Springfield, MO | Foundation Recovery Systems

The stack effect is a term used to describe the way air flows into your home. If your crawl space or basement is unventilated and has many openings in which air from the outside gets in, the temperature in your home will get affected. The stack effect can affect homes during the summer and the winter, but in Springfield, MO, it affects homes the most during summer. The nearly unbearable humid air from the outside enters the home through the foundation and rises into the upper portions of the house. Humid, warm air is lighter than dry, cold air, so as long as the foundation is humid, the air down there will mingle with the air in your living space.

Because warm air is constantly infiltrating your home, your AC has to work overtime to keep things cool. Homeowners with foundation problems often find themselves setting their AC at much lower temperatures during the summer, meaning that the compressor has to consume more energy. Overtaxing the compressor and running the AC for longer means more energy consumption and higher energy bills. During the winter, the same can happen with your HVAC system, but because winters in Springfield are cold but not extreme, you may not feel like your home is very cold. Still, subtle problems signs like cold floors will still be there to indicate that you need to do something about your foundation.

Besides changing the temperature in your home, the stack effect also takes all the mold spores from your foundation and spreads them around, causing more mold growth. The best way to combat the problems that the stack effect brings is to waterproof and insulate your foundation. Waterproofing will help keep the air in your crawl space or basement fresh and clean while insulation will stop air from entering and leaving your foundation. For insulation, the best materials are those that are non-absorbent, since those tend to break down after taking in too much moisture. Insulation panels like ExTremeBloc™ are reflective instead of absorbent, making them the best insulation type for your foundation.

Standing water in your basement isn’t the only thing you should worry about as a homeowner. Humid air promotes mold growth and wood rot, so a damp basement can still cause structural damage even when it’s safe from flooding. To truly have a healthy basement, you need to make sure that water vapor has no way of getting inside. Water vapor doesn’t just come from the moisture in standing water, it can also come from the soil outside. Because the soil that surrounds your basement has clay and retains water, the moisture from the groundwater is able to seep through the concrete, which is a porous material.

Vapor barriers are the best way to stop water vapor from entering your basement. They are made of polyethylene, a synthetic plastic with dense molecules capable of blocking off water vapor. Our WallSeal™ Basement Wall Vapor Barrier is 20-mil in thickness and has a built-in anti-microbial coating to discourage mold growth. That is partially what sets it apart from a regular sheet of plastic: normal plastic cannot withstand years of water exposure, so it will potentially harbor bacteria, which mold can feast on. With WallSeal™, you never have to worry about having a bacteria-infested sheet on your walls.

Our vapor barrier is made with multiple layers for two reasons: to make sure that the water vapor has a difficult time passing through and to guarantee that the sheets themselves are not damaged. Polyethylene is an incredibly resistant material on its own, much more so than plastic. While a simple scrape with a sharp corner can create a tear in a normal sheet, WallSeal™ is durable and capable and puncture-resistant. It can also work in tandem with our BasementGutter™ interior drain to catch all the moisture that seeps through the wall.

Helical piers and push piers are support systems that stabilize settling foundations. They both have the same goal (to stabilize a foundation), but their installation process and functionality differ slightly. Helical piers are solid, steel rods that have been coated in zinc to fight off corrosion. This is incredibly important because the soil in Springfield, MO is incredibly acidic, so the system must be anti-corrosive to combat this. Helical piers have welded helix blades at one end of the shaft, making it easier for contractors to drive the rod down and install it in the soil.

Push piers are also galvanized to fight off corrosion, but they are hollow instead of solid. They do not have helix blades and are instead pushed into the ground by a hydraulic machine. Both pier systems are then secured to the house and the weight of the foundation is transferred to the load-bearing soil layers deep underground. These soil layers are dense and deep enough to not be affected by moisture as much as the upper soil layers are. Once the piers are installed, they also have the potential to straighten out the uneven homes.

While helical piers rely on being driven into the ground until reaching the required soil depths, push piers need a bit more than that to function. Push piers hold up a foundation by exerting a large amount of upwards pressure, but in order to stay in the soil, the house needs to exert an equal amount of pressure. Because of this, push piers are best used for bigger homes that weigh enough to act as a counter-weight for the pier. You won’t have to worry about figuring out which pier system your home needs, however, since this is decided by the contractor upon inspection.

Bowing basement walls are the result of an accumulation of groundwater against your basement wall. To stop the bowing, a great pressure needs to be applied to the inside of the basement so it can push back against the hydrostatic pressure. There are three different solutions we offer at Foundation Recovery Systems for bowing walls. The first one is carbon fiber straps, which are used on walls that are bowing less than two inches forward. The carbon fiber straps are adhered to the wall with high-strength epoxy resin, ensuring stable reinforcement.

Next, we offer wall anchors for more advanced settling. Holes are excavated outside adjacent the bowing wall and anchors are placed inside. Then, holes are drilled into the basement walls so that steel rods can be pushed through until they can be attached to the wall anchors. The portion of the rod that is still sticking out of the basement wall is used to secure a steel plate onto the wall. The plate and rod are bolted together and as the bolt is tightened, the wall is stabilized.

If there isn’t enough space for excavation or you simply want a solution with a less intrusive installation process, you can go with IntelliBrace™. With IntelliBrace™, steel I-beams are secured across the entire wall vertically. The beams are secured at the top and bottom with specialized brackets that are designed to fit well with your floor joists.

PolyRenewal™ is a modern method of lifting a concrete slab that streamlines the process in a way that other methods cannot. First, contractors determine where the polyurethane foam needs to be injected. Then, several holes are drilled into the concrete so that the foam can be injected. These holes are small, so even weak concrete can be repaired without compromising its structure. The polyurethane foam is injected using a small, handheld device that makes repairs in tight spots easy.

The foam expands while under the concrete and contractors make sure that there is enough to lift the slab. With concrete lifting methods like mudjacking, contractors need to rely on the pressure caused by pumping in a slurry of cement under the slab to lift it. This can cause problems with blowouts sometimes. PolyRenewal™ doesn’t have that problem, so the process is safe, easy, and can be completed in no time. Once the concrete has been lifted, the holes are patched up and the polyurethane is left to cure.

Polyurethane can cure in 15 to 30 minutes. You can use the slabs around your property like you normally would in as little as half an hour after repairs are done. PolyRenewal™ can be used to repair concrete slabs or concrete steps around your property, whether it’s your driveway, patio, or pool deck. So, if you want efficiency and convenience, call Foundation Repair Solutions for a free inspection.