Charlottesville

Hydrostatic pressure is one of the most common causes of damage and dampness in properties across Charlottesville, VA. This may seem strange, of course, when you consider the fact that hydrostatic pressure is a natural process that impacts every home on a consistent basis. After all, it is simply the weight of the soil and the water that it contains. This lateral pressure can cause a number of issues when it is left to grow unchecked, but the actual causes of increased hydrostatic pressure can vary.

Broadly speaking, there are two main causes: an increase in water or a lack of drainage capabilities. A sudden increase in the water content of the soil can be caused by heavier rainfall that the area usually experiences, localized flooding, storms, and heavy periods of snow thaw that lead to runoff. Inadequate drainage capabilities, however, occur when a property has too few drains, or when blockages and clogs leave it unable to process the same amount of water as usual.

Whichever of these causes is to blame (and it is usually a mix of the two), an excess of hydrostatic pressure is incredibly damaging for any home. As well as causing issues like seepage and increasing humidity, excessively high hydrostatic pressure can cause bowing and buckling walls. In fact, it can even lead to localized collapses in a property, which is both damaging to your home and potentially dangerous to your health and wellbeing.

Once a wall in your property starts to bow or buckle, it can be very damaging. Structural issues do not stabilize on their own. They will get worse at an exponential rate until they collapse or they are stabilized by outside intervention. For bowing walls, this intervention can mean the installation of carbon fiber straps, wall anchors, or wall beams. Only two of these solutions can actually straighten a bowing wall, however.

Carbon fiber reinforcement is a cost-effective, easy to install, and durable process that can be applied in almost any space. Unfortunately, it cannot be used on walls that have deviated by more than 2 inches, and it cannot actually straighten a bowing or leaning wall. As such, this method of repair is unattractive to many homeowners.

Wall anchors and wall beams, by contrast, are more invasive and have more limitations, but they can be applied to badly damaged walls and are capable of straightening the damaged walls over time. Wall beams are the most widely applicable because they require no exterior space for installation. Unfortunately, beams are much harder to disguise than most other forms of wall repair. Wall anchors, by contrast, are more invasive and need exterior space for installation, but they are also easier to disguise after installation.

Wall anchors are one of the most common repair products used to prevent bowing walls from collapsing and return them to their original positioning. Installing these anchors is relatively straightforward, and our team has the tools, skills, and training to give you the results that you need from your wall anchor installation process.

It starts with an assessment of your home and the damaged walls, of course, at which point we will map out the ideal placement for each wall anchor and figure out how many will be needed to get the right result. Once we know where the anchors are going, excavation will begin both inside and outside of your home. The earth anchors will need to be placed in the earth around 10 feet from your home, while holes will be drilled into your foundation walls, so that steel rods can be driven through and connected to the earth anchors. Once they are connected to the anchors, the wall plates can be mounted and connected.

Once the wall anchors have been fully installed, the excavation points can be covered and the interior plates can be disguised. At this point, the damaged wall will have been stabilized and there will be no risk of the wall collapsing expectedly. However, if you are to straighten the wall in question, you will need to have the wall anchors tightened or adjusted a few times. Professionals will do this slowly to prevent causing more damage to the wall.

Wood rot is one of the most destructive issues that can take root in any Charlottesville home, and it is sadly common in this area thanks to the humid and fertile environment. There are three main forms of wood rot that you need to be aware of: soft, white, and brown. No matter what kind of rot takes root in your home, however, the results will be the same. Wood rot causes wood to decay. In nature, this is a necessary process that breaks down dead wood. In a home, however, where all wood is dead wood, wood rot can be devastating.

Soft and white rot are also classed as forms of wet rot, and they are more slow-moving than brown rot (which is also called dry rot). Each of these forms of rot need more moisture than brown rot, and attack different parts of a wooden surface. This means that they change the appearance of wood in slightly different ways. Soft rot attacks the cellulose and leaves a spongy, honeycomb look in damaged wood, while white rot attacks lingin and leaves the cellulose behind as a white coating.

Brown rot, by contrast, spreads very quickly and requires much less moisture to really thrive. Rather than causing wood to become soft or spongy, brown rot is more likely to make it brittle in nature. Brown rot will also cause a change in appearance. The common signs of brown rot are staining and discoloration. Wood that has been impacted by brown rot may take on a slightly burnt and cracked appearance over time.

The crawl space is one of the most vulnerable parts of any property, especially in older homes that have crawl space vents. These homes are particularly vulnerable to dampness, which is ironic considering the fact that crawl space vents were originally thought to be beneficial features that would reduce dampness in a property. Where they are present, however, it is far more likely that a property will experience higher levels of humidity and dampness.

As such, waterproofing and encapsulating your crawl space is one of the best things that you can do to protect your home. This process varies depending on the needs of the property in question, of course, but generally speaking, vent covers, drainage options, insulation, and vapor barriers will be installed. It is also likely that a professional will suggest the installation of a dehumidifier into your crawl space. This mix of preventive and proactive waterproofing measures offer the best possible chance to maintain your home’s health and prevent issues like flooding, dampness, mold formation, and high relative humidity. The benefits of undertaking this work are many, of course – perhaps too many to count, but there are some that stand head and shoulders above the rest.

First and foremost, of course, there is the reduction in humidity and dampness around your property as a whole. Secondly, there is the stabilized climate that you can expect to enjoy. A humid home is a home in that the HVAC system has to work harder to get the same results. Temperatures will be more likely to fluctuate and your comfort will suffer. When humidity is low, however, your HVAC system can get the right results while using less energy. This will save you money and improve your home’s internal climate. Finally, waterproofing your crawl space offers the unique benefit of being able to use your crawl space as a storage space for seasonal goods. This extra square footage can be incredibly useful!

We all know that drainage is important to keeping a home healthy and functional in the face of the often wet Virginia climate. This is why there are drains for almost any space and situation. Interior drains are a unique perimeter drainage system that is deployed inside a home to ensure that water is kept firmly out of your living space. Placed inside a trench and covered with gravel, interior drains are all but invisible at first glance.

The soil around your home is constantly saturated. No matter how hard you try to keep water away from your property, it is simply not possible. Poured concrete walls and foundations will always be porous to some extent and, as such, perimeter drains are incredibly beneficial to any space that sits below ground level. From this position, they can gather condensation as well as more substantial amounts of water. Of course, if they are to be truly effective interior drains should be connected to a sump pump system.

When interior drains are installed in conjunction with a wider system of waterproofing as a whole, they are incredibly effective drainage systems that provide great results. Their placement and the top layer of gravel make them far less vulnerable to clogs and blockages, while their connection to an active sump pump will ensure that water is removed swiftly. This removes the opportunity for the water to evaporate and cause increases in relative humidity. Lower humidity means less chance of mold formation and wood rot spreading around your home.