
Project: Synder Residence
Location: Newtonville, MA
Date: September 2011
After living in the home for several years, the homeowners decided to build an addition in 1999 to accommodate their growing family. Due to the close property lines between homes in the neighborhood, the builder did not bring in proper soil compaction equipment to adequately compact the soil beneath the addition. Shortly after construction, the rooms within the addition began to display some obvious signs of settlement. The foundation wall began to separate from the sill plate, resulting in a two inch gap between the foundation wall and the upper levels of the home. Drywall cracks began to extend off the corners of doors and windows, and some doors could no longer close tightly. Additionally, floors became uneven and cracks started to form throughout the tile floors in some of the rooms. As time passed, the problems seemed to become more severe, and the homeowners knew they needed to fix their settlement problem before it was too late.
The homeowners contacted Foundation Supportworks of New England to permanently remedy the problem. Foundation Supportworks of New England recommended the installation of six (6) Foundation Supportworks Model 288 Push Piers to permanently stabilize and attempt to lift the settling addition back to its original position. Due to the close property lines, excavation equipment could not be used to remove soil at each of the pier locations. Therefore, individual holes were hand dug more than 6' deep to reach the footing. The push piers were driven to depths ranging from 11 to 16 feet to reach a competent load bearing soil layer. Piers were installed to ultimate capacities of over 34,000 pounds and the installation was completed in two days. The foundation was permanently stabilized and lifted 2" back to its original position, completely closing the gap between the foundation wall and sill plate and significantly improving the operation of doors and windows.
Project Engineer:
Hayman Engineering
Installing Contractor:
Foundation Supportworks of New England
Certified Inspector:
Andy Mills
Products Installed:
(6) Foundation Supportworks® Model 288 Push Piers