Brick Foundation Repair

Homes built with brick foundations are prevalent all throughout Southern California. While the curb appeal is outstanding there is a risk with these.

First is that the mortar used to hold the bricks together tends to degrade over time to the point where the bricks will actually fall out. Secondly, brick foundations are classified as unreinforced masonry – meaning there is no reinforcing steel (rebar) holding the brick together, there is no way to guarantee how it will perform in a moderate to significant earthquake. Because of this it is not possible to seismically retrofit a brick foundation.

Alpha Structural has been specializing in brick foundation repair for over 25 years and will design the optimal solution using a "sister" foundation. This term refers to pouring a new foundation along the inside of the brick giving the home a foundation while keeping the existing curb appeal. Depending upon the circumstances, a replacement of some or all of the unreinforced foundation may be necessary, but our preferred solution is most often the installation of a sister foundation, which performs extremely well and can be executed for less cost than a replacement.