Shotcrete 101: A Basement Revolution is Coming

There are few home problems more stressful than a crumbling basement wall. Will your basement flood? Will your house sink? Will it collapse entirely? It’s easy to let your mind race with endless horrible possibilities, and sometimes the worst case scenario isn’t even that far off from reality.

But fixing a collapsing basement wall isn’t easy. Block walls can sometimes be rebuilt, but poured and cobblestone walls often offer very little in terms of repair options. Plastic barrier sheeting can offer protection from water, but otherwise what can you do other than undergo the costly and time-consuming process of lifting your entire house to have new walls poured? If only there was a way to build new walls without pouring concrete.

Lucky for you, there is. And Ayers can do it.

An Ayers production crew member applies shotcrete to a practice wall structure.

What is Shotcrete?

Beginning this month, Ayers is offering Shotcrete services to our customers. Shotcrete is a method of concrete application that allows it to be cast-in-place on a pre-formed wall structure via a pressurized hose in order to build structural shapes.

Huh?

I just wanted to mess with you - you know I’ll always translate the jargon into real talk for you. Basically, we build the framework for a new wall, or walls, right in front of the existing walls. Then we essentially spray concrete through a sort of fire hose and build the walls on-site. The new walls are formed and leveled as the material is sprayed, and boom. You have new walls. Walls that are structurally sound and have all the properties of old-fashioned poured concrete walls - because that’s what they are!

The Catch

There are always tradeoffs when undertaking major repairs or renovations, but they’re minor when you take into account that your house could collapse without it.

1. It’s loud. It’s concrete through a fire hose. It’s not a bad idea to plan to be elsewhere during application.

2. You’ll lose some square footage. Building new walls in front of your old walls will, clearly, make your basement a little smaller. The thickness of the walls will vary depending on the structure of the building, but you’ll lose at least a few inches on each wall. Ditto the floor if you want a new floor done to match.

3. Your old walls are gone. If you love the “character” of your cobblestone basement walls, it’s time to say goodbye. At least you won’t have the “character” of a house that’s half underground or a basement full of what used to be your well-maintained garden.

Is Shotcrete for You?

If your basement walls are crumbling and filling your head with visions of collapsed buildings, and other forms of reinforcement (i.e. piering) aren’t doing the job, or even if you just want new, smooth, structurally sound walls, then yes - shotcrete is for you. Give us a call to set up a free inspection and estimate and we’ll get your basement in order.