How to Inspect and Repair a Wood Foundation

If you notice large gaps on your door frame of your wooden home, or a crack in your interior walls, there is a big possibility that your wood foundation is damaged. Other sign of a damaged foundation are windows and doors that stick. Damaged wood foundations can cause shifting and misalignment of your home structure, so your doors and windows may become loose or tight in certain places.

A weak foundation can be quite a headache for home owners. When they are not repaired in a timely manner, it can lead to major home damage. Before your home sustains major damages due to its weak wood foundation, you need to do some repairs.

Step 1 - Assess the Structural Problem

Assess the structural problems of your home before you do any repairs on its foundation. When assessing the structural problems of your home, check the posts first. Termites and woodworms can wreak havoc on wood foundations, so make sure that your wooden posts are free from infestation. If your posts are infested with termites, determine the extent of the infestation so that you will have some ideas as to how much repair is needed.

Sinking and shifting in the structure can cause much to your foundation. To gauge how much your home is sinking, check your walls and ceilings. If you have concrete walls, keep an eye out for cracks. If you have walls made of wood, watch for protruding nails. If you are using wall papers, check them for wrinkles. Wrinkles on your wall paper indicate that your walls have shifted.

After checking your walls, examine your ceiling. When inspecting the ceiling, look for popped nails and cracked areas. Popped nails and cracks on your ceiling is shifting. After inspecting your walls and ceiling, go outside and check your exterior walls for signs of sinking. Changes in the height of your windows are indications that your home is sinking in some places.

Step 2 - Excavate Areas That Need Support

To strengthen the weak foundation of your home, you may install a foundation piering system. A foundation piering system involves the installation of steel piers under the footing of your home., Before you can install your foundation piering system, you need to excavate the areas that need support.

Step 3 - Attach a Heavy Duty Steel Bracket to the Foundation

To stabilize your wood foundation, you need to attach a heavy duty steel bracket on the foundation.

Step 4 - Drive the Bracket to the Bedrock

After attaching the steel bracket to the foundation, drive steel piers into the bedrock beneath your home with the use of hydraulic jacks. Make sure that your piers rest on solid rocks.

Step 5 - Stabilize Your Home

Stabilize the affected areas of your home by locking the steel piers into the brackets which are attached to the wood foundation.