COMPACTION GROUTING

Bulging floors, cracked walls, and doors that won’t close are all signs of foundation distress. Sixty percent of all homes built on expansive soil suffer from foundation distress. The problem occurs when only part of the foundation heaves or settles, causing cracks and other damage.

This differential movement is largely caused by a difference in soil moisture. Loss or gain of soil moisture can cause serious shrinkage or swelling. Compaction grouting involves the injection of a still granular
mortar grout into subsurface soils under high pressures, to displace and improve the adjacent soils. The key element in any grouting program is the effective control and placement of the grout. In compaction
grouting, this control is accomplished by the use of very stiff, granular grout mix. The very stiff compact grouts results in homogenous grout bulb that grows somewhat symmetrically about the grout pipe tip, and remains within the intended treatment area.

The selection of mortar aggregate and water retaining agents such as cement, clay, etc. is extremely important to achieve a pump-able mix that still exhibits high internal shearing resistance to flow and can avoid sand blockages in the required mix and inject such materials under high pressure.