Baton Rouge Foundation Repair

Transcription

1 Baton Rouge Foundation Repair Florida Blvd Bldg 3 Baton Rouge, LA Baton Rouge Foundation Repair offers services to correct the settlement of both Slab foundations and Pier & Beam foundations info@brfoundation.com Please call for a free estimate Michael LeBas & Associates, Inc Sherwood Forest Blvd, Baton Rouge, LA mlebas@cox.net - Engineers / Inspectors that we recommend General Inspection, LLC 2132 Sassy Lane, Baton Rouge, LA armshaw@cox.net -

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3 Baton Rouge Foundation Repair Florida Blvd Bldg 3 Baton Rouge, LA info@brfoundation.com Heavy Steel Support. Steel Shims At Top. Heavy Steel Bottom Plate. 8" x 8" x 12" 5000 psi Concrete Block. 8" x 8" x 8" 5000 psi Concrete Block. 5/8" Steel Rods. Curing of concrete is essential for quality pilings Our foundation blocks are made with 5000 psi concrete and allowed to cure for more than 30 days to achieve greater strength. Only then are the blocks ready to be installed. Pressed-In pilings have the advantage of being able to be installed to great depth when the soil has less load bearing capacity.

4 Baton Rouge Foundation Repair installs Pressed-In Precast Concrete pilings that are steel reinforced and have proven to have far fewer adjustments needed than the Drilled and Poured concrete pilings that we installed for over 11 years. Our pilings can be installed and put into use the same day. Drilled and poured concrete pilings, such as some of our competitors install, require a minimum of a week of curing time under ideal conditions and should cure for much longer before being put into use in a manner that applies a great amount of weight onto a pinpoint area of the piling. The soil under the vast majority of the structures that we work on in and around Baton Rouge is very soft. Our pilings can be pressed into the ground as deeply as needed to find suitable soil to support your structure. Drilled and poured pilings, such as installed by some of our competitors, have a maximum depth depending upon the installers equipment and might not be installed deeply enough in this soft earth. Future adjustments are likely to be needed with drilled and poured pilings. The average depth of our Pressed-In Precast Concrete pilings south of downtown Baton Rouge is 22 feet. Near local area rivers the average depth achieved is 18 feet. Often, the depth achieved is much greater. Many structures in the greater Baton Rouge area have needed up to 42 foot deep pilings before suitable soil was found. At these depths we begin to raise the house as the piling is installed. There is therefore no doubt that the installed pilings are more than capable of supporting the structure.

5 A few things that should be considered before hiring a contractor A State License or Registration is required for any job of $7, or more. The Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors can be reached at or visit their web site to search for the contractor s license or registration number is the registration number for Michael T. Lamonica, the owner of Baton Rouge Foundation Repair. Please search for us using the complete name Michael T. Lamonica or the above number. It is a crime for a contractor to operate without a license or registration and bid on jobs of $7, or more. Without a license, the job could be stopped by the licensing board before it is finished and your time and money wasted. Be certain of the name and address of the company on the license/registration as some companies have franchises. Do not simply accept the number or a copy of the license/registration from the contractor. Please look it up or call. Insurance is required to be able to obtain and retain the above mentioned license. Please be certain to ask for insurance certificates form the contractor that you decide to hire. You should also call the insurance company to verify that the insurance is current. It s also a good idea to check that the contractor is not using another franchisee s insurance certificate. Be certain of the owner s name and the name and address of the company on the certificate. An Occupational License is needed to legally operate a business. You should check for a current business license with the local city/parish government. For East Baton Rouge Parish the telephone number is It is a crime for a contractor to operate without this license. Underground Utility Location is required. Licensed or Registered is required by Law Baton Rouge Foundation Repair info@brfoundation.com Prior to any excavation the contractor must request that the location of underground utilities be marked and wait until the locating has been performed before starting work. It is a crime for a contractor to not call for this free service. License / Registration Number Contractor #1 Please search by the below number or complete name of Michael T. Lamonica with the Licensing Board. Baton Rouge Foundation Repair Home Improvement Contractor Registration # Contractor # B.R. Foundation Repair #2 #3 #4 Hiring Checklist License/Registration Contractor #3 Insurance: Workers s Comp and General Liability Occupational License Contractor #4 Underground Utility Location

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7 Contract Pitfalls None of the below pitfall examples apply to our warranty or contract. Baton Rouge Foundation Repair Warranty Transfer: Some companies require the seller of a property to transfer the warranty. When the house is sold, the seller must assign the warranty to the buyer. If this does not happen within the contractor s specified time period, and often with a fee needing to be paid, the buyer of the house will have no warranty. Please consider this when comparing overall prices from our competitors. Arbitration: Some contracts force you to hire an engineer as an arbitrator if there is a dispute. Please research arbitration thoroughly as arbitration can be more expensive than hiring an attorney. And before or after arbitration, you may still need to hire an attorney. One example that we are aware of had the dissatisfied customer being asked to pay over $30, to the arbitrators. Get A Price. Not An Estimate: Some contracts allow the price to be increased if the pilings are installed to greater than a predetermined depth. Baton Rouge Foundation Repair will not raise your price no matter how deeply the pilings are installed. Keeping The Pilings Covered With Dirt: It is likely that there will be more backfill dirt needed after some rain has occurred. Some contractors will not return to perform this service, at least not free of charge. Baton Rouge Foundation Repair does perform the free service of returning to add dirt to the backfill areas if needed. Job Detail Work: Some contractors do not perform the end-of-job detail work that usually leaves you with no work to do on the outside of the house. Caulking or mortaring of cracks, even if the crack closes completely, is just one of the finishing touches that you should insist be part of your quality foundation repair job. Is Your Home On A Fault?: Some companies have wording in their contract that allows them to void your warranty if your house is located on a geological fault. Many houses in and around the Baton Rouge area could be claimed to be located on a fault. Download LSU s BR Fault Guide: Storm Or Fire Damage Can Void Your Warranty: Some contracts allow the contractor to void your warranty if there is any high wind or fire damage no matter how slight. Even a strong thunderstorm can create enough wind to void your warranty. We are aware of a tree being removed after a storm and the foundation repair company voiding the warranty. Upheaval: Upheaval is often blamed when the area that should be warranted has settled. You may be told that the area where work was performed has not settled, but instead, that the area or a nearby area has heaved up and that you need to pay for more work. Although we agree that upheaval does actually occur, we have seen it happen only once in 17 years.

8 Baton Rouge Foundation Repair Florida Blvd Bldg 3 Baton Rouge, LA info@brfoundation.com Baton Rouge Foundation Repair offers services to correct the settlement of both Pier & Beam foundations and Slab foundations. Pier & beam foundation warranty is 6 years. Will the structure be level? It certainly will be more level and usually, much more level. Many factors can help or hinder the leveling job. Some factors are: How far down it is and for how long it has been in that down position. How the structure is constructed and out of which types of material. Additions and previous repair work can also be a factor. Remodeling work and general cosmetic repairs over the years my cause you to want to not level the structure completely because of the potential for cosmetic damage that can be expensive and time consuming to repair. How many piers will be added? The number of piers added is generally dependent upon the board length of sill (beam) needed to correct the problems. Each 12 ft. length of sill will have three or four piers installed under it. If your home has some original piers that are deteriorated, we will install one or two new piers next to those. In some cases, the old piers are replaced entirely. What are the piers made of? All piers will have a 4" thick, 16" square or 20" square concrete pad on the ground under them. We can use one of the following above that: 1) Solid concrete bell shaped piers. More expensive. Difficult to handle compared to those below. These are heavy! The bell shaped piers have a contact pad at their top that is less than 1/2 that of the below option. 2) Heavy duty "Sand and Gravel" concrete 8" x 8" x 16" blocks. We usually prefer these blocks instead of the above. What about new beam size and rotten wood replacement? When replacing rotten wood we will usually use the same size as was originally installed. When adding sills (beams), we usually use 6" x 6" pressure treated pine. We can use 4" x 6" beams in some cases unless the house is multiple story. Engineers / Inspectors that we recommend Michael LeBas & Associates, Inc Sherwood Forest Blvd, Baton Rouge, LA mlebas@cox.net - General Inspection, LLC 2132 Sassy Lane, Baton Rouge, LA armshaw@cox.net -

9 Pressure Treated Lumber We use only pressure treated lumber in all of our work. Although your older home probably was not built using treated lumber, we believe that most of our customers feel more confident having us use this longer lasting product. Seasoned Lumber Seasoning lumber reduces the moisture content of wood before its use. Seasoned lumber will experience less shrinkage and twisting after installation. There will be much less chance that we will need to return to make adjustments to our repair work. Heavy Duty Concrete Sand and Gravel Blocks We use only heavy duty Sand and Gravel concrete blocks in our pier and beam repair work. These materials weigh much more and are much stronger than the light weight materials that are not strong enough to hold up to the loads that are typically placed upon them during leveling of your home. Heavy Duty Concrete Sand and Gravel Pads We use only heavy duty Sand and Gravel concrete pads in our pier and beam repair work. These materials weigh much more and are much stronger than the light weight materials that are not strong enough to hold up to the loads that are typically placed upon them during leveling of your home. Large plywood or Fiber- Cement shim material Seasoned, treated lumber Termite shield Heavy sand and gravel cap block Heavy sand and gravel pad and block Why we don t use steel shims The problem with steel shim material is that the cost is high and therefore the shims are cut too small. This causes there to be a smaller contact area between the beam, shim and block where two things happen. 1) The small shim presses into the soft, unseasoned wood that most companies use, causing the need for future adjustment. 2) The steel shim creates a pressure point in a small spot on top of the concrete block. This can easily crack the block.

10 Slab Foundation Warranty Baton Rouge Foundation Repair Certificate of Warranty Upon completion of above stated work and payment of contract price, Baton Rouge Foundation Repair warrants the installed pilings against settlement, subject to the following limitations: Warranty will remain in effect for the life of the structure. Warranty is transferable free of charge. Should settlement occur, Contractor shall raise settlement to as near as possible to level. There will be no charge for this service. Customer is responsible for removal and replacement of anything that customer installed that blocks access to pilings. Contractor makes no warranty with respect to the following: Settlement caused by flooding. Settlement caused by leaking water or sewer lines. Address: Certificate Number: Contract Number: Baton Rouge Foundation Repair by: Pier and Beam Foundation Warranty Baton Rouge Foundation Repair Certificate of Warranty Upon completion of contract work and payment of contract price, Baton Rouge Foundation Repair warrants the section of the structure s foundation where lifting was performed against settlement, subject to the following limitations: Warranty will remain in effect for 6 years from contract date. Warranty is transferable free of charge. Should settlement occur, Contractor shall raise settlement to as near as possible to level. Customer is responsible for removal and replacement of anything that customer installed that blocks access to piers. Contractor makes no warranty with respect to the following: Settlement caused by flooding, leaking water or sewer lines, water pooling under house. Address: Certificate Number: Contract Number: Baton Rouge Foundation Repair by: