Ayers Basement Systems Before & After Photos

When it rains, it floods- at least, that was the case for this East Lansing, MI resident. Water was regularly coming up through cracks in his basement floor and whenever it rained the seepage would get so bad that puddles would start to form. We’re always up for taking on mother nature, so when we received the call, we sent out our system design specialist to see what could be done about their problems.

The first step to solving this problem was keeping water out of the basement on a more permanent basis. Our TripleSafe sump pump is our most reliable sump pump system and features two discharge lines to push water out. The two lines combine outside of the house into a single pipe, seen in the after photo, that leads to a lawnscape outlet. Lawnscape outlets benefit situations like these by discharging the water at a safe distance from the foundation, guaranteeing that the water won’t reappear in the basement. As a reminder, the line was buried once the job was complete.

A few years back, we helped an East Lansing, MI couple waterproof their basement. They were so happy with our work that when they noticed standing water in their crawl space, they gave us a call to see if we could help them out again. To keep water out, the crew installed a drainage matting and Cleanspace vapor barrier. The vapor barrier can be seen in the after photo. It’s the plastic white liner that encapsulating the crawl space. Underneath it, the drainage matting sits on the crawl space floor to keep water from puddling or standing in one place. If moisture does make it through the drainage matting, it won’t be able to penetrate the CleanSpace barrier, so this crawl space will remain dry. We love to hear that our past customers were pleased with our service, and we’re always more than happy to be there for them again. 

The long horizontal crack in this before photo is a sign that this wall was bowing inward. Bowing walls happen when pressure from expanding soil becomes too much for a foundation to handle and they start to lean inwards. To counter the pressure made by soil, the crew installed Geo-Lock Wall Anchors. Placing the anchors into stronger, undisturbed soil then attaching them to the wall plates in the after photo will put a stop to the inward bowing, and in time, may even restore the walls to their original position. This East Lansing, MI home will now be protected from a long list of possible foundation problems.

We had done a waterproofing job for these East Lansing, MI customers a few months back. Apparently, they were happy with the work because they got in contact with us again when they started looking for a replacement to the small rectangular window seen in the before photo. While that block window is much larger than most basement windows, this finished pool room would look even better with a larger window that let in more natural light. As you can see in the after photo, that’s exactly what we gave them. Through the new replacement window is a Sunhouse Egress Well. The well will keep the window protected from the elements and water and also provide a way out of the basement in case of an emergency. It's always great to hear from past customers, and we're happy to help them out as they start new projects.

These East Lansing, MI customers were dealing with more than the traditional crawl space issues. For starters, there was a crack running down the foundation that was even visible from the outside. They assumed that this was the reason that water was leaking into their basement. On top of that, groundhogs had started using the crawl space as a home. The before picture shows that groundhogs weren’t the only crawl space visitor, either; spiders were turning the crawl space into their own home as well.

Our CleanSpace liner in the after photo will keep out both sets of creatures. The liner is strong enough for people to crawl across for maintenance without ripping, so the owners won’t have to worry about animals ripping it down to get inside. CleanSpace is also a vapor barrier that won’t allow moisture to pass through, so the basement leaks will also stop. And just in case water was leaking from somewhere else, the Froth Pak spray insulation in the after photo sealed the floor joists and wall joint, closing off all other possible entryways for moisture or pests.