Our Residential Services
"I think I have a problem."
This is the first thing most homeowners say when they call Geofreeze. They are concerned about symptoms they see in their homes and they are pleased to find that Geofreeze provides engineered solutions to solve structural problems in homes.
Geofreeze can help you if:
- You have cracks in your walls or ceilings
- You have settled walls or floor areas
- You wish to deepen a basement or convert a crawl space into a basement
- You wish to repair or construct a retaining wall
- You need to re-grade your property or add drainage improvements to improve storm water management
- You wish to reinforce or alter the structural support of your home
Initially, if requested, Geofreeze will provide a structural engineer's assessment of your problem for a fixed fee to identify the causes of the problem and then suggest a remedy to solve the problem. You will receive a professional engineer's report and cost estimate for the recommended remediation.
Subsequently, if you wish to proceed to correct the problem, Geofreeze can provide the required engineering analyses, plan preparation and any related submitals required. Many projects are classified as maintenance and do not require a permit. The engineering services required vary widely depending on the specific needs of the project and are invoiced on the basis of a fixed price fee schedule with a defined budget.
Foundation Underpinning
The foundation of your home is supported on soil or rock. If the soil material changes volume for any reason, the foundation may settle and crack. The solution to the problem is to extend the affected foundation down into firm, less compressible material. This process is called "foundation underpinning." There are several techniques available for foundation underpinning. All have advantages and disadvantages. The most cost-effective approach for a particular situation depends on the geology of the site, the type of existing foundation construction and access for completion of the work.
In the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area, foundation settlement is most frequently caused by the consolidation of poorly compacted fill or volume changes in clays that are affected by changes in their water content. These materials are frequently referred to locally as "marine clays." They are most prevalent in the Potomac River Valley, but may be found in isolated pockets throughout the area.
Some noticeable symptoms of settlement are "stair step" cracks in masonry walls, sloping floors and doors or windows that don’t function properly. The settling process can be arrested and frequently the settled foundation can be re-leveled by the process of foundation underpinning.
Basement Wall Reinforcement
The basement wall of your home is effectively a retaining wall. It is designed to support the pressure of the soil and water outside the wall, as well as the weight of the house. If the combined forces increase to exceed the design capacity assumed for the wall it may bow in and crack. Abnormally high water in the soil during seasonally wet periods of the year is the primary cause of excessive bowing of basement walls. The expansive forces exerted by marine clays may aggravate the problem.
Some noticeable symptoms of overstressing of your basement wall are long horizontal cracks that “stair step” up or down near the corner of masonry walls. In cast concrete walls the cracking frequently appears as a vertical crack more or less in the center of the wall with diagonal cracks on either side going upward from the floor towards the ceiling. The process is frequently cumulative as the wall is overstressed and bows further with each wet season. If the conditions causing the distress are not addressed, the affected wall may eventually fail.
The problem may be corrected either by eliminating the cause of the distress or reinforcing the wall to support the excess pressure. The latter approach is frequently much less expensive and intensive. There are several methods of reinforcing basement walls. The most cost-effective solution for a particular situation will depend on the type of wall construction, the extent of the existing distress and access for completion of the work. Frequently, improvements in storm water drainage on the property are all that is required to effectively eliminate overstressing and arrest further distress.
Concrete Floor Re-leveling
Concrete floors, patios, sidewalks and stoops frequently settle and crack because of consolidation of poorly compacted fill soil beneath them. Broken sewer or water pipelines beneath the floor may aggravate the problem. For small or limited areas it may be appropriate to remove and replace the concrete if further settlement won’t occur. For larger areas, particularly where there is the possibility of ongoing settlement, the floor may be re-leveled by hydraulic "mud-jacking" or mechanical piers. The latter approach is more certain when the fill soil beneath the floor may be clay.
Crawl Space to Basement Conversion (Basement Deepening)
Lot size, historical limitations, or some other constraint may lead to the determination that the conversion of a crawl space to a finished basement area is the most cost-effective way to increase the living area in a home. Also, many older homes have basements with headroom clearance that is too low to allow the basement to be finished and used as a living area. In these circumstances, it is possible to deepen the supporting foundation and concurrently mine the soil from beneath the house to create a suitable basement. This procedure frequently requires modifying the buried utilities beneath the house. It may also be desirable to modify the subfloor support system to obtain a more desirable use of space.
These combined procedures are frequently most attractive in historic, inner city areas where space is limited and "row house" style construction is common. The end result of this type of conversion is an increased heated/air conditioned living area without altering the exterior of the home. The increased living area increases the value of the home proportionately.
Retaining Walls
It may be desirable to build a new retaining wall where none previously existed or rebuild a retaining wall that is deficient. Any wall more than three feet high will require a permit in all of the jurisdictions around the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. This requirement has arisen because of the numerous residential retaining wall failures that have occurred. Retaining walls have frequently been constructed primarily as landscaping features without adequate engineering. With proper engineering there are a wide range of alternatives for wall materials and appearance that will perform properly.
Retaining walls constructed on steep slopes generally require more engineering and are more expensive to construct.
Structural Renovation
You may wish to remove a column that obstructs an area, open up a doorway or remove a wall. Geofreeze can assess and design these kinds of structural alterations. This procedure is easier if you have plans for the existing building, as well as knowing your desired changes. This will expedite the assessment and reduce the cost of the work.