Foundation Repair Photo Album: Gobles, MI Foundation Repair

After one family member contacted us with a laundry list of potential problems but, most notably, a very compromised foundation in his family's cabin, we arrived to find him, his parents, and even his grandmother. It was truly a family affair. The foundation did, indeed, need extensive repair, which we accomplished with a combination of wall anchors, Power Braces, and Sentry Seal, as well as some joist reinforcements to keep the house from dramatically entering the basement. We installed some drain tile in a few troublesome spots to finish off the room, and now the cabin is ready for the summer.

Cracked and Bowing Wall Needs Immediate Repair

Excuse the blurriness - basements are tricky when it comes to lighting. Even through the blur, it's easy to see how badly this wall is cracked and bowing out. Cracks on multiple sides of the same wall (note in the foreground the vertical cracks) indicate a severe problem with the structure.

Leaking Cracks Cause Headaches

In addition to compromising the structural integrity of the building, some of the cracked areas were also leaking, increasing the chances of water damage and mold in the basement.

Stair Step Crack in Exterior of Foundation

This is not great! Pressure from surrounding soil has pushed in the wall so badly that the blocks have actually separated. When this happens, it usually presents in a stair step formation, as seen here. If pressure continues or increases, those blocks are going to end up on the basement floor, along with all of the dirt pushing them.

Soil Expansion Leads to Bowing Walls

Here's an inside view of the effects of soil pressure - blocks slowly approaching falling out of the wall entirely.

Failed DIY Attempts at Fixing Wall Cracks

Everyone, at some point, will try to use something they saw in an infomercial to try to seal wall cracks. And then they'll call us.

Concrete Patio Slated for Removal

Sometimes, we have to do work that disrupts the surroundings of your home. In this case, we need to excavate right where this patio is. Our customers added "replace patio" to their proposal, so we did just that and poured new concrete after the work was done.

Unstable Basement Wall Threatens Collapse

If your basement walls look like a Jenga game, please call us. Walls can only lean so far before their instability and the increasing pressure from the soil and the weight of the house make them collapse entirely, and it's much more cost and time efficient to stabilize existing walls than to build new ones.

Getting Ready to Excavate

In order to install wall anchors and Sentry Seal, we have to excavate down the the base of the foundation

Extra Drainage Prevents Basement Water

We installed this cross tile drain between the two gutters, and connected it to a discharge line that comes out far into the yard rather than right at the foundation.

Excavated Foundation Ready for Sentry Seal

If you've ever wondered what your foundation looks like...it's probably this. Here, we've prepped the foundation for the Sentry Seal application.

Wall Anchors Secured in Stable Soil

Wall anchors work because we secure them in virgil soil away from the house, and then tighten them to stabilize and straighten the walls.

Sentry Seal Protects Basement from Water

When dealing with widespread cracks like the ones on this wall, and the water that can leak through as a result, sometimes an exterior solution is the best bet. The Sentry Seal membrane (the shiny black stuff seen here) will keep water out.

Reconstructing a Yard After Excavation

Your grass is kaput for a while, but it's a small price to pay for a house not on the verge of collapse.

Power Braces Reinforce Wall and Joists

One of the consequences of bowing walls is weakened joists due to the shifting pressure points in the foundation. We used Power Braces to stabilize and straighten parts of the walls, and added joist reinforcements to further stabilize the floor in the house above.