Industry experts acknowledge piering, or underpinning, as the most effective foundation repair method to correct foundation settlement in the Middle Tennessee, Southwestern Kentucky, and Northern Alabama regions. Homeowners rarely see the effects of shifting soil beneath their homes until the damage begins. As a result, a lot of properties require underpinning to stabilize their home or fix foundation problems like stair step cracks and windows pulling away from the brick. Because most foundations experiencing settlement can be stabilized with foundation piers, and some lifted to original gr ..read more

You just so happen to venture into the crawl space beneath your house and find a huge mess—fallen insulation and water on the torn vapor barrier, evidence of various pests, wood rot, and even some mildew on the floor joists. How do you clean up a crawl space in this condition? Where do you begin when your basement or crawl space needs repair? Now is the time for such a project before matters get worse and affect your property’s structural integrity. To help you get started, we’ve created a quick start guide on how to clean up a crawl space, visuals of a healthier, cleaner crawl space, and a ..read more

If you are experiencing water intrusion in your basement or crawl space, do not expect an exterior waterproofing plan to remedy the water problem on its own. Exterior waterproofing is only a partial solution when it comes to basement waterproofing and will not produce dry results long term. Choosing to waterproof the exterior of your home, where you typically first see water in excess, will only deter part of the water—the water on the outside. This may seem apparent, but many homeowners mistakenly select exterior basement waterproofing as the more affordable, less invasive waterproofing ..read more

When you think of Kevlar and gas shortages what comes to mind?  Certainly not basement wall stabilization!  This article may change that and educate you with a few historical fun facts on one of the strongest, most effective products in the basement wall push and basement wall stabilization industry: Fortress InvisiBeam.  Read on to discover how Kevlar was born out of a gasoline shortage and why you should have your basement walls protected by a lifetime guaranteed Carbon-Kevlar basement wall stabilization system. Nothing like trying to tie completely different subject matt ..read more

Have you ever thought about what supports your house—the structure most valuable to you that holds your most prized possessions, including you and anyone living there? How do you know if you can trust the structural supports beneath your home? Does your house have enough support and if so, how long will it last?  Most of us take for granted that our house is still standing—until there is a problem—and we usually don’t plan to visit our nasty crawl space under the house even if it is in okay condition. So, how do you know if something is wrong with your house foundation or if your house ..read more

There are thousands of home repair contractors in our area, and even the number of foundation repair companies seems to be growing. How do you know who to trust with your home repairs? A variety of advertisements state that you should trust their foundation company, but who really should you place your biggest investment – your home – in the hands of, when it needs help? Let’s discuss six things to consider when faced with this big decision. Money – How important is price? We tend to talk about money first, but money is not always the better guide to choosing the best option for home repai ..read more

When looking for professional services to repair uneven concrete, do you search “concrete lifting,” “concrete repair,” or “concrete leveling”? Did you know that you really don’t want someone to level your concrete? “Level” is a term that has been used more recently in a general sense than a technically accurate description of concrete repair. Read on to understand more about leveling your concrete and reasonable expectations you should have when hiring a concrete repair contractor to correct uneven concrete. To level your concrete or have your concrete leveled is a misnomer. When referencing ..read more

An encapsulated crawl space means less humidity and cleaner air. Pretty hard to argue against that. Neglect a crawl space, and you’ll have moisture damage, pest infestation, and moldy air. Yuck. An un-encapsulated crawl space is a dark, wet, nasty place full of mold. This is gross enough. However, it gets even worse because some of that allergen-filled air makes its way into your home’s living area. In this article, we’re going to cover the definition of an encapsulated crawl space, the benefits, the difference between an encapsulated crawl space and an insulated crawl space, the encapsulati ..read more

Do you have a cracked foundation? If so, you’re not alone. Foundation cracks appear in both newly built and existing homes. The good news is that a cracked foundation doesn’t necessarily mean your home has structural problems. Sometimes it does, but not always. Foundation cracks come in two varieties: structural and non-structural. Structural cracks threaten your home’s structural integrity, while non-structural cracks are mainly just unattractive. However, vertical non-structural cracks in your basement wall could allow water to enter. So, non-structural cracks aren’t entirely harmless. A c ..read more

At USS, one question we are asked regularly is: How do I fix my crawl space? To answer, we first have to look at the main problems in a crawl space and repair options: Ground Water or Standing Water If your crawl space has water intrusion, USS installs an interior crawl space water management system. We dig a trench alongside the interior perimeter of your foundation, lay down a perforated sock pipe, drill small weep holes in each block (to relieve water pressure), and then cover the sock pipe with gravel. The system captures water alongside the foundation and routes it to a discharge point (e ..read more