Thrasher Basement Systems has encountered several homeowners who have experienced their basement floors and/ or interior footings being raised up in which is called” heaving” by Geotechnical Engineers. Basement floor and interior footing heaving can be very destructive to a home.
What causes basement floors and/or interior footings to “heave”? Typically heaving occurs when moisture is added to or returns to the soil, causing it to expand, which in turn pushes up the floor slabs and interior footings. Heave usually occurs with newer homes. When a house is built, a hole is dug and the hole remains exposed to sunlight, usually for several weeks. With so much direct sun exposure, moisture is removed from the soil and the soil shrinks. When the basement floor slab is poured, overtime, the moisture that once was in the soil returns, causing it to expand, pushing upwards on the basement floor slab and footings. In other instances, Thrasher has witnessed heave when a home is built over an old agricultural field where the old crop wasn’t fully excavated and removed. In this instance, the old crop is actually drawing moisture to the surface causing the soil to expand.
Heaving can cause cracks in the basement floor slab and unlevel floors, which can make finishing a basement much more difficult. When the soil heaving really gets invasive is when interior framed walls, load bearing and/or non-load bearing, get pushed upwards affecting the main floor framing system. Drywall cracks begin to appear, floors become out of level, and doors begin not opening and closing properly. Like foundation settlement, heave can be very invasive and can cause major damage to the home.
Thrasher Basement Systems has a unique, geotechnical solution to basement floor heave that can restore your home’s value. If you think you may be experiencing this problem, contact us for a free, no obligation inspection and estimate from one of our experienced System Design Specialists.
