Do I Have to Replace My Foundation If My Bricks Are Cracked?

Cracked bricks are a sign of advanced settling since it indicates that the house can no longer withstand the weight of the uneven home. It causes major trouble for the structural integrity of your house.  

• Why Replacing Isn’t a Viable Solution 

Replacing your foundation isn’t a helpful solution for a few reasons: it’s extremely expensive, inconvenient, time-consuming, and your foundation will go through the same problem again in the future. To replace your foundation and build a new one would mean having to excavate around the entire house, put the house up on temporary supports, tearing the foundation apart, and then building a new foundation. This can take multiple days or weeks, and you will have to live somewhere else until the job is done. 

After the new foundation is built, it will settle once more after a few years because the real problem, the soil, has not been addressed. If there is a layer of soil under the foundation, there will be erosion. The only way to stop it is to make sure that the foundation is no longer supported only by the soil. 

• What Can Be Done Instead 

Instead of replacing the foundation, you can stabilize the settling one by installing helical or push piers. Helical piers and push piers are steel rods that are installed deep underground. They transfer the weight of the house to the stable, load-bearing soil layers below. These soil layers are so deep underground that they do not erode as easily as the loose soil layers near your foundation. 

By relying on the piers and the tough soil, your foundation is guaranteed to be supported by a system that never fails. Helical and push piers also can lift your foundation and even out your home. Once the house is even again, not only will the foundation no longer settle but also your bricks will no longer crack as well.