Problem Signs
If you'd like to get your foundation problem repaired permanently, you'll first need to know exactly what's needed for your unique problem. At Dry Pro Foundation and Crawlspace Specialists, our team of trusted in-house foundation repair experts is here to help.
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Bowing Walls
Outside pressure to your foundation walls can cause cracking and bowing. Learn more about what causes this issue and how to repair it.
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Settlement Sinking
As the soils around your home settle, so does your foundation which can cause damage to your home. Learn more about why your home sinks.
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Sagging Crawl Space
The floor over your crawl space may sag or sink causing structural damage to your home. Learn more about this issue and how to properly support your home.
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Floor Crack
Concrete floors form cracks and they either sink or heave upwards. Learn more about what causes cracks and the best solutions for your home.
Causes
Our foundation experts will accurately identify the cause of your home's foundation problems.
While sandy soils remain stable as water passes through them, soils rich in clay undergo significant changes based on their moisture content.
When clay type soils dry out, they shrink significantly — so much that the ground can become covered with cracks. But after a heavy rain, the cracks are gone and the soil is fully saturated with water.
Because clay soil absorbs so much water, it expands during wet weather.
Expansive clay soils can put enormous pressure on your basement or foundation walls. When the pressure becomes more than the wall can handle, the wall will begin to push inwards.
Hydrostatic pressure is the pressure exerted by a fluid due to the force of gravity.
To understand how hydrostatic pressure can damage foundation walls, imagine how much heavier soil becomes when it’s soaked with water. When the weight of water is added to the weight of the soil, you’ve got much greater pressure pushing against a foundation wall.
Hydrostatic pressure effectively amplifies soil pressure against a foundation wall. When the pressure exceeds the foundation wall’s ability to withstand it, the wall will begin to bow, buckle, tilt inward at the top, or move inwards at the bottom.
In areas with cold winter climates, frost heaving can sometimes put enough pressure on foundation walls to make them fail.
When water turns to ice, its volume increases by about 9%. If wet soil experiences a deep freeze, the wedging or heaving force that results can be extremely powerful.
Frost heaving can put literally thousands of pounds of force against your foundation walls, causing cracks, bowing, and heaving.
Foundation soils experience most of their drying and shrinking from two common causes:
Drought: Prolonged dry periods cause the soil to dry out. As we know, when the clay dries out, it shrinks. Soil shrinkage beneath a foundation has the same effect as soil settling: It usually causes a section of the foundation to crack and settle into the void or hollow area where settlement has occurred.
Maturing Trees: The root system of a tree can be up to twice the size of the tree’s canopy. If a tree’s branches extend over your home, there’s a good chance that they extend under your house as well, drawing moisture up from the soil and causing it to shrink.
The soils around your foundation experience wetting and softening primarily for these three reasons:
Heavy Rain & Flood Conditions: As clay soil gets wet, it holds on to water and becomes very soft. This soft soil can be weak, causing the home to shift (or “sink”) down into it.
Poor Drainage: If water is allowed to stand or “pond” next to your home, the soil will absorb the water. As it does, the soil can weaken and soften once again.
Plumbing Leaks & Broken Water Lines: When a home’s plumbing begins to leak under a slab foundation, the soils underneath can begin to become saturated, weakening their supporting capacity.
In order to level a site where a foundation will be built, builders sometimes bring in loose soil from another location to fill depressed or hollow areas.
This newly moved “fill” soil is much looser and lighter than the dense, hard-packed virgin soils at the site that haven’t been disturbed.
The fill soil brought in by the builder has to be compacted thoroughly before a foundation is built on top of it. If the soil is not compacted well, it may begin to compress underneath the weight of your new home, creating settlement problems that can damage your foundation.
Solutions
At Dry Pro Foundation and Crawlspace Specialists, we're here to fix your foundation problem — no matter what it is. We have the specialized equipment, products, and professional experience you need to make permanent foundation repairs.
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Wall Anchor System
Repair bowing and buckling walls and restore the structural integrity of your home with our wall anchor system.
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Helical Piers
Stabilize your damaged foundation and overcome problems caused by weak, unstable soil conditions with our helical pier system.
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Slab Piers
Stabilize and restore your damaged concrete slab foundation with our slab pier system.
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Push Piers
Stop the settlement of your foundation and lift it back to its original position with our push pier system.

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