Luis and Maria Sanchez:

Keeping Their Ram Jack Business on Solid Ground

By Michele Dawson, The Concrete Network

Luis Sanchez has been involved in just about every aspect of the construction industry. But it's in his current position with Ram Jack as a foundation specialist that he's found his strongest footing.

Based in Fincastle (the Roanoke area), Virginia, Sanchez is a complete foundation specialist. His dealership, which he owns with his wife, Maria, does everything from commercial-grade waterproofing and sea walls at marinas and lakes to rebuilding walls, additions and new footers to curing drainage problems. Maria runs every aspect of the office operations.

Sanchez has been in the construction business all of his life. His parents owned apartments in New York, which soon became his construction classroom growing up. He learned virtually every aspect of repair and construction.

He then moved to Virginia and went into the structural steel business for 20 years. He has also worked in roofing, carpentry, plumbing, electrical, and concrete. He then decided to concentrate on foundations.

"A lot of contractors are uncomfortable with it ... It's not easy to do," he said.

He's been with Ram Jack for about the past six years.

One of the biggest problems that plagues the foundations of new homes in Virginia is that all of the good land has been used up, leaving new homes more susceptible to foundation failure because more are built on hillsides and on soil that hasn't been properly prepared, Sanchez said.

There are three common types of foundation problems in Virginia, said Sanchez, who covers the territory that stretches from Northern Virginia to Abingdon, near the Tennessee border.

If the bearing soil was not compacted properly during grading, the foundation is subject to settlement as the supporting soil consolidates.

First, there is settling, which occurs when the foundation has been built on inadequate soil.

"This is very common. The corners drop a good one to two inches," he said.

The second problem involves slabs that are sinking.

"(This is happening more and more) because all of the good spots to build homes are taken," said Sanchez.

If all soils beneath a foundation swells uniformly or shrinks uniformly it is unlikely to cause a problem. But when only part of the foundation heaves or settles, differential movement causes cracks and other damage.

And the third common problem in the Virginia area is the dry weather — the lack of moisture shrinks the soil. Most of Virginia, which has a lot of clay soils, is experiencing drought conditions this year that are likely to persist through the fall, according to the National Weather Service.

The soil may be at or near its optimum moisture content when the foundation is built, but it may lose enough moisture during a drought to cause the foundation to settle. Settlement is usually greatest near the perimeter of the foundation where the soil dries most quickly.

Drainage

Water is the main culprit in many scenarios. There is either too much, causing the soil to swell, or not enough, causing the soil to shrink.

If all soils beneath a foundation swells uniformly or shrinks uniformly it is unlikely to cause a problem. But when only part of the foundation heaves or settles, differential movement causes cracks and other damage.

"We tend to go through spurts of specific problems," Sanchez said. "Sometimes the contractor didn't do anything wrong, it was just bad soil and not necessarily on top. It could be several feet below the structure."

Sanchez remedies the problems in a variety of ways, depending on the source of the trouble. For example, one type of problem may mean excavating to the footings while another repair may involve coming inside and going through the wall and pulling the wall that has bowed in. Other times he'll go through a slab of floor. If a chimney is pulling away, then he'll pier the chimney and pull it back to the house.

Cracks in brick and mortar

Oftentimes homeowners are aware that some sort of a problem exists when they spot a little crack in the foundation that eventually grows over time, Sanchez said.

"They'll ignore it, it will get a little bigger ... inside the drywall will start cracking," he said. "But most people don't know who to call."

People tend to react in a range of ways when they suspect they have a problem with their foundation, said Sanchez.

"Some people will try to patch it and then monitor it. They'll repeat the process a couple times and then panic," he said. "Others will go berserk when they notice the first small crack. Different people look at things different ways."

But sometimes homeowners aren't even moved in yet. That was the case with 13 new houses in an upper-scale subdivision in which the soil wasn't compacted properly.

"It's very common," Sanchez said.

Slab-on-grade foundation
Slab-on-grade foundation

Slab-on-grade foundations depend on the uppermost soil layers to provide bearing capacity to support the structure and keep the foundation stable. If the bearing soil was not compacted properly during grading, the foundation is subject to settlement as the supporting soil consolidates.

Problems can also arise when the structure is supported by various soil conditions. In this case the house may settle differentially. As an example, if one half of the foundation sits upon expansive clay and the other half bears on select fill and/or rock, the amount of seasonal movement will vary from one half to the other half. If the foundation system is not properly designed, the differential movement may cause damage to the foundation and structure.

Sanchez said that one way to eliminate problems in new construction is for builders to use Ram Jack's pre-construction foundation anchor. Helical anchors installed prior to construction prevent downward settlement before it starts. By monitoring hydraulic pressures, anchors are load tested as they are installed.

The piering system passes through the active soil that is affected by moisture, dryness and soil type — all of which potentially lead to foundation problems — and is transferred to a substrate that is not affected by any of those factors.

Sanchez works extensively with engineers, as well as contractors and developers, on waterproofing and repair projects.

A lot of people — not just homeowners but contractors and builders — have no concept whatsoever of piering, Sanchez said.

"Part of the process is educating," he said.

And constantly educating himself and staying on top of the latest innovations and research is part of being a Ram Jack dealer, Sanchez said.

"They're excellent to work with ... The training and personnel — there's no comparison," he said. "We're constantly training."

He said the specialty and technical classes are especially helpful when out in the field.

"It takes a very serious commitment and dedication to do whatever needs to be done. In this business you have to give it your all," he said.

And again, staying educated is vital to the success of both Sanchez and Ram Jack.

"It's a very big plus that we know what we're doing," he said. "You have to when you're dealing with people's most valuable investment."

Ram Jack of Virginia, LLC
Luis & Maria Sanchez
P.O. Box 676
Fincastle, (Roanoke Area)
VA 24090
(540) 992-6518
(540) 992-4614 FAX
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Michele Dawson


Michele Dawson writes each week on one of the contractor members of The Concrete Network (www.concretenetwork.com). She has written about the home building industry for several years and was on the public affairs staff of the California Building Industry Association.

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