. The ancient master builders built cities and an advanced culture as a result. It could be easily argued that without concrete we’d still be living in tents. Humans would not have progressed to where we are today.

However concrete is not without it’s flaws. The garage floor is a perfect example. Many homes were built with spancrete. Spancrete are precast concrete panels that are typically 24 feet long, 3 feet wide and 6 inches thick. They are laid on top of a home foundation over the basement. Then concrete is poured on top about 4 inches thick. The problem is that this top layer of concrete cracks from settling right over where the spancrete panels abut each other. In the main part of the home this is not an issue, but is a problem in the garage.

There are a few forces at work that are a headache for the a home owner. First let’s start with a crack in the concrete garage floor. When a car drives in with snow or rain dripping on the surface it works it’s way into the crack along with de-icing salts. The salts rapidly eat into the concrete which causes decay. If there is a spancrete underneath water will drip into the basement. The result is a wet, moldy unhealthy space. If the concrete is on grade, water will go down the crack and work it’s way under the slab. Once it freezes it lifts the slab, then recedes when it thaws. This constant movement is not good.