Foundation Repair in Charlotte, NC
Dry Pro Foundation and Crawlspace Specialists is North Carolina’s trusted foundation repair expert. Learn more about our engineered solutions for foundation repair.
Schedule Your Free InspectionYour home is unique—it’s your sanctuary, a place of security and comfort. However, foundation issues can quickly compromise that sense of safety.
At Dry Pro Foundation and Crawlspace Specialists, we provide engineered solutions for foundation repair, addressing problems with tailored approaches that offer long-term results. Ignoring foundation problems can increase repair costs and cause more damage, making professional foundation repair services essential.
As Charlotte, North Carolina’s leading foundation repair company, we deliver trusted solutions to thousands of homeowners every year. Our experienced team ensures your home remains stable and secure.
Schedule your free inspection with Dry Pro Foundation and Crawlspace Specialists today. We’ll create a foundation repair plan tailored to your home’s unique needs and budget.
Why is Foundation Repair Important?
Foundation repair protects structural stability and safety. It addresses damage, prevents further issues, and helps maintain your home’s value.
You might wonder, “Where can I find reputable foundation repair companies in my area?” Concerns about expertise and cost often delay these critical repairs. However, postponing foundation repairs only worsens the problem, increasing costs over time.
Together, we can address foundation damage at its core, providing long-lasting solutions. Here’s why foundation repair is vital:
Minimizes Safety Hazards
When your home experiences foundation damage, safety risks and potential collapse become primary concerns. While minor issues like uneven floors or bowing walls may seem insignificant at first, problems such as a leaning chimney can eventually lead to collapse.
Foundation repair reinforces the critical base of your home, minimizing safety hazards and ensuring long-term protection against further damage.
Potential Increase in Home Value
Maximizing property resale value is a priority for many homeowners. While foundation damage may progress gradually, even minor issues can impact your home’s value. Potential buyers and home inspectors easily identify visible signs like wall and floor cracks.
Concealing damage with DIY foundation repairs doesn’t address the underlying cause, and the issues will inevitably resurface. Professional foundation repair services ensure your property is safe, stable, and secure, potentially enhancing overall resale value.
Enhanced Functionality
Foundation damage hinders your home’s functionality, but repairs address these issues. Misaligned doors and windows may stick or fail to close correctly, drywall cracks may spread across walls, and uneven floors can become challenging to walk on. Professional foundation repair services resolve this damage and enhance your home’s long-term functionality.
Prevents Further Damage
Proactively addressing the underlying cause of foundation damage prevents further issues and costly repairs. As damage worsens, repair costs increase, as issues often cause secondary damage, like cracked walls and ceilings, floor cracks, and structural instability. Foundation repair services address damage at its source, preventing future damage.
Protect Your Investment and Ensure Your Safety
Common Foundation Problems in Charlotte, NC
Foundation damage causes various problems. The most common include:
- Foundation Wall Cracks
- Misaligned Windows and Doors
- Uneven floors
- Bowing Walls
- Floor Gaps
- Leaning or Cracked Chimneys
- Exterior Brickwork Cracks
- Drywall Cracks and Nail Pops
If you notice problem signs, contact a foundation repair professional as soon as possible.
What Causes Foundation Damage?
Expansive clay soil and water are the leading causes of foundation damage in the Charlotte, NC, region, resulting in foundation shifts, cracks, and other structural issues. North Carolina has various clay and acid forest soils, such as Ultisols and Inceptisols, with a high shrink-swell potential.
These soils expand when oversaturated and shrink during extreme dryness, creating a cycle of soil movement that compromises foundation stability. The common causes of foundation damage include:
- Local weather events (frequent rainfall, storms, etc.)
- Substandard drainage (inefficient gutters, downspouts, and improper yard grading)
- Subterranean water sources (aquifers, underground water bodies)
- Natural disasters (flash floods, hurricanes)
Plumbing leaks and invasive tree root growth near the foundation are less common but equally damaging to foundations.
The Dry Pro Foundation Repair Solution
Dry Pro Foundation and Crawlspace Specialists provide professionally engineered solutions for foundation repair. We design proprietary products that resist the forces of nature and the passage of time. Warranties back our foundation repairs, providing homeowners peace of mind.
SettleStop™ Foundation Pier Systems
Foundation piers permanently stabilize foundations by reaching deep into stable bedrock or load-bearing strata. Our SettleStop pier systems provide robust stability for foundations.
Here is our process:
- Remove the soil to expose the foundation footing.
- Install the necessary depth for weight support.
- Secure a heavy-duty steel bracket to the footing.
- Transfer the home’s weight through the piers to the stable soil below.
Our foundation pier systems, backed by lifetime transferable warranties, prevent future settling and potentially lift your home to its original position. Dry Pro utilizes several pier systems – helical piers, push piers, and slab piers. Each accomplishes the same goal but has slightly different designs and applications.
Here’s how each pier system functions:
Helical Piers
Our SettleStop helical pier system features steel screw-like plates that provide a secure and stable grip beneath your property. Our process involves excavating the soil around the footing and using hydraulic equipment to install the piers near the foundation. The helical blades cut through the soil like a screw while our team closely monitors the progress, ensuring they reach the required depth and load-bearing capacity. We secure a heavy-duty steel bracket to the footing, transferring the home’s weight through the piers to the stable soil below.
Benchmarks are installed using a laser level, creating small rivets on the exterior foundation walls to facilitate monitoring. This approach ensures that future inspections detect foundation movement, allowing for laser-level realignment before significant damage occurs. Helical piers are typically installed for lighter structures.
Push Piers
SettleStop push piers work similarly to helical piers but with slightly different designs and installation processes. Made of sturdy steel, they’re driven deep into the ground and bypass problematic soil until they reach bedrock. Once in place, your home rests securely on these piers for lasting stability. The process involves removing soil to expose the footing, securing the bracket in place, and driving the piers through to ensure long-term stability for your home.
Slab Piers
Slab piers are designed explicitly for concrete slab foundations. The installation involves drilling a hole through the slab to reach a stable soil layer. A steel bracket is placed under the slab footing to distribute the load evenly. Steel pier sections are inserted into the drilled hole and driven to the desired depth into the ground. Hydraulic jacks lift and level the slab, transferring the weight onto the piers.
Foundation Wall Repair Solutions
A dry basement is crucial for your home’s health and safety. However, wall cracks and bowing can occur when the basement foundation is damaged, allowing water seepage, mold, and other issues. Wall repair solutions help prevent structural damage and ensure minimal disruption to your home and yard. Our many installation processes address wall failure.
Wall Anchors
Wall anchors utilize anchor plates installed inside and outside the basement. The plates are connected to steel rods and tightened using specialized wrenches. This approach creates tension that restores the structural integrity of basement walls and prevents further inward movement. Wall anchors are unsuitable for properties with limited yard space or close property lines.
I-Beams
Our IntelliBrace™ I-beams stabilize foundation walls and prevent further movement. These sturdy steel I-beams are installed vertically against the interior surface of basement walls and securely anchored to the floor and joists using brackets. When tightened, they apply pressure to stabilize the walls, redistributing the load from the walls to the floor and joists.
Carbon Fiber Reinforcement
Carbon fiber strap reinforcement is ideal for limited spaces. Installation involves securely attaching high-strength carbon fiber using epoxy adhesive to the interior wall surface. This provides additional support and resistance against hydrostatic pressure. As an added bonus, the carbon fiber reinforcement process is minimally invasive and does not require excavation.
IntelliJack™ Crawl Space Support Jacks
Crawl space damage causes sagging floors, musty odors, mold, wood rot, and structural damage. IntelliJack crawl space support jacks strengthen overspanned or weak floor joists. They provide additional upward support and stabilize the floor above, resolving uneven flooring issues. The IntelliJack system supports an impressive load capacity of over 24,000 lbs per jack and is certified to the highest industry standards.
We understand how important your home is because we’re homeowners, too. You deserve trusted local experts and top-quality foundation repair services.
View more Foundation Repair Solutions >>
Factors Affecting Foundation Repair Cost
Foundation repair costs vary depending on several factors, including:
- Foundation Type: Repair costs vary by foundation type. The techniques for repairing slab foundations differ from pier and beam, basement, and crawl space foundations, impacting the cost difference.
- Location: A home’s location affects repair costs, as materials, labor, permits and regulations, and natural disasters vary by region.
- Extent of Damage: Costs vary based on the extent of damage. For example, repairing minor cracks is less expensive than addressing significant shifts or extensive structural damage.
- Soil Conditions: The soil surrounding a foundation affects foundation repair costs. For instance, expansive soil results in more severe foundation problems requiring costly repairs.
Overall, the cost of foundation repair depends on the unique circumstances of each home and the severity of the foundation damage requiring repair.
Award-Winning Service in Charlotte, NC
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Oscar and team were great. Highly recommend them.
Oscar and team were great. Highly recommend them.
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We had excess moisture issues in our crawlspace. Our experience with Dry Pro was outstanding from start to finish. Brook Hobgood, the…
We had excess moisture issues in our crawlspace. Our experience with Dry Pro was outstanding from start to finish. Brook Hobgood, the Certified Field Inspector, was very thorough in his presentation. Pricing was up-front, financing was easy, and there were no surprises. We knew exactly what they were doing when they showed up on each particular day. Hayden, the technician, gave us a heads-up with the exact arrival time for each installation day. The crews were polite and friendly, answering any questions we had. They were also very efficient with their time and completed everything exactly when they said they would. They made sure we knew our satisfaction was their top priority. We were confident going into the installation and we remain confident that if there are ever any issues that Dry Pro will stand behind their work. We are able to monitor our crawlspace with a device and any questions are quickly addressed. We wholeheartedly recommend this company to everyone without a moment's hesitation!
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Hardworking budget friendly great crew super polite respectful of property all areas of process I highly recommend this honest company. The …
Hardworking budget friendly great crew super polite respectful of property all areas of process I highly recommend this honest company. The team Justin T Miguel, Damian, William N, Travis M, Ethan W, Mason M, Were all 5 stars
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Spencer and Ethan arrived promptly, were polite and professional. Spencer explained the process, and the answered my questions clearly….
Spencer and Ethan arrived promptly, were polite and professional. Spencer explained the process, and the answered my questions clearly. They worked quickly and efficiently, and ensured I was satisfied when they were done.
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Juan R. Alejandro S. Cesar B.
Juan R. Alejandro S. Cesar B.
Dry Pro: Expert Foundation Repair Services in Charlotte, NC
Homeowners often encounter service providers who fall short of their promises, communicate poorly, and cut corners. At Dry Pro Foundation and Crawlspace Specialists, we prioritize safety, communication, and transparency. Our team delivers exceptional foundation repair service while handling your home with the utmost care and respect. From start to finish, we treat your home as if it were our own.
Contact us today for a free inspection and learn how foundation repair can restore your property.
Foundation Repair FAQs
Vapor barriers play a crucial part in protecting your foundation. Charlotte, NC has humid subtropical weather, meaning that there’s a lot of rain and humidity for the better part of the year. Without the right waterproofing solutions in place, your foundation will deteriorate thanks to how destructive water can be. A vapor barrier helps mitigate the damage, but it’s not all that’s needed to stop foundation settling.
What a Vapor Barrier Can Do
A vapor barrier keeps water out of your foundation. This helps prevent soil erosion, especially if you have a dirt crawl space. Without a vapor barrier, the soil around the support posts in the crawl space would erode, causing settling, which affects the entire house. Vapor barriers also prevent the materials in the crawl space from getting torn apart from the freeze-thaw effect.
How to Stop Foundation Settling
Besides a vapor barrier, you will need a crawl space sump pump, a perimeter drain, and a dehumidifier. All these things work together to protect your crawl space, prevent foundation deterioration, and keep your home healthy. A vapor barrier works wonders on its own, but without the other waterproofing solutions, your crawl space is vulnerable to things like condensation and frost heave damage.
Besides just making sure that your crawl space can handle water, you also need to make sure that as little water as possible is flowing towards it in the first place. You can do this by making certain alterations, such as pointing your downspouts away from your home or extending them. Make sure to also watch for clogging, especially during the fall and winter, when drains get clogged due to mud and leaves or they simply freeze over.
Any form of structural damage in your home can become worse, especially if left alone for a long time. Although concrete is strong, it is not the perfect material. It still requires some annual maintenance from a local expert. This allows it to be inspected every once and a while, as well as repaired when it needs to be.
Structural Damages
Once a crack has formed on your foundation wall, it always has the potential to grow larger and wider, especially if left alone. Cracks in foundation walls can extend to foundation floors, and, after years and years of neglect, they can even reach other areas of your home. You do not want this to happen to you, as structural damage in more than one area can be dangerous.
Structural damage also can cause your home to become uneven as well. This can happen via sinking, heaving, or tilting, depending on where the damage is found and how bad it is. Not only is this incredibly unsightly, but also this can make your home unsafe to inhabit.
Water Damages
Any opening in your foundation wall is an invitation for water to enter through. Water damage is quite common and can be one of the most expensive damages to repair. Some of these include:
- Mold and mildew
- Wood rot
- Musty odors
- Water stains
Leaks and floods also can introduce pests, both big and small. Many common insect pests are attracted to wet, humid environments, and cracks in foundation walls are the perfect way for them to enter your home. Larger pests, such as rodents, also can be tempted to enter your home through any available openings.
There are three main options that are offered by Dry Pro Foundation and Crawl Space Specialists: the IntelliBrace™ Wall Repair System, the Channel Anchor System, and the Wall Anchor System. Read on to figure out the differences between them to help you select the one that best fits your needs.
IntelliBrace™ Wall Repair System
When it comes down to it, the main difference between the three foundation wall repair systems depends on the amount of landscape space that you have around your home. For homeowners who have a limited landscape space, the IntelliBrace™ Wall Repair System is likely the best option for repairing cracks in your foundation walls, since it is non-invasive to your home. In fact, it is installed directly on the inside of your foundation walls, without any excavation needed!
Homeowners also do not need to worry about altering the look of their foundation walls or basement space, however. The IntelliBrace™ uses a very sleek metal beam that is coated with zinc to help it be extremely resistant to the formation of rust. Furthermore, it is not bulky at all, so you do not have to be concerned about how much space it takes. Once the IntelliBrace™ System is installed, it easily looks as if it has always been a part of your foundation wall but with extra benefits of stability, strength, and wall repair!
Channel and Wall Anchor System
Both the Channel and the Wall Anchor Systems are able to provide an intense amount of support for your foundation walls, helping them to remain stable and even repairing them over time. Unlike the IntelliBrace™ Wall Repair System, however, both Anchor Systems require our experts to drill holes around your property for installation. This is needed to properly place the anchor systems underground. Therefore, these two options work best for homeowners who have plenty of room in front of their landscaping to have them installed adequately.
The beams of the Channel and Wall Anchor Systems are constructed from a rust and corrosion resistant metal, so you are guaranteed to have them last a long time underground. These systems use the principle of an “equal but opposite force” against the problematic soil phenomena that occur because of the rainy and windy Charlotte, NC climate.
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.
Once your foundation wall repairs have been completed, you will want to start considering how to protect your foundation in the future. This is crucial to prevent destabilizing factors, such as moisture, from ever becoming a fundamental problem for your home again. Make sure you ask your professional contractor what means you can invest in to further protect your foundation walls in the future.
Invest in Regular Home Inspections
An inspection can take under an hour if your home receives annual check-ups, or it may take several hours during your first inspection. This allows the expert to fully check over your foundation, the surrounding area, your basement and crawl space, and other areas of your home. They will be looking for problem signs and subtle indicators of stress on your foundation. This lets them catch problems early and apply small fixes to keep your home in top condition.
Waterproofing Your Basement
If you have undertaken and completed foundation repairs for bowing walls in your home, then investing in adequate waterproofing measures is crucial to further protecting your foundation walls. This also has the double advantage of increasing the lifespan of the newly installed wall anchors.
Both sump pumps and dehumidifiers used in conjunction with one another after foundation repairs are a great (and common) way to protect your foundation walls. These also can be used in conjunction with interior drainage systems to carry unwanted water away from your foundation walls.
Making Mistakes During Installation
If you attempt to repair your own foundation walls, then there is a high chance that you won’t be able to access the same industry gear and equipment used to work on these projects. Even if you can, these solutions often require a great deal of experience to install properly. The most knowledgeable laymen can still make an honest mistake, and, in the realm of foundation damage, this can be catastrophic.
For example, wall anchors are difficult to install properly. If you install a wall anchor only halfway, then you might leave assuming that your home is safe from further foundation damage, when, it is not. Foundation damage that is allowed to fester will only get worse over time. If you make mistakes during the DIY foundation repairs, then in a few months time, you might be looking at more serious problem of foundation sinking.
Money Losses
Repairing damaged foundation walls or structural supports on your own is a very costly endeavor. It involves getting your hands on effective wall anchors or braces, having the correct tools to install them, and having the correct materials to repair cracks and leakages that could be compounding the problem.
The lack of industry connections on the part of the average homeowner means that repairing foundation damage on your own can turn out to be much more costly than having a professional service do the job for you. Moreover, if you make mistakes during your DIY repairs that lead to even more serious issues, you will have to hire a professional service to first fix your DIY repairs and then install repairs of their own. This might compound the costs to much more than it would have been had you avoided DIY repairs altogether.
