Heaving large cracks on your basement or garage floors? Bulging foundation walls?
Pyrite is a mineral found in backfill gravel. When this gravel comes in contact with humidity and moisture it oxidizes and causes the foundation or slab to heave and/or crack. The visual cues to this are large cracks on garage or basement floors and foundation cracks caused by the horizontal pressure exerted on the foundation wall.
Depending on the amount of contaminated backfill that was used in the construction of your home, removing pyrite can be very costly. It is important to verify for the existence of pyrite by a certified laboratory. We do not test for pyrite. http://joneakes.com/cgi-bin/getdetailscals.cgi?id=2151
Pyrite Remediation Process
- Remove interior partition walls and subfloors
- Demolish and remove your existing concrete floor
- Remove pyrite contaminated backfill
- Excavate to solid ground
- Compact
- Install geotextile membrane
- Replace any plumbing, drains and water pipes
- Fill with ¾ inch DB certified gravel
- Install a vapor barrier
- As an option we can install insulating rigid foam as a thermal break
- Install reinforcement wire mesh
- Pour and finish your new concrete floor