Foundation & Concrete Repair in Lafayette, IN

Basement waterproofing can’t happen overnight, especially if you need a complete overhaul in your basement. The good news is, if you get it done by a quality team, it can have an impressive lifespan, saving you money in the long term.  

• How Long Does It Take? 

In general, basement waterproofing takes one to three days, based on the number of systems or measures that need to be installed. For example, if you already have a quality drainage system, then the team at Indiana Foundation Service may only need to install vapor barriers or upgrade your sump pump. This can be done in a day. If you need waterproofing from scratch, then it can take around three days of consistent work to finish your basement properly. 

The amount of damage your basement has sustained will also affect this timeline. If your local experts in Indianapolis, Indiana, need to replace drywall, repair cracks, address bowing walls, and treat mold, these individual processes will add time to the project. That’s why it’s often smart, time-saving, and cost-effective to invest in waterproofing measures long before it appears that you need them. 

• How Long Does It Last? 

On average, basement waterproofing will last around 10 years. The length of time will fully depend upon weather conditions and potential issues the home might run into along the way. For example, if you experience harsh storms, your sump pumps and drainage systems may be working overtime. If you do not maintain the vapor barriers or environmental factors damage the insulation in your basement, the lifespan of the entire waterproofing project may shorten. 

The good news is, annual maintenance can do wonders to extend the lifetime of your waterproofing measures. By having a professional check in on your basement every six to 12 months, they can spot small issues before they develop into harmful ones. They can also clean, repair, or modify your sump pumps, dehumidifiers, vapor barriers, and other systems to ensure they’re performing at their best. If no one system is required to pull additional weight, it will last for its maximum lifetime, which could be far more than 10 years. 

The damage that a loose crawl space vent does is usually indirect – the mere presence of a loose door or vent cover will not cause damage, but it allows damaging conditions to form within your crawl space and impact your home as a whole. 

Crawl Space Damage 

The most immediate effects of a loose or damaged crawl space vent cover or door are the recurrence of the stack effect and an increase in humidity. Dampness is sure to follow and if the issue is prolonged, your crawl space can suffer many problems. From wood rot and deteriorating insulation to damaged or rotting insulation and pest infestation, the issues that this can cause are diverse and incredibly damaging. 

The main problem, is that these issues will not only make your crawl spaces’ internal climate unhealthy and unpleasant but that they will start to damage the structure of your home, warping floorboards and rotting joists. When this happens, the damage in your crawl space will start to spill over into your property as a whole. This can impact everything from your property’s structure but also your health and well-being. 

Whole Property Issues 

The environment in your crawl space and home as a whole are intimately connected. When mold and mildew form in your crawl space or the joists succumb to wood rot, the consequences will be felt throughout your home. Mold can spread at an alarming rate, after all, and will ruin your soft furnishings as well as create a serious smell. This odor can be incredibly difficult to shift without professional intervention. 

Wood rot, by contrast, can start to impact your property’s structure – the first area to be impacted, of course, will be your floors. Damaged joists will cause the flooring to start sagging, pulling away from the walls, and even collapse if they are left without support for a long period. This can, in turn, cause damage to walls that are attached to the flooring. This is a costly issue to fix, as you can no doubt imagine, so it is better to avoid damage where possible. 

You might not be completely convinced that a sinking concrete slab is a problem that you need to worry about. There are multiple problems that you might experience due to sinking concrete slabs that you need to pay attention to.  

• Foundation Concerns 

A sinking concrete slab isn’t just something that you can brush off. It can cause very serious foundation concerns, such as cracking walls, stuck windows and doors, and, in some cases, even the collapse of support joists. When it comes to basement concrete, it can open the door for leaking and mold formation. 

Essentially, sinking concrete slabs showcase that the area underneath your concrete slab has a problem. Whether that problem is soil washout, soil preparation, or even just an issue with the initial home construction, a sinking concrete slab should be a sign that your foundation needs repair or the soil needs evaluating.  

• Issues with Tripping and Falling 

Tripping and falling might not seem like a very big issue to you in general, but as a matter of fact, it can be a serious concern. This is especially true for homeowners who have mobility issues, but if you miss the ledge just once, you’ll see why it’s important for everyone. 

When your concrete slab is sinking, one of the most obvious signs is when you start feeling unsteady while standing on top of it. This can lead to stumbles for even the most sure-footed person. Sinking concrete may also develop cracks, which can catch shoes or even toes, leading to wounds or nasty falls. Even the uneven nature of a sinking slab can make it difficult to traverse stairs or steps at any kind of speed. 

Why do contractors keep using soft, clay soils as foundations if they have a significant shrink-swell capacity and consolidate enough to put extreme pressure on foundations? After all, we were previously talking about load-bearing soil and how great it is at supporting weight. Why not use that kind of soil for foundations? 

Well, there’s a reason for everything and the civil engineers are experts in their field. Let’s take a look at why clay soils are more advantageous than load-bearing soils.  

• The Problem with Load-Bearing Soils 

Sedimentary rocks, bedrock, and other rocks and soils are extremely tough load-bearing materials. If you build a house on these types of rocks, it is highly unlikely that the house will ever settle. However, there’s a reason you never see an actual house built on these kinds of materials and it has to do with the attributes these materials possess and what it takes to build a functioning house. As much as we would love to say that there is a perfect foundation material, it’s simply not true. 

Load-bearing soils are way too dense to be used as actual soil. Soils used as foundations must be capable of both draining water and allowing air. If the soil is too dense to allow water to pass through, there would be pools of water all around your home whenever it rains. The soil should also never be dense enough that it creates pressure against the foundation should it ever shift.  

• Why Soft Soils Are Used 

Soft soils such as clay soils have a lighter load-bearing capacity. They also tend to be expansive. Without proper lawn care and waterproofing, expansive soils become extremely damaging. However, the reason they are still widely used and preferred by home experts is because of how convenient they are. 

Expansive soils consolidate and compact with extreme ease. All soils have to be consolidated when being placed down as a foundation. These soils are so easy to manipulate that they save time when the foundation work is being done. Expansive soils also allow a lot more water and air in than tougher soils, though not as much as soils with bigger particles such as sand and gravel. While this is great for setting down a foundation, issues could arise in the future if the expansive soil leads to poor drainage.