Projects

Challenge:

One of the most dramatic signs of foundation settlement is a chimney that has separated from the rest of the house and is starting to lean away. As scary as it sounds, it’s actually quite common! Oftentimes chimneys are built on a foundation that is not connected to the rest of the home, putting it at higher risk for settlement. Ultimately, it isn’t the foundation that failed, it’s the soil beneath it that failed.

In this specific case, the homeowner was in the process of putting in a gas fireplace when they realized that the chimney was starting to fall away from the house. They quickly contacted True Level for an estimate because they knew they should correct the foundation issues before doing any other renovations.

Solution:

With any of our foundation lifting and stabilization products, we can bypass the poor soil and stabilize your home on good soil deep beyond your footing. For this particular project, we used push piers to support the fallen chimney.

Here was the exact process:

1. Homeowners called True Level (that was a no-brainer!).
2. An estimator took measurements and gave a quote.
3. The crew drove the push piers down from the chimney foundation.
4. Then they placed hydraulic rams onto the piers and lifted until the chimney was back in place.
5. The chimney was permanently stabilized.

Next time you’re outside your house, take a look at your own chimney. Is it settling?  If so, give us a call or sign up for a free estimate!

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