Before & After Photos

This household was struggling with rotted and weak wood posts holding nothing but air. The owners were worried about the condition of their crawl space and if it would affect their home so they quickly scheduled an appointment with John's and had them inspect and repair the area.

Interior posts are used to keep the crawl space and ground level united and stabilized. Having fragile posts can result in unbalanced floors, unable to handle as much weight as necessary. As shown in the before photo, the wood is so frail, a knife can easily be stabbed into it. John's Waterproofing dove right in to replacing the faulty posts with our high-capacity, adjustable, supplemental steel pier, the SmartJack. The SmartJack is designed to stop sagging and rise the floor back to where it originally was. The ultimate floor support, it helps keep longevity and safety within the structure. First, the rotting post is removed. Next, the SmartJack is cut to the specific size of the crawl space and installed, attaching to the wooden beam above and the footing below. The steel pier is also adjustable! Containing a screw, it can jack up the floor and can be easily adjusted again in the future if needed. The crew finished up and left the crawl space balanced and stabilized. The homeowners no longer had to fret about safety of their home!

This homeowner called us with concerns that one side of his hilltop property was beginning to slide downhill. After speaking with him, we sent our Design Specialist out to the home to perform a thorough inspection. The home on this property sits at the highest point, and the flat ground off to one side of it stretches only about 20 feet away, before the terrain drops off. Over many years of soil compression and expansion, this hillside had begun to crumble and collapse - falling into the existing wooden fence on the opposite side. Our Design Specialist kindly informed the homeowner that if this sloping hillside wasn't addressed, it would continue to fall further and eventually the foundation of the home would be swept away with it. He explained to the homeowner that this is a serious issue, and one that the Structural Experts at John's are more than capable of mediating! Our Design Specialist wrote up a customized Job Proposal, recommending constructing a 37' concrete Retaining Wall along the outside of the sloping hillside, to hold it in place firmly. The homeowner was thrilled with this effective solution! When our Structural Crew arrived, they got straight to work. First, they removed the existing and rotten wooden fence that stood along the outside of the sloping hillside. Next, they dug out and compacted the area where the Retaining Wall would be placed, to ensure stability and cohesion. With the area now prepped, they began building the concrete forms with great attention to detail. They reinforced the forms with steel and rebar components - promising a strong and robust finished Retaining Wall. Once the forms were strong and sturdy, they poured the concrete, allowed it to solidify, then removed the forms. The finished Retaining Wall is now complete, and will stand the test of time against this sloping hillside. This home is no longer in perilous danger of being swept downhill, and the safety of the family within has been restored!

The right side of this home had settled, due to many years of a gutter downspout, pouring all collected rain water onto the affected side of the home. Our Design Specialist arrived, and kindly explained to the homeowner that the foundation of the home would need to be lifted back up, and the downspout would need to be tied into a Rain Drain Line. This solution would expel all collected rain water safely away from the home. The homeowner was excited to get these repairs scheduled! Our Structural Repair Crew arrived, and successfully lifted the settling foundation through the installation of 10 Steel Helical Piers. First, we attached 10 steel brackets directly onto the outside of the concrete foundation walls. Next, we hydraulically drilled the Piers through the brackets, deep into the earth, until the home was lifted back to its correct height. The Piers will remain permanently in place to prevent any further settling. With the foundation now secured, our Waterproofing Crew arrived, to tie the gutter downspout into an underground Rain Drain Line. For this, they first dug a narrow and shallow trench, from the downspout to a safe distance away from the home, they then buried the line with dirt. At the end of the drain line, they attached a LawnScape Outlet, ensuring that all gutter water would be evenly dispersed into the lawn. The foundation of this home is back to its correct and level height, and will be permanently supported by 10 Steel Helical Piers embedded deep into the weight bearing stratum of the earth. Additionally, the ground on the formerly settled portion of the home, will no longer be weak and water logged, thanks to the installation of the underground Rain Drain Line. All of these essential repairs were completed by the Structural and Waterproofing experts at John's, using components of the highest quality! This homeowner can now rest assured, knowing that she hired the right company to permanently restore strength and integrity to the entire structure of her home!

This crawl space had been inflicted by years of non-mediated water intrusion, causing substantial damage to the foundation walls supporting the weight of the home, while also creating an unhealthy air environment both beneath of and inside of the home, as 40% of interior air, comes from the crawl space. 

In order to prevent further water damage to the foundation walls, and to improve air quality, our waterproofing experts installed our budget-friendly Pipe, Pump, Plastic Waterproofing System. They began by cleaning out the crawl space entirely, leaving a nice clean area beneath the home. Next, they dug a shallow, narrow trench along the full interior perimeter of the space, to hold our 3" Perforated Pipe. From now on, as water enters the crawl space, it will be caught in the Piping, and routed to a SuperSump Pump installed at the lowest point. After water reaches the pump, it will be expelled far away from the home via an underground discharge line. Our crew also installed a fresh, 6 Mil Vapor Barrier to cover the entirety of the dirt floor, as well as the walls. To address the damaged foundation walls, our crew injected each crack with specialized Epoxy, and then attached Carbon Fiber Stitching directly on top of the cracks, offering reinforcement to the walls that is 10 times stronger than steel. Dual installation of the Epoxy and Carbon Fiber Stitching, will firmly hold the cracks together, and prevent them from worsening. John's professional crawl space waterproofing, and foundation wall reinforcement has successfully returned structural integrity and stability to this home. This family can once again thrive in a dry, clean, and stable home, knowing they can always call on us for help in the future if need be. 

Beneath the interior flooring of every home, is the subfloor. The responsibility of the subfloor is to evenly support the weight of the overhead home, creating level, sturdy interior flooring, while maintaining structural stability throughout the entire home. When water invades crawl spaces, significant damage can occur to subfloor components - creating sloped floors inside of the home, doors that no longer easily shut, and cracks in sheetrock and foundation walls - all stemming from an uneven, compromised subfloor. Additionally, moisture in crawl spaces negatively effects the health of the family living in the home - as 40% of interior air comes from below. To protect the stability of your home, and the health of your family, it is absolutely imperative to maintain a dry, clean, and stable space beneath your home. When this homeowner called on us for help, water intrusion into his crawl space had already caused multiple wooden subfloor posts to rot and shift - creating a sagging subfloor, and leaving him with sloped floors inside of his home. After our design specialist arrived at the home, he thoroughly inspected the crawl space - identifying the sagging portions of the subfloor, noting evidence of water intrusion and damage, and then used these findings to create a customized proposal for the homeowner to review. After answering each of the homeowners questions regarding the recommended solutions, the solution was scheduled for installation. 

To reinforce the subfloor, our crew installed a new Steel Girder Beam, perpendicularly underneath the floor joists, to work in conjunction with the original wooden girder beams, ensuring lasting, even weight distribution of the overhead home. Beneath the new Steel Girder Beam, 6 Steel Smart Jack Piers were installed for support. Each Smart Jack was carefully adjusted by hand, until the entirety of the subfloor, and all interior flooring was once again level. In order to prevent any further water damage to the home, and to protect the newly installed subfloor reinforcements, our crew also encapsulated the crawl space. Encapsulated crawl spaces are 100% waterproofed, sealed, and insulated, to permanently protect homes from the devastating effects of water damage. Inside of an encapsulated crawl space, our crew installs several different professional-grade waterproofing components, that will pump water away from the home, while maintaining a clean and healthy air quality. This dehumidifier continuously filters the air, removing moisture, allergens, and toxins, while preventing mold growth. Remember - 40% of the air inside of your home, comes from beneath your feet, meaning a crawl space with clean air, creates a healthier home for your family.

With the crawl space of this home now professionally encapsulated, and the subfloor strongly supported with durable steel reinforcements, this family can now thrive for many years in a clean, stable, and healthy home! John's has been repairing and waterproofing crawl spaces in the PNW for over 50 years - our crews are equipped with the high level of professionalism that comes only from decades of experience in the industry.