Decades of Experience in Foundation Repair
Working in the foundation repair industry for almost 20 years as a foundation repair specialist. For ten of those years, my wife and I owned and operated a Ram Jack foundation repair franchise. We serviced Southwest Missouri and Southeast Kansas. We specialized in both helical and driven pile systems, lifting and leveling residential homes and commercial buildings using Ram Jack deep-driven steel piles. Ram Jack piles are designed to support a structure’s foundation against settlement (vertical drop). Once piles are installed, a lifting and leveling procedure is performed; using a series of hydraulics. Helical piles are also used to support failing basement and retaining walls that are leaning or bowing inward, as well as experiencing downward settlement.
All structures can suffer from stress fractures as settlement creep continues throughout seasonal cycles. Precipitation amounts, temperature fluctuations, duration of moisture exposure, and soil types all contribute. In the Ozarks, medium to highly expansive clay soils can destroy the integrity of a foundation by heaving (lifting) in elevation or applying lateral loads, such as hydrostatic pressure that pushes basement walls inward. Frost heave, magnified by excessive moisture, caused by negative drainage, only increases the damage.
Managing Drainage and Water-Related Foundation Issues
Exterior drainage is extremely important. In some cases, adding or removing soil to encourage proper water flow away from the structure is the solution. In more extreme cases, French drains and/or curtain drains were required to mitigate water intrusion.
Carbon fiber reinforcement of concrete was another option we provided for customers looking to extend the life of structures built with poured concrete, CMU block, or other masonry materials. Carbon fiber systems are engineered to permanently resist moment in walls that are cracking or bowing, without the need for full structural replacement while straightening hydraulically if needed.
Water mitigation issues were often caused by improperly poured or settled concrete flatwork that allowed water to stand near or flow toward the structure. Removal or poly jacking was typically the remedy. Poly jacking uses high-pressure foam injections beneath concrete to recover elevation and restore proper drainage.
Structural Support and Crawlspace Solutions
We serviced crawlspaces, managing the replacement of rotted wood, installing additional steel or wooden beams to lift and level failing crawlspace floor support systems, installing new concrete columns, encapsulating crawlspaces to combat moisture-related wood rot, installing sump pumps, and burying downspouts to discharge water to lower-lying areas away from the structure.
A New Chapter: Demo Earth, LLC
Today, Demo Earth, LLC services Bay County and surrounding areas, offering property management solutions for homeowners and businesses. Our services include forestry grinding and clearing, drainage work, demolition of houses and concrete driveways or patios, excavation, and land preparation with more to come in the future!
For the past 20 years, I’ve been in the business of solving structural and property problems. Now I’m asking for the opportunity to mechanically separate what no longer serves your property — whether that’s a barn in your way, overgrown pasture that needs brush hogging, failing drainage, or concrete that needs removed, — I look forward to help improve your property value with a practical, common sense approach.
