Midway, KY, University Crawl Space Repair Project
Challenge
We were called out to Midway University to help repair the crawl space in the Pinkerton-Rouse Place. This historic building was built in 1843, and is now the home of the University's president. Due to the age of the home, the crawl space foundation had settled. The settling had caused gaps and cracks to appear between the cabinets, the base boards, and the floorboards.
Solution
On the initial inspection, our Inspector drew up a plan to stabilize the foundation with 24 SmartJack crawl space posts and 120 feet of steel supplemental beam. In the plan, the 24 posts were divided up to comprise four different rows, where each row runs perpendicularly to the floor joists above. When we run rows of SmartJacks perpendicularly across the floor joists, we make sure to include our steel supplemental beams. Our steel supplemental beams ensure that our SmartJacks have a secure connection to the floor joists, the load distributes evenly across the jacks, and the floors are all leveled out to the same plane. Lastly, our Inspector made sure to mention that the floors and subfloor would have to be removed in order to install the jacks in the shallow space. The space was just a foot high in places, and in order for us to dig 24 - four foot holes for the base of our posts, we would need more clearance.
The decision maker at Midway approved the project, and told us they were looking to replace the flooring system anyways. They said that they had another contractor lined up to remove the floors before our project, and to replace them after our project. The decision maker just wanted to make sure that the foundation won't settle again. This way, the money spent on redoing all the floors won't go to waste from further settling in the future.
After the project was completed, the Midway representative was very happy with the project, and they even left us a five star rating on google. If you want to see more, be sure to scan the photos below for further explanation.
