Allegan, MI Licensed Basement Waterproofing & Foundation Repair

Loren noticed her driveway was  sinking away from her garage. She looked a little further and seen her sidewalk was sinking too. To resolve Loren’s issue, we used PolyLevel to raise her driveway and sidewalk.

PolyLevel is a state of the art, environmentally friendly material  used to repair sinking concrete. It requires less hole than other options, lightweight, and has a quick cure time. You can drive over it 15 minutes after installation.

Frank H. had a puddle of water in his crawl space. His crawl space floor and walls were made of concrete. After a thorough inspection from our team of experts, we noticed the flooding was coming from cracks in the interior wall.

Over time, concrete shifts and begins to crack. Unfortunately, it’s inevitable. We used FlexiSpan so seal those cracks in the crawl space. FlexiSpan seals cracks and has built-in secondary strategy in case the seal fails. Additionally, FlexiSpan is made of a flexible material. This ensures that as your walls move over time, FlexiSpan moves with it so you don’t have to worry about your walls leaking again.

This Allegan, MI home had a bowed block foundation wall with multiple cracks. The homeowner was looking to sell the home, but wanted to stabilize the failing wall before doing so. The CarbonArmor system was installed to stabilize the wall and potentially shift it back to its proper position. In order to install the carbon fiber straps, we first had to paint on a strong epoxy material at the location of each strap. The CarbonArmor straps were then adhered to the wall and secured into place with steel brackets. This system ensured the wall was immediately held in place and would no longer continue to bow inward.

This homeowner called because she was looking to get her cracked and bowed basement wall stabilized.

Our team of experts used the PowerBrace system to stabilize the wall and prevent it from continuing to shift over time. The joists above the wall were first reinforced to remove some of the pressure that the home was placing on the wall. Next we placed the steel braces directly onto the wall by installing them in the flooring at the base of the wall and then connected them to the joists above. The system was secured into place with steel brackets and the wall was held in place. The system also used a joist reinforcement method that ensured the weight of the wall was event distributed across the ceiling to prevent the floor above from being negatively affected. Lastly, the homeowner received a tightening kit that can be used to potentially shift the wall back to its original position.

This home had water leaking into basement from bad drainage of eves. The homeowners wanted to take care of the issue before further damage to their basement occurred.

We installed the WaterGuard system around the interior perimeter of the basement to collect and drain intruding water directly into the home’s sump pump. Specialized drainage pipes were placed underneath the flooring in the basement so that water coming in through the wall is able to drain down into the system, rather than flow out onto the floor.

The home needed an effective sump pump to ensure water collected from the WaterGuard system was being discarded from the home properly. We installed the SuperSump sump pump system that included a sturdy liner and an effective Zoeller pump. It also included an airtight lid that prevents water in the sump from evaporating into the basement, which would cause further moisture problems. An added bonus to this sump pump system is that it comes with a pump alarm that sounds if the pump is unable to keep up with the amount of water entering.

The IceGuard system was installed on the home’s discharge line to ensure water is able to exit the home even if the pipes freeze in the winter. The specialized holes in the system help water automatically flow out of the lines to prevent it from re-entering the home and causing a flood. We also installed a LawnScape outlet on the discharge line to lead exiting water out away from the home.

Riley A. had a block foundation wall that was in serious need of help. A large horizontal crack was found on the wall, which a sure sign of wall failure. The wall was also beginning to bow inward at the location of the crack and the homeowner was looking for a permanent fix to save the wall before it got any worse.

To fix the bowing wall, we installed the Geo-Lock wall anchor system. To start the installation process we needed to excavate the soil located outside of the foundation wall in order to embed steel earth anchors. The earth anchors were then connected to the foundation wall and secured into place with steel wall plates and rods. After tightening the system, the wall was immediately stabilized and held in place.

This home had a cracked basement wall with some water seepage. The house was vacant and the real estate company wanting to the put it on the market knew very limited information about the overall condition of the house and wanted an expert opinion on what to do next.

CarbonArmor reinforcement strips were installed to stabilize the basement wall and possibly shift it back to its original position. The system uses fiber reinforced polymers in its strips that are 10x stronger than steel. The strips were cut to fit the height of the wall and then adhered to the wall with strong apoxy resin and fastened tightly with steel brackets. 

These homeowners called because they were concerned about their bowing basement wall. The home had block foundation walls, once of which had stair-step cracks and was leaning inward about seven inches. 

Our team of experts wanted to find a way to stabilize the wall and prevent it from bowing inward any further, so that these homeowners will no longer have to worry about the condition of their home. In order to do this, we installed the PowerBrace system. This system uses steel I-beams that we secured to the base of the wall and to the joists above the wall. The system was secured to the joists with steel brackets that were tightened into place to stabilize the wall. Because this system attaches to the joists in the home, it is important that the floor and walls above are not interfered with. To tackle this, PowerBraces have a joist reinforcement method that transfers the weight of the wall evenly across the ceiling to prevent any further damage to the home.

In order to seal off the cracked wall from any moisture or water, we installed SentrySeal. We started by excavating the soil around the home because the sealant was installed on the outside of the foundation wall. The black membrane was then adhered to the wall permanently, and will prevent water from entering through the crack.

We also installed the Geo-Lock Wall Anchor system for extra security. For this installation we excavated sections of the ground outside of the foundation wall to place steel earth anchors in stable soil out away from the home. The anchor was then attached to the foundation wall with a steel wall plate and was secured with steel rods. We then tightened the system, which immediately stabilized the wall. 

Jeanette gave us a call because she was in the process of selling her Allegan home. She wanted to get an estimate for foundation work before she met with potential buyers. Specifically, she wanted to know the price of fixing her bowing basement walls. She still wasn’t sure if she was ready to schedule an actual project, and then she met with a prospective buyer a month later.

At Ayers, we know that the most cost effective method to fixing bowing walls is with our PowerBrace system. The PowerBrace system is a permanent solution, as it can continue to be adjusted and will improve your wall’s condition over time. The team installed 9 steel beams into the basement. The goal of PowerBrace is to take pressure off of the walls without compromising the foundation. To do this, the floor joists need to be in good shape. PowerBrace beams are put in place directly against the wall and held there by a floor joist attachment at the top and foundation concrete at the bottom. Not ones to leave anything to chance, the team also brought along several joist reinforcements to secure the beams. The decision paid off with the team also needing to install 5 joist reinforcements to guarantee success.

The new PowerBrace system should ease the mind of both Jeanette and any potential buyers. This basement foundation is now protected and secure for years to come.

Jeff was dealing with leaks in his basement walls and window. The water was seeping through, puddling on the floor and causing water damage to the walls on the way down. His biggest concern was replacing the leaking window, but he had also been toying with the idea of finishing the basement.

After talking with the Ayers team, Jeff still wasn’t sure if he wanted to fully finish his basement; However, he did decide to make sure that leaks would never be a problem again. The team suggested a combination of a perimeter drainage system called WaterGuard and FlexiSpan to treat the wall leaks. WaterGuard pipes are installed at the floor and wall joint under a removed portion of the floor. Any water that leaks down the walls will drain into the system, instead of creating puddles on the floor. FlexiSpan works in a similar fashion. The flexible sealant is placed over cracks in the walls to stop water from passing through. Any water that does penetrate the seal will then be drained down to the WaterGuard system by the second layer of FlexiSpan. After improving the defense against wall cracks, the team moved on to install the egress window, well, and cover. The well is made from plastic, so it won’t erode or crack to make way for water. Not to mention, the cover will prevent water from building up near the window.

We hope that Jeff is happy with his new waterproof basement. And if he ever is ready to make the jump to fully finished, he knows exactly who to call.

Larry and Julie began to notice something strange happening in their basement. Cracks that ran from the corner of the basement walls to the center had begun to develop. The couple didn’t know what these stair step cracks meant, but they also didn’t want to take any chances; So, they decided to give Ayers a call.

After an inspection with a qualified sales rep, Larry and Julie found out what was wrong with their basement. The walls had begun to bow inward due to pressure from the outside soil and ground water. The pressure was so great that one of the walls was bowing in over 7 inches.

The team set out to straighten the walls permanently using the wall anchor system. Using wall anchors requires the excavation of soil directly outside of the foundation. Once the team had exterior access to the walls, they installed earth anchors into the undisturbed soil and connected them to the foundation walls using steel rods and interior wall plates. The soil was then refilled, but only after steps were taken to prevent water from leaking through the exterior cracks with sentry seal, a waterproof membrane.

It was a good thing that Larry and Julie chose to call instead of ignoring the warning signs. Their foundation was at risk, but the wall anchor system will keep their walls and the rest of the house upright. 

Tom’s crawl space was having trouble when it rained. He recently had some work done and cuts were made in the floor to place deeper footings. Unfortunately, water started to seep through those cracks and flood the crawl space. There was already a sump pump and exterior discharge line in place. However, neither of these products were proving to be as reliable as Tom would’ve hoped.

The teams first task when they arrived in Allegan was to remove any standing water. They laid drainage tiles over the dirt floor to direct the flow of water.  Next up was improving the ineffective materials. Our SmartSump is a sump pump system specifically designed for crawl spaces. The system comes with a sump alarm that will alert Tom if the crawl space ever begins to flood again. To guarantee the water is out of the house for good, an IceGuard shield was installed on the discharge line leading out of the house. IceGuard is an alternative escape for discharging water to take, in the event that the line begins to clog from ice build up. The previously installed discharge line was above ground, leaving it vulnerable to freezing over when temperatures drop. An IceGuard will make sure that the line does its job year round.

The last thing anyone wants after making home improvements is to have more work done. We hope that our replacement systems will keep Tom and his crawl space both dry and happy.

Michaeleen was preparing to sell her Allegan home when her realtor suggested she have the foundation inspected. The home was built in 1924 and its age was starting to show. Walls were cracking, windows and doors were sticking, and it seemed like the entire house had shifted.

Our team went out and confirmed that the realtor was right to want an inspection. The preexisting jacks were failing and the foundation had shifted because of it. The team went into the crawl space and installed 2 new SmartJacks. The jacks were attached to the sagging floor joists and then adjusted to a height that would straighten the foundation. Our SmartJacks are made from galvanized steel, so they won’t be damaged by the heavy moisture known to hang around crawl spaces.

The new stable foundation should make selling this home a lot easier. Good luck, Michaeleen!