Welcome to my blog. My name is Deborah. About 15 years ago, I bought an old home. We worked with several contractors to rehabilitate it, but ultimately, the foundation simply wasn't stable enough, and we had to tear it down. After that, we worked with a construction crew to build a home from the ground up. The experience was exciting and challenging, and I learned a lot through that process. I want to share construction and contracting facts and information with others so I decided to start this blog. I hope that you like the results, and I thank you for reading. Enjoy!
There are many ways to brace up and repair a foundation that has suffered cracks and damage over the years; underpinning is one such process where actual pins are put under the home's foundation in order to push the foundation, and the home itself, back into a level and even position. This can keep the home from sinking any more than it has, can keep cracks from forming along walls inside, and also can protect the chimney and brickwork outside from crumbling. If you're thinking of having your home underpinned or the process has been recommended to you, note some questions you might have so you can discuss these with your contractor.
Does underpinning affect a home's resale value?
Some potential homebuyers might be put off by a house that has been underpinned, reasoning that the home must be poorly constructed so that the foundation would suffer such cracks and other damage. However, some homebuyers may realize that underpinning is a good way to brace up a foundation and protect the home from damage, not just address damage after it happens. This is why underpinning may be done in areas with soft or moist soil even before damage occurs, to give a foundation added strength. If you do decide to put your home on the market after it's been underpinned, you might simply have a structural engineer examine it and write up a report about its overall structural safety and integrity, and this can reassure potential buyers that the home is secure and a good purchase.
Will underpinning fix the cracks in the foundation?
This typically depends on the extent of damage to your home and the extent of underpinning you have done. Pushing areas of a cracked foundation in place won't actually mend that crack, but it might keep those separated areas of concrete together so that the crack doesn't spread or allow water to collect.
On the other hand, you may find that you need to have an added layer of concrete put over those cracks in order to close them and make the foundation even stronger. Cracks may have also led to chips in the concrete that fell away, and these chips may need to be filled in. Your underpinning contractor can tell you how to address your home's foundation in particular, given its overall condition, the weight of your home, and the cosmetic improvements desired for any exposed areas of the concrete as well.
Share