Tunneling

Tunneling is recommended in foundation repair to prevent damage to post-tension cables when internal piers are required. This method is also used to gain access to the interior of your home, without having to break any holes in your floor.

Tunneling means that when foundation repair work is required, we can reach the parts of your foundation that are under the interior of your home, without having to come inside. This process avoids the need to break holes through your slab, to tear out carpet, to cut through wood or tile floors, or generally to invade your home in any way.

Using the tunneling process means you can stay in your home, and you do not need to remove furniture or to move out of your home while your foundation repairs are being carried out.

Tunneling foundation repairs serve many purposes, as well as providing an alternative to breaking holes through your slab and potentially causing costly damage; it also enables us to get to hard-to-reach plumbing areas. By digging access tunnels, this process provides you with another way to resolve your foundation repair problems effectively and efficiently.

The primary con with tunneling for foundation repair is the overall cost. This is a very labour-intensive process, and tunneling cost adds up very quickly, however, the cost of repairing expensive flooring or protecting furniture will usually justify the spend.

Generally, tunnels are connected to the drainage system, which is used to keep water from accumulating under your home. In many cases, the tunnels in your home will be connected to a gravity drain or a sump pump and should be left unfilled to help with any future plumbing or foundation repairs. If you have gone through the trouble and expense of digging tunnels, you may as well get full then the advantage of them.

Tunnels are also sometimes dug to allow pilings to be installed, which are used to hold up your foundation. Once pilings are installed, your home is no longer sitting on the soil. It is simple since the pilings are holding up your home; it does not matter if the walls of your tunnels crumble.

On occasion, you need to reach parts of the foundation under the interior of your structure to fix issues that may develop into larger problems later.

Usually, tunnels are as long as needed to reach under your home and measure 3 feet by 3 feet in the cross-section to expose existing beams for the installation of new pier systems.

When you consider all the costs, tunneling is often the cheapest option. When breaking through a slab, remember the flooring with have to be removed and replaced, the interior of the home cleaned, and possibly homeowners will have to move out while work is in progress. For the average homeowner, tunnelling will cost more. However, you will be able to stay in your home during the repairs; it avoids indoor mess and disruption, and it means that when it comes to plumbing, plumbers don’t have to pinpoint the exact location of the leak.