Shuman Residence

Monday, October 18th, 2010

Challenge

Mrs. Shuman’s home is a single-story framed structure built in 1966. She had found a snake and lizards inside her home and discovered they were coming in from exterior cracks in the bricks. The interior walls were also cracking as a result of her home being built on a type of soil called gumbo clay. As the clay gets wet from heavy rain or poor drainage, it expands. It later contracts as it begins to dry out. This led to settlement and caused the left part of the foundation to sink and break away. The Lowcountry Basement Inspector also observed a 3” gap in the brick and gaps around the windows.

Solution

Lowcountry Basement remedied the problem by installing a total of eight Foundation SupportWorks™ Model 288 Low Proifle Push Piers along the exterior walls to stabilize and attempt to lift the foundation. The load of the home was transferred through the piers to the stable soil far under the structure so future shifting of the top soil will no longer affect the foundation. Once the piers were installed, they were unable to be seen from the interior or exterior of the home.

The home once again has a solid and level foundation. All the cracks in the bricks and walls are closed so no more creatures can come inside. The doors and windows can open and close correctly as they once did. The value of the property was restored.