Many areas are prone to frequent, minor, or significant earthquake tremors. Burbank is one such area, so its residents make their residential and commercial structures sound with seismic retrofitting. The residents often opt for Burbank foundation retrofitting services when they notice cracks in the foundation, hairline fractures and visible damage in the basement, warped ceilings and walls, substantial water damage, sloping stairs, uneven level of the floor, and misalignment in doors and windows.
Foundation Retrofitting
In retrofitting, the engineers and workmen apply different methods and materials to strengthen the foundation and other structural elements. They assess the condition of the slab, the rest of the home, the actual damage level, and the type of soil. Depending on their assessment, they determine the suitable methods for foundation retrofit. Some commonly used methods are as follows,
Underpinning: It involves increasing foundation depth and repairing the damaged foundation. The contractors underpin the structure using mass pour, screw piles and brackets, pile and beam, and piled raft. In mass pour, the workmen excavate the sections below the footing and place concrete in each exposed pit.
Jacketing: The professionals use the jacketing method when foundations have columns requiring strength. When the contractors add additional load to the wall during expansion, they employ this method to ensure sturdy walls. They construct a concrete jacket supporting the existing footings of the building.
Structure Lifting and Leveling: In this, the workmen put a hydraulic jack under the structure to lift it. Also called building jacketing, it uplifts the building from the foundation and raises it with screw jacks.
Mudjacking: It is not what its name suggests. In this method, the workmen inject a blend of cement and other materials into small holes in concrete surfaces, porches, and steps. The material expands, raising and aligning the slab into place. Mudjacking improves the foundation of smaller footprint spaces.
The Burbank foundation retrofitting contractors mostly use cast-in-place concrete, fiber-reinforced polymer, concrete, shotcrete, or other advanced mortars. They add steel ties between walls and roofs, earthquake brace, and bolt Burbank.
The Bottom Line
Retrofitting gives peace of mind to the dwellers in a susceptible structure. The homeowners must hire an expert retrofitting contractor who inspects the building thoroughly and employs appropriate techniques and materials as per the requirements of the premises. They should get a free estimate from the established contractors to compare and finalize the best one based on rates and reviews.
