Ada, MI's Go to Structural Repair & Concrete Lifting Company

Matt knew the floor in his living room was slanted, and he couldn't tolerate it any longer. After researching his options, he called Ayers for help, so we sent our crew of experts to his home. They evaluated the space and recommended installing the SmartJacks supplemental support system. SmartJacks are a system of floor jacks hot-dipped in galvanized steel and zinc-plated to promote durability. The base of each jack is placed two feet below the surface, which reduces load-bearing stress significantly. Matt loves his level floor!

Bobby R wanted to finish his basement for his family but persistent water issues made that impossible. His basement always had several water puddles throughout the space since the home was first purchased five years ago. Water entered the space from several locations making previous attempts to stop water intrusion impossible. We installed a full perimeter WaterGuard drainage system to capture water from the walls and floor and transport it to the newly installed sump pump. The family also opted to have an egress window installed to finally finish the basement. Egress windows are required by law for all basement bedrooms and they allow a substantial amount of light into an otherwise dark space. 

Laura had water coming in to a small section in her basement. The water was seeping in through the walls. Her home was built in 2000 and the walls are made of poured concrete. We used FlexiSpan to fill the cracks in Laura’s wall. FlexSpan seals cracks and has a built-in secondary strategy just in case the first one fails. It is flexible and moves with your wall over time ensuring your walls don’t releak and your basement stays dry.

This Ada, MI home had a bowing block foundation wall that was also causing mold and moisture issues in the basement due to water seeping in through large cracks.

The PowerBrace system was installed on this basement wall to prevent it from bowing inward any further and to potentially help shift the wall completely back to its original position.

We first installed joist reinforcements in the home that the braces attached to, which helped to alleviate some of the pressure that was being exerted on the wall. Next, we installed the PowerBrace system, which was set into place at the base of the wall and securely attached to the reinforced joists above the wall with steel brackets. After tightening the system, the wall was immediately stabilized and would no longer be able to shift or crack. The PowerBrace system can also be tightened over time to potentially pull the wall back to its original state, which was a major plus for this homeowner.

The chimney on this Ada, MI home was settling and pulling away from the rest of the house. The homeowner was looking for a reliable solution and our team of experts knew helical piers would permanently fix the issue.

The helical piers were securely attached to the base of the chimney with steel brackets and then driven down deep into stable soil that would be able to support the chimney and prevent it from shifting any further.

David H. had an older single-story home that was built on a slab foundation. One corner of the home showed signs of settling due to the weak soils underneath that were unable to hold it. There were cracks in the drywall, sunken flooring in the area and the doors were sticking.

In order to effectively fix the foundation settlement in that area we installed helical piers.

We first removed the landscaping and soil at the base of the home where the settlement was occurring. We then attached the piers to the home with steel brackets that permanently held the piers in place. Next, we screwed the helical piers down into stable soil that will hold the weight of the foundation and prevent it from settling once again. Once the system was secured into place and the slab was stabilized, we restored the landscaping outside and the project was finished!

Will and Wendy I. had a cinder block wall with a horizontal crack and 3 inch inversion of the blocking. They wanted I-beams installed to support the wall because they were trying to sell the house. 

The PowerBrace system was used to stabilize the bowing wall to get the home ready for the market. For this installation we used specialized steel I-beams that were secured on the floor at the base of the wall and to the joists above the wall using steel brackets. We tightened the system to hold the wall in place and prevent it from bowing inward any further. There was no excavation needed for this project so the installation was fast and easy and we are able to tighten the beams over time to possibly push the wall back to its original position. 

Jackie and Michael D. called because they noticed the bedrooms in their home located above the crawl space were cold. The space was dry, had a concrete slab floor and blocks walls. 

In order to seal the space off from the outside environment and from other areas in the home, we installed SilverGlo and Froth Pak insulation.

The SilverGlo wall panels were sized and cut to perfectly fit the dimensions of the crawl space and then securely adhered to the walls. The panels have a vapor barrier to prevent moisture from entering the space and radiant heat barrier that reflects heat back into the crawl space. The small graphite materials found in this insulation give the walls in the crawl space complete R-11 insulation.

FrothPak is a spray foam insulation that was sprayed in all of the nooks and crannies of the crawl space walls to make sure every inch was insulated. The foam does not absorb ambient moisture like other insulations, so it will not become saturated and fall down. It is also made of inorganic materials that prevent it from becoming susceptible to mold growth. 

Jim and Sarah were thrilled when they purchased their new home. They knew the home was built in an area with a high water table, so when there were no water issues in the basement they thought they had really lucked out. Sadly, after only a few months of living in Ada, MI, they started to discover damp cracks in the foundation. Then came the floods. Jim and Sarah immediately took action and rented a sump pump to get the leaking water out. The pump had done a good enough job preventing overflow, but it wasn’t enough. They needed a long lasting solution. 

Ayers knew the best thing for Jim and Sarah would be a reliable sump pump, so they installed a top of the line model, the TripleSafe sump pump system. The sump has a 1/3 horsepower primary pump and two different backups that ensure the basement will never start to flood again, even during power outages. The crew then finished the project by attaching Jim and Sarah’s previous discharge line to an IceGuard protective shield and lawnscape outlet. The IceGuard will expel water away from the foundation if the line should ever freeze and water can’t make it all the way to the outlet.

We wish Jim and Sarah the best of luck with their new home! If any other troubles do arise, we’re always here to help. 

Kelly noticed that her basement closet seemed a little wet a few months prior to calling us. When it happened again she knew that she had to do something about it. She called up one of our competitors to receive an estimate for waterproofing. They informed her that the only possible solution was to dry out her basement and then redo it, a process that Kelly wasn’t too thrilled about because it would mean redoing a fully finished basement.

That’s when she decided to give Ayers a call. One of our systems design specialists went out to Ada, MI to have a look at the situation for himself. He decided that a waterproofing system could be designed that wouldn’t force Kelly to sacrifice her basement. The crew went out a few days later and got to work. The water was entering the home through vertical cracks along the inside and outside of the home. Our WaterGuard system and Super Sump were the perfect pair to use as a solution. After installing WaterGuard, a perimeter drainage system, any water that enters Kelly’s basement will wind up in the system. Once the water is collected in the drainage system, it will then flow to the Super Sump for disposal. The LawnScape outlet the crew attached to the end of the discharge line will be the final stop for water before it’s pushed away from the foundation. 

If you’re starting to think your basement is beyond repair - like Kelly’s was - then give the waterproofing experts a call and see if there isn’t a better option.

Tom and Sharon were at an expo when our Crawl Space Science info book grabbed their attention. They had been dealing with their own musty smelling crawl space, so they were immediately interested in finding out more about our work. After a looking through the book and a little research into the company, they decided that Ayers was the perfect place to help them.

When the crew arrived in Ada, MI, they quickly found out that there was more at work than just an off-putting smell. The original plan to encapsulate the area would definitely do away with water vapor and humidity, but something needed to be done about forcing out still water. The crew installed a SmartDrain sump, a smaller but just as reliable sump pump we use for crawl spaces. Water will reach the sump with the help of the drainage matting that was laid on top of the dirt floor. For the actual encapsulation, CleanSpace liner was installed over top of the matting and throughout the entire crawl space. CleanSpace is a plastic vapor barrier that is impenetrable by vapor and air. Since Tom and Sharon reported a musty smell, it’s likely that there was high humidity in the air running through the crawl space. Couple that humidity with the wood and dirt that was already present in this crawl space and you have the perfect combination for mold growth, but the plastic, inorganic material of CleanSpace makes it impossible for mold to live. Lastly, the team took care of the original problem. They had two main focuses: stopping the musty air from coming in and then giving it a place to go. They decided on four vent covers and Sandri CX to eliminate humid air once and for all.

It’s a good thing that Tom and Sharon were worried enough about the smell of their crawl space to do something. The conditions that create that musty smell are the same ones that lead to mold growth and with it - a damaged foundation. 

Ron began to notice a change the road near his house was widened. It wasn’t the difference in traffic that he was worried about, though; it was his basement. There were large cracks in the floor and walls, the foundation was leaking water, and walls were bowing. Ron knew that for a project this big he would need to call in experts.

The crew arrived in Ada, MI knowing they would be doing both foundation work and a full waterproofing. Solving the bowing foundation issue required 4 different helical piers. Foundation Piering is one of our more invasive installation processes, but it offers a permanent solution for foundation problems. Once the soil blocking access to the foundation was excavated, the piers were put in place on top of deeper, stronger soil than where the foundation was previously resting. Since the foundation was lifted back to its original position instead of being completely replaced, there were still cracks in the walls and floor that needed to be addressed. Our WaterGuard perimeter drainage system will collect any water that comes through those cracks and direct the flow towards the new TripleSafe sump pump. From there, it’s a short trip through the discharge lines out to the LawnScape outlet for disposal. The team also added in a SaniDry XP dehumidifier to rid the basement of any damp or musty air so that this basement would feel as clean and dry as it will now look.

We recently went out to Ada, MI for Ron’s annual maintenance check-up, and we’re proud to say there were no signs of issues in either the foundation or waterproofing. Ron and the team were both very happy with the results.

Will and Wendy were in the process of selling their Ada, MI home when they noticed that their basement walls weren’t exactly right, at least not upright. The walls appeared to be bending inward at the middle, there was even a horizontal crack running down one of them to prove it. Will and Wendy knew that selling a home with bowing basement walls would be difficult, so they called the people who would give them an efficient and reliable solution as soon as possible, Ayers Basement Systems.

The team wanted to make sure that this foundation problem was solved once and for all, and our PowerBrace system lets us. The PowerBrace system uses steel beams to support the structure while forcing the wall back to its original position. The beams span the height of the wall and were installed into the foundation floor at the bottom and bolted to the floor joists on the ceiling at the top. Will and Wendy can adjust the tightness on the system to push the wall straighter whenever it is necessary. The system’s adjustability means that the foundation walls will continue to improve no matter who the residing homeowner is.

We wish Will and Wendy the best of luck in their sales process. Be sure to let the new homeowners know that Ayers is here for them if they ever need anything “basementy”.

Whenever it rained in Ada, MI, Christie would find water in her basement. The water never went far from the wall where it leaked and was always found in the same few spots. Our sales representative went out and confirmed what Christie thought to be true, her basement windows were responsible for the leaks.

Thanks to an existing sump pump, the situation wasn't as bad as it could be, but there was still something missing. There are a few different approaches to solving this type of problem, and the team present Christie with all of them. After careful consideration, she decided to go with the BrightWall paneling and WaterGuard option.

The team removed the already existing drywall and attached BrightWall panels under the basement windows. The BrightWall panels created a plastic barrier that neither vapor nor water could permeate. Any water that leaks through the windows will travel down behind the panels and drain into the new WaterGuard system directly below. WaterGuard is a perimeter drainage system that is placed under a removed portion of the floor where floor and wall meet, the exact place where water was puddling from the window. The water will then flow to Christie’s existing sump pump and discharge outside.

Christie’s basement is now back to being puddle free, and her new BrightWall panels go along great with the rest of her partially finished basement!