Foundation Repair Photo Album: Wyoming, MI Foundation Stabilizing

When our customer first called in 2015, his foundation's block walls were tipping outward and had vertical and stairstep cracks. There were no water problems in the basement, but the walls were concerning. When we did our inspection, we discovered that the foundation was sinking and even starting to crumble in places, which is what led to the leaning walls, and recommended a series of piers to stabilize it. They didn't move forward with the project, but a year later they called back because the walls were bowing further, the cracks were worse, and now they were leaking. We recommended the same course of action, plus a few C Channel wall anchors to stabilize the most severely bowed wall.

Porch Gap a Sign of Foundation Sinking

The gap between the foundation and the slab that makes up the porch is a sign that this wall of the foundation is sinking. Since the porch is also attached on other sides, it doesn't sink with the wall, creating the gap shown here.

External Foundation Cracks Show Severity of Problem

This foundation has cracked all the way through to the outside of the blocks, which calls its stability into question.

Cracked Foundation Wall Has Dangerous External Shift

As you'll see in the next picture, this wall is leaning enough at the point of one wall crack that there's almost an inch difference from one block to the next.

Close-up of Wall Shift

A closer look at the previous photo - almost an inch of difference at one point in the same wall means the stability of this wall is questionable.

Crumbling Foundation

Pardon the overexposure - instead pay attention to the way the slab foundation is starting to fall apart. Once it's crumbled it gets more difficult to fix, so piering was a time-sensitive matter.

Stairstep and Vertical Cracks in Bowed Wall

Block walls often get stairstep cracks when they bow due to the nature of their construction. This wall is bowing badly enough that it also has vertical cracks going straight through some of the blocks.

Cracked, Bowing Wall in Wyoming, MI Basement

When a wall bows with a stairstep crack, it looks like the blocks will just pop out at any moment. And this isn't out of the question, especially with how severely this wall is affected.

DIY Attempts at Crack Repair Always Fail

The discoloration around these cracks clues us in that someone has tried to seal them with some sort of DIY solution - likely rubberized spray paint or even spackle.

Revisit Shows Further Bowing

When we revisited the house, the walls were further bowed and, as you can see here, there have been more DIY attempts at patching the cracks.

Close-up of DIY Attempt

This is likely rubberized paint, which is a favorite for people trying to patch wall cracks. Unfortunately, it doesn't provide a long term solution against water and does absolutely nothing to increase foundation stability.

Widening Cracks in Bowed Wall

Go back to the photo of this wall from our first visit - look at how much the gaps have widened. These problems only get worse over time.

Severely Bowed Block Wall

This wall isn't too far away from flat out failure.

Wall Anchors Provide Stability to Severely Bowed Wall

These C Channel wall anchors are secured in the soil outside and, with regular tightening, they can hopefully straighten the wall. Even without straightening, these will prevent the wall from bowing further.

Wall Anchor Secured in Soil

Here's what the end point of the anchor looks like - a rod runs through the ground to the anchor plate and can be tightened over time.

Piering Stabilizes Foundation Under Porch

One of the piers was placed under the porch to stabilize the high traffic area.

Piers Stabilize Foundation in Wyoming, MI Home

Piers installed in the soil (and drilled down to a depth that will provide stability) take on the weight of the house to prevent further settling or shifting.