Residential and Commercial - Darouse Foundations

Our Lift Process

Pier and Beam – The raising of a pier and beam home begins with taking level readings throughout the home with a computerized zip level. These readings are documented for use during the lift to make sure the home remains in a level position throughout the elevation process. The next step is to measure the dimensions of the home to determine what size and how many beams will be used to support the home during the lift. The subfloor is inspected prior to beam placement to determine if it’s strong enough to withstand lifting pressure. Sometimes additional shoring is needed to ensure a successful lift.

Once the beams are in place, hydraulic jacks are locked-in under the beams. Hydraulic hoses are connected on one end to the jacks and on the other to a “modern hydraulics” unified hydraulic jacking system. The jacks are then pressured to the lifting point, unified and the house is ready to be elevated.

Once the elevation process is complete, Darouse will follow the engineered plans and building codes to complete the new foundation under your home. Once the home is lowered and secured onto its new foundation, the new steps/decks can be completed along with the plumbing, mechanical, electrical and all other contractual obligations including your complete satisfaction with our workmanship.

Slab – The elevation of a slab home requires some of the same processes as a pier and beam home. Level readings are taken and used to keep the home level during the lift process as with a pier and beam home. From there, there are notable differences in the process:

If the slab has existing pilings beneath it, Darouse will dig and expose each piling, using each one as either a lifting point or a shim. Tunnels are dug under the home to expose the concrete footings where pilings would also exist. As with the perimeter, those pilings are used as jacking points and shims.
If the home does not have existing pilings or if the existing pilings are inadequate or have unacceptable spans (spacing) we will push segmented (locked-in) pilings to refusal in accordance with the engineer stamped drawings.

Crib beds (6x6x4 or larger) are also used as lifting points under a slab house. The crib beds provide strong stability in ensuring that the house remains level during the elevation. It may be necessary to use steel beams during the slab elevation process depending of the height of the lift.

As with the pier and beam process, the Unified hydraulic jacking system is used to provide a unified level lift.

Leveling

House leveling
Structural problems with residential and commercial structures are often attributed to some sort of foundation problem. Here are some signs that you home may be having some serious foundation issues:

*Pier and Beam Structures
*Humps in the floor
*floors that are sloping
*Floors that are bowing in the middle, causing a “banana” shape in the floor
*floors that are bouncy or rattle the furniture when walking
*doors that will not shut or have uneven gaps at the top of the doors
*doors that scrape against the floor when opening
*support piers that are sinking or leaning
*Sills that are bowing
*water damaged or rotten sills and joist
*The house is leaning

Slabs
*sheetrock cracking, especially in the top corners of windows and doors
*cracking of the mortar joints between bricks, these cracks resemble the outline of a set of steps
*cracks in the outside “face” of the concrete footing
*cracks in the floor
*doors that will not shut or have uneven gaps at the top of the doors
*Floors that are bowing or sloping
*The home is leaning from front to back or side to side

The experienced teams at Darouse Foundations have been solving foundation issues for homeowners and businesses for decades with a record success that we are very proud of. Call Darouse Foundations to put your home on a solid foundation for life.