Stem Wall Foundation Movement and Cracking Scottsdale Arizona

Here at this home in Scottsdale Arizona we find multiple signs of foundation movement and cracking.

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James Belville (602)418-2970
Stem Wall Repair

Since the repair it hasn’t moved there is a crack up here coming off of that corner which is an indication of movement as well

There’s nothing structural here and that would be number three

We’re going to go into number four and number four is also a crack coming off the window from settlement

Number five is also a crack in the weakest link which is doorways windows and thresholds

That’s an indication of movement

Number six is a little slight separation here at the corner of this area

Didn’t find any issues in the bathroom any drywall cracks or anything

Number seven is also this crack right here off of the window you can see it has been repaired before and then since then has come back

Number eight over here in this corner is also sharing a shearing separation that’s been repaired before and there’s a slight crack separation

This can be typical with light foundation settlement

Going out to the garage the elevation of this slab is higher than the slab next to it

You can see that the control joints are opening up slightly which means this is heaving upwards

Heaving upwards means that the foundation perimeter is moving slightly

Number ten is this vertical break in the foundation wall so from that break this way it’s going down and now we have some more shearing in this corner as well. More about Stem Wall Repair.

Six inch aluminum seamless rain gutters with brackets it does have rain gutters on it already

Now a horizontal break and dry wall means that the foundation is moving down and there’s a slight break right here

You can see that vertical break right there so from that location this way it’s moving down

The foundation is moving down that the wall sits on and then the roof trusses want to hold itself up. More about Foundation Inspection.

So once going down the other one wants to hold itself up and this is an indication of the settlement

The separation between the two in the weakest link which is the drywall joint

In this case it is horizontal meaning just that when the sides that the foundation go down

We know this because of the vertical breaks and also the heaving on the floor you’re going to receive crack in the in the drywall

On the ceiling and there is a crack in the drywall in the ceiling here so the recommendation is there’s there’s nothing structurally wrong with this area or the footings for that matter

It just means that we live in Arizona it’s an arid climate it hardly ever rains but most people don’t understand that these footings are only 24 inches tall from the top of footing to the soil that’s holding them up

So when you saturate the soil to a point to where the soil is saturated to the extent that it can no longer hold the vertical pressure is being applied down to it by gravity and it causes this type of damage

There is also another crack coming up this vertical wall here and then back over the ceiling in this direction and then it turns the corner and goes that way and another one going that direction as well

So there’s definitely enough movement here to justify rain gutters and then you can also follow up with dirt grading as well would be recommended to slope the dirt away along with the rain gutters are the two best methods to stop settlement here in Arizona

Going outside now are walking out here number 11 I don’t know if you can see all of these mark so I put in the gravel but these are vertical breaks in the foundation in the foundation wall itself

They become more numerous over here in this location so what this means is it’s very likely in the history of this home at least since the paint has been painted on the foundation that these breaks have opened up slightly

There is a low spot right here so it would be recommended to bring this elevation of the dirt not gravel

The decorative rocks back installing refined classified screened dirt topsoil compacting it three inches below the drip right there off the stucco and then sloping it out as far as you can would help this situation

So whatever rainfall happens to rain in the yard or runoff of these gutters that the gutter doesn’t catch its going to hold here and then the foundation is going to sink down slightly and that’s the indication of all of these marks here and the vertical breaks means that there’s just a little too much water here next to these shallow foundations

Now I’m looking right below this window and this crack has been patched before and what you’re looking at is a hurricane strap or a tension ties tie-down is its name actually

We call them hurricane straps it comes up 24 inches there’s a lot of nails in them goes into the footing

Nothing structurally wrong with this the flaw with the hurricane strap is that they’re exposed to the elements on the outside and they’re made of steel so when they start rusting it expands up to five times the size in diameter and it breaks out the side of this foundation at that location

So the repair would be cut the top and remove the broken concrete cut the bottom of it rust inhibit the steel and patch it back with structural grout

This is a typical construction joint your footing comes around has blocked out and goes down and then over your interior floor is poured out to the vertical face of the foundation that’s typical construction for this thin wall light foundation

I like the gutters over here on this side there’s a lot less vertical breaks

I think there’s three of them here the gutter could be extended out just a little bit further

The grade looks reasonably well it’s all about controlling the water for settlement

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James Belville – Foundation Repairman™ – (602)418-2970

Foundation Repair Expert – Concrete Repairman® LLC – a fully licensed, bonded and insured foundation repair company serving customers in Scottsdale and surrounding areas in Scottsdale Arizona. We have over 30 years of experience installing and repairing home foundation cracks, floor crack structural stitching, floor leveling, stem walls, post tension, monolithic and resurfacing foundation damage for homeowner, and commercial clients in Scottsdale Arizona.

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