KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Foundation and settlement problems can be a huge nightmare for homeowners. A metro company called
Pier Magic has built a name for themselves when it comes to repairing compromised homes. Plus, they’re also building a reputation amongst their peers.
Matt Price says on average, the typical home they work on is probably about 15 to 20 years old. They find a booming business here in the Midwest, thanks in part to the region's expansive clay soil.
Price says the problems are pretty easy to spot.
“Typical signs of settlement are going to be cracks in the sheetrock, especially above doors and windows or entry spaces,” Price explained. “Doors that are sticking, not sitting in the doorway square.”Matt and his brother Mead founded Pier Magic several years ago, after working in the industry for some time. They also designed a revolutionary new piering system called
Dyna Pier.
“It all started from an idea I had for a piering system that I thought could eliminate some of the weaknesses of other systems that were on the market,” Price said.
The Dyna Piers are made of galvanized steel and filled with high strength concrete. Crews excavate small holes around the home, either on the outside or the inside, when needed.
The piers are then attached in one foot segments and hydraulically driven into the ground until they hit bedrock. But unlike other companies, Pier Magic places them underneath the home's footing, where they bear the full structural load of the home.
“Once all the piers are driven, then we'll come in again,” Price explains. “We’ll set up our elevation equipment, to monitor the house as we raise it back to a level plan.”
They have found such success; they offer a lifetime, transferable warranty.
They now also market the Dyna Pier line to other contractors around the country. They have secured 16 contracts in just the past nine months.
Foundation repair is not cheap, but Price says it is cheaper than the alternative - a tremendous drop in your home's value. He says that’s a loss that's more than offset by keeping the problem from getting worse.
“If left unchecked, it's going to escalate,” Price said. “And any time a problem escalates, typically the cost to fix it or address it is going to escalate.”
