Jacking and Leveling Bell Bottom Piers is the final step in a foundation repair job. At this point the foundation will be given additional support from the installed piers, which will resist the horizontal and vertical forces of soil movement. Each pier has a 22 inch diameter foot (bell bottom) that is anchored in stable soil or on bedrock. The mass of the pier and the skin friction of the pier in the soil will give the commercial or residential foundation the stability it needs.
Expectations of homeowners and commercial property owners are sometimes not in line with reality. Foundation repair contractors do not actually “repair” a foundation. Their work can more accurately be described as “stabilization” and “leveling” with limitations. For example, if a house was built with a one or two inch difference in height from one side of the house to the other then it will be impossible to make the house “perfectly level.” The best a repair contractor can do is to level the house as near as possible to the condition when it was new.
Other homeowners and commercial property owners expect the cracks to disappear in brick and sheetrock. This may or may not happen for a variety of reasons. For example, if the foundation on the side of a house has “fallen” due to excessive moisture loss in the soil then the brickwork on that side of the house has probably fallen with the foundation. The brickwork at the highest part of the wall may have separated from the rest of the building because it has moved outward. This is called rotation. If the wall has rotated enough then the bricks may have pulled out their wall ties. This brick separation will not be solved with a good foundation repair job. The brick separation will have to be repaired by a brick mason. Other parts of building structures will rotate such as roof rafters and ceiling joists. Nails will be pulled out or loosened by rotation also. The stabilization and leveling of a commercial or residential foundation has limitations and can not fully reverse the rotation that has occurred.
The jacking and leveling process can begin after the concrete has dried or cured for at least ten days. The concrete is now strong enough to support the heavy weight of the foundation and building. The leveling supervisor will review all of the previous diagrams, measurements, and foundation work. He will use sophisticated leveling equipment to measure changes in elevation during the lifting and leveling process. He will also observe the key points of distress in the home or building structure before, during, and after the leveling process.
The work crews will place hydraulic jacks on top of the cap of the bell bottom pier. Following the directions of the supervisor, they will elevate (jack) in unison those portions of the foundation that have “fallen.” When the proper elevation has been confirmed by the supervisor, he will instruct the workers to place two large rectangular concrete blocks on top of each pier cap. Steel shims will then be placed between the concrete blocks and the bottom of the foundation to occupy any remaining space. The steel shims are hammered into place to provide a very tight fit. Finally, the supervisor will also check doors and windows to determine if they are as “square” as possible. If any adjustments are necessary then he will instruct the work crew as how to proceed.
Author Resource:
Martin Dawson is the co-founder (1984) of Dawson Foundation Repair. He is a leading authority in Texas and other southern states on repairing failed commercial and home foundations using the thoroughly researched drilled Bell Bottom Pier method. http://www.DawsonFoundationRepair.com/
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