Foundation Repair In Fresno, Texas

Fresno, Texas, is located in Fort Bend County and south of Houston. It is an unincorporated community and part of the extra-territorial jurisdiction of Houston. The latest census of 2020 tallied the population of Fresno at 24,486. The total land area of Fresno is approximately 9.3 square miles.

Soil movement has cracked the home's slab foundation and resulted in additional damage to the home's interior walls.
Soil Movement Cracks Slab Foundations And Interior Walls

The most expensive neighborhoods in Fresno are Cambridge Falls, Teal Run, Estates of Teal Run, Andover Farms, Ridgewood Estates, and Teleview Terrace. Other neighborhoods are Teal Run Court, Wildflower, Fresno Ranchos, Maxwell Heights, Fresno Gardens Deluxe, Niagara, Teleview Terrace, Gateway Access, Teal Run Meadows, and Jewel Park.

Unfortunately Fresno is located in a geographic area that consists of clay soils. This is unfortunate because clay soils absorb water and expand in volume during wet weather and shrink in volume during dry weather. This seasonal process of expansion and contraction repeats itself every year and puts tremendous stresses on concrete slab foundations. The usual result of significant movement of clay soils is the cracking of the slab foundation and damage to the components of the house. The most obvious damage is the cracking of exterior brick walls and interior walls. Damage can also occur with the plumbing system, roof, and framing of the house.

In addition, at Dawson Foundation Repair we are highly critical of home builders. They build home foundations in Fresno to meet the minimum specifications (too thin). The term we use to describe these slab home foundations is “minimally functional foundations”. Part of the reason for the existence of these thin home foundations is a degree of liability protection given to homebuilders by Texas politicians. Home builders are NOT liable for foundation damage or house damage after 10 years from the day of final construction. After that point in time all foundation repair costs – and associated home damage repair costs – are borne by the home owner.

However, should any home owner have foundation issues during the home builder’s 10 year “warranty” period, we strongly suggest that the home owner hire an independent structural engineer and a lawyer. And we strongly suggest that you demand a High Quality, Time-Tested, Proven, and Permanent foundation repair solution. Do NOT settle for cheap pushed concrete cylinders. The engineers at A-1 Engineering are correct about pushed piles – they are temporary and basically useless.

Bell Bottom Piers are the Highest Quality Foundation Repair Method available in Fresno.
One of the Foundation Repair Methods pictured here is LOW cost, LOW quality, installs in one day, and is termed "Useless" and "Temporary" by A-1 Engineering of San Antonio and Austin. Can you guess which one?

If you guessed the stack of concrete cylinders on the LEFT was the cheaper, faster foundation repair method then you are correct. It is called the “Pushed Pile” method and there are a number of variations of this method. Below is the text from the Foundation Repair Scam page on the A-1 Engineering website.

The pushed piles method of foundation repair is low cost, low quality, and temporary.

Superior Foundation Repair Method

Bell Bottom Piers offer a time-tested, proven, and PERMANENT solution for damaged concrete slab foundations. It has a Higher Cost but it offers much Higher Quality. The cost is higher because Bell Bottom Piers require more time, more concrete, more steel rebar, and more labor to install. However, once homeowners understand the large gap in quality they ask for Bell Bottom Piers. Below are some of the key advantages of the Bell Bottom Foundation Repair method, which levels and stabilizes your home’s slab foundation.

Compare the most common foundation repair methods. Only one, Bell Bottom Piers, is proven, time-tested, and permanent.

Greater Weight Bearing Capacity

Bell Bottom Piers offer 5 to 10 times more weight bearing capacity. This is a critical factor for 2-story houses. It is also important for garages because heavy trucks and vehicles can cause immediate failure of low quality foundation repair jobs.

Factor of Safety

Factor of Safety is an engineering term. Engineers calculate the maximum load or weight a structure must support and that is called a Factor of Safety of 1. But to insure safety engineers design structures to support 2 or more times the estimated maximum weight. Bridges over water and highway bridges are always designed to support more than the estimated maximum weight that may be placed upon the bridge. In general, the factor of safety for a bridge is greater than 1 and up to 3.

The Factor of Safety for a Bell Bottom Pier is greater than 5. It can be as high as 10. This means a Bell Bottom Pier can support a weight that is 5 times greater – or perhaps more – than what is needed.

Monolithic

Monolithic is a term that indicates single-unit construction. A Bell Bottom Pier is monolithic because it is one piece and the construction process is longer. This contrasts with the Pushed Pile repair method that involves stacking one 6 inch diameter concrete cylinder upon another. These pushed piles can become damaged during the hydraulic installation and / or veer off at an angle if they hit a tree root or rock under the ground surface.

Hydraulic pressure, tree roots, and underground roots can destroy concrete cylinders and render the stack of piles ineffective.

Resistance Against Uplift

The Bell Bottom Pier gets its name from the shape of its foot or the bottom of the pier. The surface area of the foot or footprint of a Bell Bottom Pier is 13 times greater than the surface area of a single 6 inch diameter cylinder. This large footprint increases stability, increases weight bearing capacity, and increases the ability of the Bell Bottom Pier to resist the forces of uplift inherent in clay soils.

Soil movement has cracked the home's slab foundation and resulted in additional damage to the home's exterior brick wall and fireplace.

Click the following link to read the Comparison of Methods of Foundation Repair.

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