Settlement & Sinking

Sinking & Settling Foundation Repair in Fargo, Minneapolis, & Rochester

We can solve structural problems caused by foundation settlement in Minnesota, North Dakota, Iowa, and Wisconsin

illustration of a settling, sinking foundation structure with a tilting chimney and cracked foundation

There are usually a number of different soil layers underneath a house. Foundation settlement and house movement can occur when one of these soil layers can't support the weight of the home.

Have you noticed cracks in your foundation walls, uneven floors, or sticking windows in your home? If these sound like problems you've experienced, you may have a sinking or settling foundation.

At American Waterworks, we fix foundation settlement issues by installing steel foundation piers. These piers will extend beneath the foundation, contacting strong supporting soils that will permanently stabilize your structure.

American Waterworks are your local experts for all types of foundation repair. Call us for a free foundation inspection and foundation settlement repair quote today! We serve Rochester, Minneapolis, Fargo and many nearby areas in Minnesota, North Dakota, Iowa, and Wisconsin.

Identifying Foundation Settlement Issues

Signs of a settling foundation can be very subtle at first -- many homeowners can go months or even years before noticing a crack in their foundation. The long-term damage from foundation settlement, however, is ongoing and will lead to more severe foundation problems.

Repairing Foundation Settlement

At American Waterworks, we recommend installing foundation piers to stabilize, repair, and restore a foundation that's been damaged by issues related to foundation settlement and poor supporting soils.

There are several different types of foundation piers that are designed to address each kind of foundation problem. We install three different kinds of foundation piers: push piers, helical piers, and slab piers.

Foundation Push Piers

A graphic diagram of foundation piers installed along a foundation.

Push piers connect the foundation to strong, stable soil or bedrock. Foundation piers attach to the base of the foundation with special brackets and extend through settling and unstable soil layers, transferring the weight of your home to competent soils.

Foundation push piers are straight, steel piers that attach to your foundation and extend far below the structure to strong supporting soils. During the installation, a section of the foundation footing is exposed and cut to attach to each pier's bracket. This is possible year-round from either inside or outside of your foundation or structure.

Foundation brackets are secured to the footing, and tubular pier sections are hydraulically driven through each bracket. Pier sections continue to be driven downwards until the piers meet competent strata that can bear the weight of your home without compression.

When all push piers have been installed, they will work in unison to transfer the weight of the structure to the strong soils or bedrock below. If possible, the home is also lifted back to its original, level position.

More about installing foundation push piers.

Read about our push pier system.

Foundation Helical Piers

A graphic illustration of steel helical piers supporting a home foundation.

Like push piers, helical piers are attached to the foundation by mounting a bracket. Helical piers include rotating blades that are advanced (or "screwed") into the soil.

Foundation helical piers are straight, steel piers that have helical blades welded to each shaft. This installation is possible from either inside or outside of your foundation.

These piers are driven into the soils underneath your foundation, then each pier is connected to the structure's foundation via a steel bracket.

During the installation, a section of the footing is exposed and cut for each bracket. Next, round-shaft helical piers are mechanically advanced into the soil.

Once the helical pier has been advanced into the soil, a foundation bracket is secured to the footing.

When all helical piers have been installed, they will work in unison to transfer the weight of the structure to competent soil. If possible, the structure is also lifted back to a level position.

More about installing foundation helical piers.

Read about our helical pier system.

Slab Pier Systems

An illustration of slab piers supporting a concrete slab floor.

When the soil beneath a concrete slab shrinks or settles, the slab itself is also likely to settle, often cracking in the process. Slab piers restore stability by connecting the slab to competent soil at greater depth.

Foundation slab piers are straight steel piers that extend from stable soils deep below the structure to support brackets directly in contact with the underside of the slab. These piers are meant to support a settling concrete floor, and are not appropriate for foundation wall stabilization.

Slab piers are also inappropriate for repairing heaving foundations, where the floor is being lifted by expansive soils or frost heave.

During installation, a small hole is cored through the concrete floor. A slab bracket is assembled beneath the concrete slab, and steel tubes are hydraulically driven down through this bracket assembly.

When the slab piers have reached competent soils, the weight of the slab is transferred through the piers to load-bearing soils below. If possible, the slab is lifted back to level position.

At the end of the installation, grout is pumped under the slab to fill any voids, and all cored holes in the slab are restored with new concrete for a clean, professional look.

More about slab floor cracks and uneven floors.

Read about our slab pier system.

What NOT To Do

Like all home improvements and repairs, some foundation repair methods work better than others. Based on our experiences throughout Minnesota, North Dakota, Iowa, and Wisconsin, here are three "fixes" that we do NOT recommend:

  • Total foundation replacement: This is expensive, time-consuming, and extremely disruptive for a family. Even worse, it doesn't even address the real problem -- the soils around your foundation. Many homeowners remove and replace their foundation without addressing the problem that caused the foundation issue in the first place. When this happens, they often find that after several years, they're facing the same problem all over again.
  • Concrete underpinning: When it comes to foundation footings, "bigger" is not necessarily "better." Most of the time, the underpinning will not extend beyond the problem soils under your home. If this is true, the larger footings you just paid for will continue to move and cause damage. Concrete shrinks as it cures, and small gaps can form between the new and old footings, causing additional problems.
  • Concrete piers: Blunt, wide concrete cylinders are difficult to push deep into the ground, making it very difficult to extend them past the poor supporting soils under your home. Concrete can crack and break when under pressure, and even in response to temperature changes, making concrete piers a flimsy repair method. Additionally, there is nothing to guide the direction for the pier, and no guarantee that they will be installed straight.

We Repair Settling Foundations in MN, ND, IA, and WI!

At American Waterworks, we can identify and repair any issue you may be having with settling, sinking foundations, and settlement house movement. We have a wide variety of solutions for foundation repair that have been tested and proven effective throughout the United States and Canada through the Foundation Supportworks network of foundation contractors.

Each of our solutions starts with a free, written foundation repair quote, and includes a personal consultation with a foundation expert, an in-person inspection, and a free copy of our 90-page foundation repair book. To schedule an appointment with one of our specialists, call or e-mail us today! We proudly serve Minneapolis, Fargo, Rochester, St. Cloud, Bismarck, St. Paul, Eau Claire, Eden Prairie, Burnsville, Maple Grove, and nearby.

Looking for a price? Get a no cost, no obligation free estimate.

our service area

We serve the following areas

IowaWisconsinMinnesota Our Locations:

American Waterworks
1307 Valleyhigh Dr NW
Rochester, MN 55901
1-507-200-2737


American Waterworks
4119 14th Ave N
Fargo, ND 58102
1-701-419-8222
Service Area
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