Sinking & Settling Concrete Floor Slab Repair in Greater Ottawa
Concrete slab piers can extend deep below the floor to reach competent supporting soils and permanently stabilize the floor.
Causes & repair solutions for cracked, sinking concrete floors
Do you have a concrete slab floor that is showing signs of sinking, sagging, or settling? Are the walls separating from the floor below or ceiling above?
IF you have a problem like this in your home, you could have a sinking or settling concrete floor slab. This problem can lead to cracks in floors and walls, uneven surfaces, and a weakened foundation.
Luckily, the foundation repair experts at The Foundation Guys Inc. can help you solve this problem permanently! We provide a complete foundation repair solutions in Ottawa, Nepean, Orleans and nearby areas in Ontario. Call us today to get a free estimate.
Signs of slab settlement
When a floor slab settles, the damage can manifest itself in many ways. Along with cracks in the concrete, the floors can separate from the walls as they sink downwards. Alternatively, the interior wall may be pulled down with the floor, instead separating from the ceiling. Walls can also pull away from other walls, and interior wall cracks can form — commonly off the corners of interior doors.
(Click each photo to enlarge.)
What causes a concrete floor slab to settle?
When a concrete floor settles, it can mean serious damage to your home. The causes of floor slab settlement are almost always due to the soils underneath being unable to support the weight of the concrete. They often accompany other foundation problems in your home.
The three most common causes of settling concrete floor slabs are as follows:
Drying & shrinking of the soil under the slab
HVAC (Heating, Venting, and Air Conditioning) systems may be installed beneath the floor slab. Over time, the ductwork can leak air, which can dry out the soil.
As the soil dries and shrinks, gaps form under the floor slab, creating voids. Because the soil no longer supports the floor slab, the floor begins to crack and sink into the voids.
Washout of soil under the slab
This is usually caused by plumbing leaks. If the plumbing leak is severe and there is a path for the water to flow through, it can wash soil out from under the slab.
With a void underneath the floor, there's nothing supporting the concrete slab anymore. In time, it begins to crack and sink downwards.
Poor compaction of fill soil
During construction of a new home, layers of soil are commonly moved around or spread out to get to the desired grade level. When the home is built, footings may be deepened to extend below weak fill soils and avoid a foundation settlement issue.
The slab, however, remains on the fill soils. If the fill was poorly compacted, the fill soil compresses and settles, and a void is formed under the slab. In time, the slab cracks, breaks, and settles into the void.
Ways to repair floor cracks
Supportworks dealers have many tools at their disposal to reverse concrete slab settlement and restore the good condition of concrete floors. Here are the many ways The Foundation Guys Inc. might choose to resolve your floor crack:
- Push piers: Push piers reach greater depths than any other type of solution, which can sometimes come in handy for restoring concrete slabs and getting rid of cracks in the process.
- Helical piers: Helical piers are suitable for both light and heavy loads, which can make them appropriate for concrete slab settlement and floor crack repair.
- Slab piers: Occasionally it might be prudent to use concrete slab piers and brackets to transfer the weight of the slab to load-bearing soil and lift and level the concrete.
What NOT to do
As with most home repairs, some work all of the time, some work some of the time, and some don't work at all. Here are two "fixes" that we do NOT recommend:
Concrete slab replacement
A concrete slab being jackhammered and removed during a floor replacement in Maxville. A typical replacement can take several weeks to complete.
To perform a job like this, all home furnishings, all floor coverings, and interior walls within the building must be removed. Once this is done, a crew jackhammers the existing floor into small pieces and removes them by hand.
Next, a new floor is poured to replace the one removed. The homeowner should allow at least two weeks for the slab to cure sufficiently.
After the curing is complete, the interior partition walls may now be rebuilt, floor coverings may be reinstalled, and home furnishings may be returned.
While this situation is disruptive and expensive, the real problem here is that the issue that caused the problem in the first place has not been addressed.
Without addressing the soil problems that originally lead to the cracks in your concrete floor, your new floor may "break" over time too!
Releveling grout on top of the slab
A contractor smoothing out a surface of releveling grout during a concrete slab repair. The previous concrete floor had shown cracks during settlement.
To begin this process, all floor coverings that were placed on the slab must be removed. The floor is then prepared so that grout will be able to bond with the slab surface.
A self-leveling grout is poured along the slab surface, where it begins to fill in the low portion of the floor and create a level surface. After the grout is allowed to cure for several days, the floor coverings can be replaced.
However, if the floor wasn't prepared properly, the grout may not bond well to the concrete surface of the original floor slab. Over time, this may lead to large chunks of the new floor breaking off.
Additionally, the grout will add weight to the slab, potentially making the situation worse by causing further settlement.
And, just like with the last two options, the real problem of soil settlement is not addressed!
Looking for foundation slab repair contractors in Ontario?
At The Foundation Guys Inc., we provide proven solutions for concrete slab floor leveling — as well as other foundation repair solutions — to homeowners throughout Ontario. We provide each of our customers with a free, no obligation slab repair quote, in writing, before any work is done. To schedule your appointment, call or e-mail us today!
We proudly offer all our foundation repair services in Ottawa, Nepean, Orleans, Kanata, Gloucester, Richmond, Smiths Falls, Carleton Place, Vanier, Renfrew, and throughout the surrounding areas.
Looking for a price? Get a no cost, no obligation free estimate.
our service area
We serve the following areas
- Almonte
- Arnprior
- Ashton
- Athens
- Balderson
- Braeside
- Carleton Place
- Carp
- Clayton
- Cumberland
- Delta
- Dunrobin
- Elgin
- Fitzroy Harbour
- Frankville
- Gananoque
- Greater Madawaska
- Greely
- Horton
- Jasper
- Kanata
- Kemptville
- Kinburn
- Kingston
- Lanark
- Lansdowne
- Lombardy
- Lyndhurst
- Mallorytown
- Mcdonalds Corners
- Mcnab/braeside
- Merrickville
- Munster
- Newboro
- North Augusta
- Ottawa
- Pakenham
- Pembroke
- Perth
- Portland
- Renfrew
- Rideau Ferry
- Rockport
- Russell
- Smiths Falls
- Stittsville
- Toledo
- Westport
- White Lake
- Woodlawn