This disclosure relates to methods of lifting structures such as foundation walls of buildings. The structures can be structures that have settled below a desired level and need to be lifted and thereafter maintained at a desired height. In addition, some structures can optionally be shifted laterally as well as being lifted.
In some circumstances it is necessary to apply a force to a structure to move the structure in a desired direction. For example, over time structures such as roadways, driveways, houses or portions thereof garage floors, porches, sidewalks, patios, etc., have a tendency to settle or sink and need to be raised upwardly to return the structure to its original level, U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,092,116, 8,186,907, 8,864,421, and 9,422,735 describe various techniques of lifting and raising structures.
Methods of lifting structures such as a wall of a building are described. The wall can be any wall of a building where at least a portion of the wall is or will be below grade (i.e. some or all of the wall is below the surface of the ground). In one non-limiting example, the wall is a foundation wall of a building with a vertical wall portion and a footing at the base of the vertical wall portion. The wall can be lifted for any desired reason, including but not limited to lifting the wall because the waft has settled and needs to be raised and maintained at a desired height.
In the methods described herein, a fluid that is under pressure is injected beneath the base of the wall. The pressure of the injected fluid acts against the base of the wall to lift the wall vertically. In some embodiments, a supplemental lifting force mechanism can be attached to the wall to apply a supplemental lifting force to the waft that acts together with the lifting force applied by the injected fluid. The supplemental lifting force “lightens” the wall, reducing the amount of lifting force required to be applied to the wall by the injected fluid.
The injected fluid can be any material(s) suitable for lifting the wall and filling in spaces or voids underneath the wall when the wall is lifted. In one embodiment, the injected fluid can be a grout or slurry commonly used in mudjacking (also known as slabjacking), such as a mixture of water, cement and/or crushed limestone, or a foam material such as polyurethane foam. In another embodiment, the injected fluid can be pressurized air mixed with dried sand which fills any voids while the pressurized air lifts the wall.
The foundation wall 10 includes a vertical wall portion 14 and a footing 16 at a base 18 of the vertical wall portion 14. The vertical wall portion 14 and the footing 16 can be an integrally formed, one-piece or unitary construction, or the vertical wall portion 14 and the footing 16 can be separate pieces that are secured to one another. The general construction of a foundation wall with a vertical wall portion and a footing is well known in the art. The vertical wall portion 14 includes an upper end 20 opposite the base end 18. The footing 16 includes a top surface 22 that is attached to the base 18, and a bottom surface or base 24. As shown in
Referring to
Any number of the holes 30 can be formed through the footing 16.
The fluid injection nozzles 34 are elongated tubular structures that can be secured to and form generally fluid tight seals with the holes 30 so that the fluid under pressure can be injected through the nozzles 34 and into and through the holes 30 underneath the base 24 of the footing 16 without the fluid substantially leaking from between the end 32 of the nozzles 34 and the holes 30. In one embodiment, the nozzles 34 can be elongated metal pipes that extend from the holes 30 to an opposite end 36 disposed above grade (i.e. above soil 38 that the foundation wall 10 is disposed in) as seen in
As shown in
The fluid that is injected under pressure can be any material that is sufficient to act against the base 24 of the footing 16 and thereby create a lifting force to vertically lift the foundation wall 10, as well as fill the void 26 that is left behind when the foundation wall 10 is lifted. In one embodiment, the injected fluid can be a grout or slurry commonly used in mudjacking (also known as slabjacking), such as a mixture of water, cement and/or crushed limestone. In another embodiment, the injected fluid can be a foam material (or one or more fluids that generate a foam material) such as polyurethane foam. In still another embodiment, the injected fluid can be pressurized air mixed with dried sand which fills any voids while the pressurized air lifts the wall. An example of the use of pressurized air and dried sand to lift objects and fill voids are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,186,907 which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
With continued reference to
The supplemental lifting force mechanism 36 can have any construction that is suitable for applying the supplemental lifting force.
The bracket 50 is an L-shaped structure with a vertical portion 60 and a horizontal portion 62. The vertical portion 60 is fixed to the vertical wall portion 14, for example by a plurality of bolts 64. Once the vertical portion 60 is fixed to the vertical wall portion 14, the horizontal portion 62 projects substantially horizontally outwardly from the vertical wall portion 14. The bracket 50 also includes a pair of hollow sleeves 66 projecting horizontally outwardly therefrom near the ends of the bracket 50. In one embodiment, the sleeves 66 are fixed at their ends to the vertical portion 60 and along their bottoms to the horizontal portion 62. In use, the sleeves 66 receive lifting arms 68 that are part of the lifting jacks 52.
The lifting jacks 52 are mechanical structures that can be vertically extended and retracted, thereby raising and lowering the lifting arms 68. The lifting jacks 52 can be manually or automatically actuated using a mechanical mechanism such as a screw jack, hydraulically operated, or pneumatically operated. In operation, the lifting arms 68 of the jacks 52 are disposed in the sleeves 66 and when the jacks 52 are extended, the lifting arms 68 are raised thereby applying a lifting force to the vertical wall portion 14 via the bracket 50. Once the supplemental lifting force is no longer required, the jacks 52 can be retracted which lowers the lifting arms 68 and removes the supplemental lifting force. The use of jacks to lift a structure is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,860,763.
The inflatable hose 54 can be used instead of, or in addition to, the lifting jacks 52. The inflatable hose 54 is located underneath the horizontal portion 62 and disposed on the soil 38 or on other solid structure next to the vertical wall portion 14. The inflatable hose 54 is initially placed in position in a deflated condition. When the hose 54 is inflated, the hose 54 acts against the horizontal portion 62 and pushed the horizontal portion 62 upwardly to create the supplemental lifting force. Examples of using inflatable hoses to lift structures are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,092,116, 8,864,421, and 9,422,735.
In addition to lifting the foundation wall 10, in some embodiments it may also be possible to laterally displace the foundation wall 10. For example, referring to
The examples disclosed in this application are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not limitative. The scope of the invention is indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description; and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are intended to be embraced therein.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 15628142 | Jun 2017 | US |
Child | 16013261 | US |