The Jericho Pileguard Process

The Jericho Process

JERICHO FOUNDATION REPAIRS uses the pressed piling system of foundation repair to raise and level a slab-on-grade type of foundation. We space our pilings on 6’ centers to achieve the maximum amount of support necessary to carry the load of the weighted structure once the slab is lifted. The engineers that designed our system of repair feel this distributes the weight more evenly and guarantees a better long-term success rate.

TO INSTALL EXTERIOR PILINGS the foreman of your crew will mark off the location of each proposed pilings. The plants are removed from the immediate area and are placed on a sheet of plastic or on the grass next to the structure and out of the way of the installation. A sheet of plywood is placed near the hole to be dug and any soil excavated from that hole is deposited on the plywood sheet. After the area adjacent to the exterior grade beam is cleared, a hole is dug approximately 3 feet long x 3 feet wide x 4 feet deep to gain clearance under the beam and allow for the placement of the “ram” of the hydraulic jack used to force the concrete cylinders into the ground. The pilings segments are 12” long and 6” in diameter and made of 7000 psi concrete. They are placed one of top of another with a PILEGUARD polyurethane couplet placed between each cylinder. The cylinders are driven into the ground until they meet refusal. When the pilings cannot be driven any further, a gauge on the jack determines how many pounds per square inch of pressure is being applied to the pilings. Once this gauge registers a certain amount of pressure, the pile driving is complete. The depth of each piling is determined by the weight of the house it is lifting; therefore the system basically tests itself as the pilings are installed. We drive pilings to different depths in different parts of the city as the soil types change through-out the greater Houston area . Your inspector can give you the average depth reached at the location of your property.

TO INSTALL INTERIOR PILINGS the foreman of your crew will come inside of your property the day the job begins. He will walk through the property and mark the location of the interior pilings. Our crew can help you move any furniture or heavy items in the way of the work to be done. We recommend you packing up the area where interior pilings are to be installed. It’s also a good idea, as a precaution, to take down any pictures, mirrors and other fragile and irreplaceable items that may fall or be moved during the course of the work. Our crew will do their best to keep the inside areas neat and self- contained. They put up plastic and tape and cover the areas where interior pilings are to be installed. It is a very messy process but once it’s over they do an excellent job of cleaning up.

During the course of the job, unless there are interior pilings to be installed, there will be no Jericho employees inside of your property. When the leveling process is underway, our supervisor of 30 years, Jose Quintanilla, will come inside to check and record the final elevations with a Compu-level. It will be the only time we need access to your property, again unless interior work is being done. We will schedule this time with you once the work begins and the foreman lets the office know when he will need access to the property. The office staff coordinates this timing with the property owner.

FINISHING TOUCHES – After the pilings have all been driven and are in place, the house is leveled with the use of hand jacks, to as close to its original grade as possible. Solid concrete blocks and steel shims are then used to fill the void and secure the arear under the grade beam. Soil is placed back under the area from which it was removed. The plants are all replaced and the area is raked, cleaned and washed off. Despite all the displacement, it is very hard to see where any work has taken place after the crew has cleaned up. The only exception is when concrete is located where a piling is to be installed. If this is the case, the concrete is broken out and removed. The hole is dug and the pilings are driven as previously explained, and the concrete is repoured. Due to the nature of concrete, the concrete may be a different color than the surrounding area. This difference will fade in time.

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