Foundation Repair Before & After Photos

After feeling their home begin to sink this Spruce, MI couple decided not to take any chances. Having a natural spring beneath their home brought immediate concern. The couple began searching for crawl space experts and quickly found us.

Upon assessing their needs, we devised a solution consisting of five Smart Jacks and a steel support beam to stabilize our new friend’s home. The Smart Jack is a supplemental support system for crawl space applications. The Smart Jack efficiently supports sagging beams and floor joists caused by, a length of span greater than spanning capability, floor load increased after construction, exceeding design values, and weakening over time due to high moisture and rot. We are so thankful for the opportunity to provide a permanent crawl space support solution for the issue this delightful Spruce, MI couple faced.

Ron called because there was a 3x5 area in the crawl space - the area under the chimney - where the floor joists were rotting through. We added new supports to the existing joists and bolstered the whole area with two SmartJack crawl space support posts.

This customer called because he noticed significant cracking in his basement wall. Our team of experts visited his home and found a sure sign of wall failure: horizontal cracking. Horizontal cracks usually start out small and continue to increase in size over time. Without a proper fix, the soil outside of his home will continue to put constant pressure on the wall, causing it to crack and bow inward even further. This can cause serious problems for a homeowner in the future if it is not taken care of. 

To prevent his wall from failing we decided to install the Geo-Lock anchor system. This system involved the installation of steel earth anchors underneath the soil out away from the home. These anchors are then connected and secured to steel plates located on the foundation wall using steel rods. This ensures your wall is stabilized and will not continue to bow inward any further. A great benefit of these wall anchors is that the rods can be tightened during dry periods when the soil is not pushing on the house as much, which can begin to straighten the wall over time. 

The mother and daughter-in-law of this Grayling, MI home called after they noticed the large horizontal crack running down the center of their basement wall.  Large horizontal cracks like the one seen in the before picture are one of the common signs that a wall is bowing inwards. The plates in the after photo, that partially cover the crack, are one of the ways the Ayers crew stop the bowing motion. Steel rods are connected to the center of the plate and extend to Earth anchors placed outside of the home in more distant and dependable soil. The anchors will pull tight on the rods to counter the pressure of the expanding soil and keep the wall from collapsing on itself. With our Geo-Lock Anchor system in place, both mom and daughter can rest easy without fear of any more problems occurring to their foundation.

Randall called to address a 3/4" crack in the block wall of his basement. When a wall starts bowing to the degree that cracks this large open up, you start to wonder just how long it well be before the wall completely fails. The good news for Randall was that there is an easy fix that will not only keep the wall from getting worse but can potentially straighten the wall over time. 

With our wall anchor system, Geo-Lock earth anchors are burried in the ground away from the foundation wall on the exterior of the home and are then connected to low-profile steel wall plates on the interior of the home by a steel rod. This holds the wall in place and can even be tightened over time during dry periods to potentially straighten the wall until it reaches its original position. These anchors worked great for this basement because obstructions like pipes and conduits are not generally obstacles to the installation and the only impact on the interior of the home is a 1" hole that is drilled in the basement wall for the steel rods.