Foundation (and foundation repair), like most professions and subjects of study, has a very particular body of terms with particular technical applications. This is what is commonly known as ‘terminology’. For us, using this terms is our way of life, but we understand that sometimes for homeowners who are not as familiar with these terms it can be a bit difficult to follow, specially if we keep piling on term after term when we speak.
In all honesty the terminology is not that difficult; most of it is pretty easy to understand and whenever we work with a homeowner, we make sure to lay it all out from the initial inspection and through the entire process.
Today, we would like to share with you a bit of a glossary with the most common terms related to foundation repair, so you can have a greater understanding of the terminology and what it implies.
Active Zone/Layer: The layer of soil that goes from the surface to the deepest depth of seasonal moisture variation in soil. Soil movement and instability usually occurs in the active zone/layer of soil.
Adequate Watering: Watering in the right amounts to stop or arrest settlement brought about by soil shrinkage resulting from loss of moisture.
Allowable Load: The load which can be safely transmitted to a foundation.
Anchor Pier: A pier connected to a structure by one or more ties to furnish lateral support or uplift.
Bearing Capacity (of soil): Maximum pressure which can be applied to soil without failure.
Beam: In a pier and beam home, it refers to a wooden support member consisting of dimensional lumber pieces sandwiched together to support floor joists and the above structure. In slab foundations, a concrete beam refers to the thickest part of the slab, usually found around the perimeter of the foundation and reinforced with tension cables or rebar.
Bedrock: Solid layer of rock/earth beneath the active layer and loose deposits. The bedrock is suitable for supporting a structure.
Below Grade: Below the ground level.
Berm: A heap of soil placed near a structure in order to direct the flow of water away from the structure. They can help prevent foundation damage and also enhance landscaping.
Bowing Wall: A wall that is bent or curved due to stress from expansive soil, structural failure, or other elements.
Cantilever: A long projecting beam or girder fixed at only one end, that extends horizontally.
Canopy: The diameter of tree foliage. Also known as ‘drip line’.
Carbon Fiber: A strong and lightweight man-made material made of small fibers of carbon that can be woven into fabric or melted down and molded. Carbon fiber strips and staples are often used to fix cracks, strengthen bowing walls, and support failing foundation.
Catch Basin: A drainage solution for landscaping systems. It contains a grate with a pipe to drain excess water through and away from the area.
Clay: A fine-grained naturally occurring material that is often found in soil. Because it traps water in its molecules, clay particles expand when they get wet and shrinks when it dries out.
Clay Bearing Failure: The result of expansive soils exerting pressure against a constant downward loading. This can cause a pier to deviate further from vertical until it can no longer support the structural load.
Collapsible Soil: Soil susceptible to erosion, reduction, or void formation when water is added.
Concrete: A hard material made of sand, rocks, cement and water that is often used in foundations.
Concrete Breakout: What must be done in order to gain access to a pier that is located in an area obstructed by a concrete surface such as a sidewalk or porch.
Concrete Pier: Long, slender cylinders made of concrete and used to support foundations. Some Concrete piers are poured on site directly into the ground, while some are pre-cast and pressed or driven into the ground.
Concrete Piling: A slender column constructed of concrete and containing steel rebar in its center. It is driven into the soil to a predetermined depth and used as a support for a building’s foundation.
Consolidation: The change in soil volume (compaction) due to the gradual loss of water. Where clay soils are concerned, this would result in shrinkage.
Crawl Space: In pier and beam foundations, it is the area under the structure. About 18″-24″ high, leaving enough room to crawl underneath.
Deep Foundation: A design whereby the structural load is transmitted to a soil at some depth.
Deflection: The degree of bending and bowing from a heavy load that a foundation may withstand without total failure.
Differential Settlement: Uneven settlement. This happens when different parts of the foundation and structure are sinking at different rates.
Drilled Pier: A concrete pier or pile cast in the place in a hole, which may be belled at the bottom. Particularly suitable where soil is dry and hole will stand open.
Driving Cap: A steel cap placed over a pile to prevent damage.
Earth Anchor: A device designed to support structures, Also known as a ground anchor, percussion driven earth anchor or mechanical anchor, it may be impact driven into the ground or run in spirally, depending on its design and intended force-resistance characteristics. They can be a temporary or permanent application and provide a retention system against uplift forces.
Elevation: The height of different points of your foundation. The central spot of the elevation is the level position. Any higher or lower points have different elevations.
Engineers Report: A report prepared by a licensed structural engineer outlining what is wrong with your foundation and what steps should be taken to repair it.
Epoxy Crack Injection: A repair method used to seal cracks. cracks in concrete are “glued” together using an epoxy grout material that is injected into the crack and seals the two faces together.
Expansive Soil: Any kind of soil, often clay, that contracts when water is removed and expands when water is added. This soil often contributes to foundation shifting, heaving, and movement.
Exterior Piers: Foundation piers installed around the perimeter of a slab foundation or pier and beam structure.
Fill: Soil that is added to an area to fill in, level, or grade that area. Sometimes gravel is used as fill instead of soil.
Floating Slab: A slab inside the foundation which is not attached to either the wall or the foundation. Typically, they serve as a concrete floor and contain no piers underneath, and are most commonly used in garages.
Footing: A thick, steel-supported concrete slab poured around the edges of the foundation. The footing helps to spread out the vertical load of the foundation evenly. These are installed below grade.
Foundation: The part of the structure that is in contact with the ground and provides support for the rest of the structure. Foundations do this by transmitting the load of the structure to the ground below.
Foundation Inspection: The first visit carried out by a contractor (the inspector) to find out what is the state of the foundation: if there is something wrong with it, what the causes are and what is needed to fix the problem, and prevent any further damage from happening.
Foundation Repair: The process of repairing a home or structure’s foundation.
Foundation Replacement: The process that involves completely removing the old foundation of a building or structure and building a new one in its place.
Free Water: Water that can be taken in or lost without a change in the soil volume occurring.
French drain: A perforated pipe installed in a cut to intercept and divert subsurface water. The cut is below the level of the intruding water and is graded to drain the water away from the structure.
Frost Heaving: Expansion that occurs when the water inside soil freezes, increasing the total volume of the soil up to 25%. This can contribute to foundation movement or heaving.
Girder: A beam, generally made of wood. Its purpose is to distribute the weight of the structure to the foundation resting below it.
Grade: The level of the ground surface and the rise of fall per a given distance. Used to measure the slope of the ground around your home and foundation.
Grade Beam: A concrete support that wraps around the perimeter of a pier and beam foundation. It is generally poured approximately 18″ below soil grade and reinforced with rebar.
Gravity Discharge: Uses a natural or man-made slope in landscape to discharge water near the foundation.
Grouting: A method in which material is injected to permeate soil or repair cracks in concrete. Its purpose is to fill underground voids to lift sinking slabs and level concrete.
Gumbo Clay: Highly plastic clay soil from the southern and western United States.
Hairline Crack: A very fine crack in concrete, drywall, brick, or any other material that makes up a home or commercial structure. Normally, hairline cracks are not the result of foundation failure.
Heave of Pile: The uplift of earth between or near piles caused by the displacement of soil by pile driving.
Helical Piers: Steel devices used to support sinking foundations. These devices consist of long, thin cylindrical steel shafts that are threaded and look like part of a giant screw. The shafts are driven into the ground vertically and connected until the pier reaches a supportive layer of soil and rock below the active layer. The pier is used as a support for the structure, which is raised hydraulically before resting on the pier.
Horizontal Crack: A crack that goes from one end of the wall or floor to the other and runs parallel to the floor or ceiling. These are often serious and are often indicators of foundation settlement.
Hybrid Piling: A method that combines concrete and steel piers to provide the best structural stability.
Hydrostatic Plumbing Tests: Tests performed by licensed plumbers using special equipment to determine if a property has under-slab plumbing leaks that can cause foundation damage. These tests are generally conduced before and after foundation repair.
Hydrostatic Pressure: Pressure in the ground due to water in the soil. The more water the soil absorbs, the more this pressure can build up and compromise the structural integrity of a foundation.
Interior Floors: Floors inside the house, normally supported by beams and posts in the crawlspace or basement of the home.
Interior Pier: A foundation pier that is installed inside the structure, as opposed to being installed around its perimeter. The pier is positioned under a load bearing wall or under an interior beam support.
Jacking: The process of lifting up a structure or slab by driving force on a pier with jacks. This process is used in underpinning to install piers under structures.
Lateral Support: Batter piles or reinforcement to resist lateral forces on piles or footings.
Live Load: Any additional weight to a structure added by people, furniture, snow, ice, or water. The latter being a particularly dangerous live load.
Load Bearing Capacity: The maximum amount of weight that a foundation can sustain without foundation failure. Any weight over the load bearing capacity may cause the soil beneath the structure to shift, leading to foundation failure or damage.
Masonry Block Wall: Any wall consisting of bricks or concrete blocks. These walls are usually easier to repair than poured concrete walls.
Moisture Barrier: A means of maintaining moisture content beneath a foundation. It consists of an impermeable barrier extending to some depth and in close proximity to the perimeter beam. They are commonly found in crawl space encapsulation, basement wall waterproofing and drainage projects.
Moisture Content: The amount of moisture in the soil that surrounds your foundation and home. The higher the moisture content, the more the soil will expand.
Mudjacking: A process whereby a water and soil cement or soil-lime-cement grout is pumped beneath the slab, under pressure, to produce a lifting force that literally floats the slab to desired position. Modern polyurethane concrete raising is a popular, cleaner method. We know that these are quite a lot of terms (and more to come), but don’t worry, we are not going to quiz you. However it can be a great thing to get familiarized with some of these in case you come across one of the different situations where they might pop up. In any case, you don’t need to worry because every time iFix gets to your home we will make absolutely sure that everything is perfectly well understood. For us it is of outmost importance for homeowners to have a clear and comprehensive understanding of all aspects of the situation, with a clear grasp of the appropriate terms to ensure not only transparency but also empowering them to make well-informed decisions with the necessary knowledge.
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