Soil Injection
What is chemical injection/soil injection foundation repair?
Soil Injection uses non-toxic, water soluble chemicals (potassium salts and ammonium ions) that are injected into the ground under your building. These chemicals inhibit a soil’s ability to absorb water so that your soils do not swell up; sometimes referred to as soil stabilization.
How do we do it?
In most cases for existing structures, chemical injection is done around the perimeter of a foundation. For driveways, patios, decks, or other paved surfaces, ¾ inch diameter holes are drilled through the paving to reach the underlying soils. Chemical injection reaches depths ranging from 7 to 10 feet.
Advanced provides solution injections in Dallas at relatively low pressures, typically on two separate days. Trucks pump solutions to a manually operated injection wand. Injections can be done on the interiors of buildings; however, interior treatment requires that holes be drilled though the floor every 4 square feet. While exterior injections are hardly noticeable, this is not true for interior injections. When doing interior injections, remove the contents of a home because the chemicals sometimes splatter during injection.
When to use soil injection in Dallas
Chemical injection / Soil injection is an appropriate remedy to use when upward movement has started to affect a small area under your foundation. Use chemical injection can be used when there is an uplift of less than 1.5 inches and has not yet extended more than 15 feet towards the interior of the building. Chemical injection does not reverse the uplift, but can help prevent the upheaval from increasing and/or spreading. Sometimes called the soil stabilization process; the aim is to reduce or stop the upheaval, leaving the slightly sloped foundation as is, owners can avoid more costly repairs.
How does it work?
Water sticks to almost anything including clay. This attraction causes clay soil to swell. The trick is to use a non-swelling chemical to stick to the clay before water does. When injecting an appropriate concentration of the right chemicals into clay, the chemicals stick to the clay molecules and prevent the clays from absorbing water. Once in place, the chemicals stay attached to the clays. By injecting the chemicals into the soil and “coating” the clay, you create a moisture barrier, helping to stop water from causing more foundation upheaval and resulting in better soil stabilization.
Is there a warranty?
Because soils vary significantly in their chemical composition, there is no guarantee that a chemical injection / soil injection in Dallas will successfully prevent further upheaval. When an injection is unsuccessful, we offer a 50% credit against the cost of a complete underpinning, if the underpinning is performed by our company.
Is it toxic?
Did you know the materials Advanced Foundation Repair uses for soil injection in Dallas are not toxic? In the ground, in dilute concentrations, the solutions actually act as fertilizers.
How do I prevent upheaval or fix upheaval?
Foundation maintenance can prevent some types of upheaval through the installation of proper foundation drainage including:
Once foundation upheaval occurs, we recommend the following types of foundation repairs:
- Foundation lowering
- Foundation underpinning (For more information about Underpinning, be sure to ask your inspector during your FREE inspection.)
Advanced Foundation Repair is your trusted source for soil injection in Dallas!
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