Knowing the best way to repair a basement foundation wall isn’t easy. Your basement foundation walls support the structural integrity of your entire house. If your basement foundation walls aren’t stable, it can cause problems throughout the rest of your home. However, basement foundation walls can be stabilized and repaired, even if they are cracked, bowing, or bulging. Let’s take a look at how to repair a basement foundation wall.
Foundation Repair Cracks
There are a few signs to look for that can indicate that your basement foundation walls are unstable, and need repairs. Foundation walls can shift for a variety of reasons, including natural disasters such as flooding or earthquakes, as well as less dramatic forces like soil mechanics, rock mechanics, freezing and thawing, tree roots, and more.
Since the soil is composed of varying types of particles, including rocks, sand, clay, silt, decayed organic matter, trapped gasses, and water, it moves and shifts in different ways. In some cases, this merely results in “settling” where the home shifts slightly after it’s built. In other cases, this can cause more severe damage that causes walls to bow, crack, and bulge. Here are a few signs to look for if your basement foundation walls are unstable.
If you notice any of these signs, it is possible to repair them. There are a variety of different ways to repair a basement foundation wall, depending on the issues you’re facing.
Cracks in the basement foundation wall are the most common issues that can affect your foundation. Thin, hairline cracks are a normal part of the house settling, but cracks that are larger than ½ inch can be a symptom of bigger structural issues. These cracks can also allow water to seep through, creating wet spots in your basement.
Fixing cracks in the home’s basement walls can prevent bigger problems. With professional foundation repair, an expert can fill the cracks in the walls completely. This process uses a high-pressure injection tool and polyurethane to fill the crack from the visible surface to the opposite side. By contrast, most DIY fillers only cover the visible surface.
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For slightly bowed walls, properly securing wood posts and blocks can stop the shifting and maintain the stability of the wall. During this process, experts place wood posts and blocks at critical points across the wall. Then, the experts drill holes into the blocks and reinforce them with 16-inch steel rebar. After, they fill the cores with concrete and the drilled holes with cement. This thorough reinforcement process will help to prevent the wall from bowing further.
The Fortress InvisiBeam basement fortification system
The Fortress InvisiBeam System is one of the most effective ways to repair a basement foundation wall with severe damage. This process uses dual anchor points and Kevlar straps to secure the wall, even when it has seriously bowed at the center. Kevlar is unique for its high tensile strength-to-weight ratio, which is five times greater than that of steel. This makes it possible to secure the wall, while allowing homeowners to paint over the wall. At the top end, the Kevlar straps are secured to the rim joint of your home’s flooring system. The bottom anchor is secured to the floor and provides over 4,500lbs of lateral strength, preventing bottom wall shear as well as bulging.
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In some cases, the damage to the basement foundation wall is too extensive for stabilization methods, and the wall must be rebuilt. This may occur if severe flooding or another incident occurred, or if foundation issues continue to get worse over a number of years. During the repair, experts rebuild parts of the wall in careful steps to secure the stability of the foundation and realign the foundation wall. This intervention can save even very damaged foundations.
StayWall® steel brace reinforcement can also stabilize and repair a basement foundation wall that has been severely damaged or warped. This technique attaches steel I-beams to the floor joists of the home and then either bolts or sets the other end of the I-beams to the concrete floor of the foundation. This intervention is more obvious than the Fortress InvisiBeam System and can create obstructions in the basement, but it can also repair serious foundational issues.
There are many ways to repair basement foundation walls that are shearing, bowing, bulging, cracking, or showing other issues. Work with experienced professionals to ensure the stability of your home is safe. The StayDry team brings over 100 years of collective experience in professional basement repair services. If you are concerned about cracks or deformations in your basement, call 1-800-782-9379 or contact us to schedule a free consultation.
The StayDry® team has 100+ years of combined experience with basement waterproofing, foundation repair, crawl space repair, wall repair, and mold control.
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