Garage Column failure is one of the most common issues around the Atlanta metro area. Matter of fact, garage column settlement is in the top 3 issues we see in all foundation collapses. So tell me about it right?
The center columns between your two or more garage doors is what we are speaking of. This column carries a concentrated load or header load where is other parts of your house carries a line load across a footing.
Your house was probably built and the soil for underneath your garage was probably moved there and compacted. If they failed to correctly compact that soil the soil will settle over time. You my notice a crack if you have a brick house above the garage column. You may also see sheet rock cracks above your garage. you might also notice a crack on both or one side of the garage floor.
To fix this we usually install 1-2 helical piers. We remove the driveway slab around the column, install a helical pier on one side of the column and then lift the center column back in to place. Many of the previous cracks you seen will close, but you might want to fill them in.