Foundation Repair Case Studies: Smart Jack Stability in Wilmington, NC

Thursday, March 29th, 2018 by Derek Moore

Challenge

Lawrence, of Wilmington, NC, was pleased with the purchase of his home, which he bought nearly six months ago. He was so pleased, in fact, that he barely noticed when his floors started to sink very subtly. As time passed, it became more and more apparent that he wasn’t imagining the sag, and Lawrence thought that perhaps he had a problem. He contacted Southeast Foundation and Crawl Space Repair to have someone come out and inspect the home.

Southeast Foundation & Crawl Space Repair inspector Jeremie Gunn met with Lawrence to go over the problems of his sagging floors. As Jeremie began to walk through the home, the sinking areas in flooring were immediately apparent. After noting the degree of sagging, Jeremie determined that the home would definitely need to be stabilized to correct the problem. He ventured down to inspect the crawl space of the home and noticed the joist areas that were showing signs of sinking. Jeremie shared information about Smart Jack technology with Lawrence and presented the absolute best solution to properly stabilize the home.

Solution

When Southeast Foundation & Crawl Space Repair arrived for the installation, they started by prepping the work area, and noting the areas highlighted by Jeremie that were in need of stabilization.

Our Smart Jacks from Supportworks stabilize and lift existing beams and floor joists in a crawl space. Many times, when existing joists are rotted or full of moisture, it is often necessary to install steel girders to complement the Smart Jacks. Over time, many of Lawrence’s floor joists had softened due to prolonged moisture exposure. Therefore, several sections of steel beam were added to further support the home’s weight once transferred to the beams and Smart Jacks themselves.

We installed 16 Smart Jacks in Lawrence’s crawl space. With all jacks secure and in place, the crew cleaned up the crawl space as well as their work area, and the job was noted as complete. With weight spread across the new steel beams and the ultimate Supportworks support system now stabilizing his home, Lawrence was pleased with the outcome of the project, and the fact that his floors were level once again.