Basement Systems of Indiana Case Studies: Foundation Helical Pier Installation on a Hotel in Batesville, IN

The owner of a Best Western Hotel in Batesville, Indiana was very concerned about the foundation of the building after noticing large dry wall cracks in several of the hotel rooms.  One room even showed signs of significant foundation settlement as the floors and bathtub were pulling away from the wall.  Our Certified Inspector Paige, who has several years of experience dealing with foundation problems on commercial buildings, went out to look at the interior and exterior of the building.  Paige inspected several rooms to look for additional signs of foundation cracks and settlement.  He measured the gap between the wall and floor in one of the bathrooms and found that it had dropped about 5 inches.  Paige informed the hotel owner that Helical Piers would need to be installed around the exterior of the foundation in an attempt to lift the foundation back to its original level and provide permanent stabilization.  

The hotel owner's goal of this foundation repair projects was for the large drywall cracks to be repaired and the building to have maximum support and stabilization.  Our Production Trainer Matt led a team of John, Chris, and Jon-Wesley in installing a total of 17 Helical Piers around the perimeter exterior of the foundation.  The soil had to first be excavated 12 feet deep to drive the Helical Piers into the ground.  Our crew was able to lift the foundation back up almost 5 inches, which was the measurement Paige took of the gaps between several of the walls and floors.  After successfully lifting the concrete foundation and permanently stabilizing it, the soil was backfilled around the building.  The owner will no longer have to worry about visible dry wall cracks in any of the hotel rooms and an overall stable foundation.