Common Foundation Problems

Foundation problems are more than an eyesore; they can put your home’s safety and value at risk. Foundation problems are a required disclosure when selling your home. What might start out as a small crack, a very slight sag in the floor or some surface moisture gathering, could grow into a very expensive repair.

When your home was built, the foundation should have been properly set on compact, load-bearing soil. Over time, and with the seasons, that changes, shifting moisture levels and temperatures causing loosening soils to expand or contract, exerting significant hydrostatic pressure. That process is often accelerated by changes outside your home, including erosion, tree growth and new structures. This can lead to a number of foundation problems, including sinking or heaving floors, buckling, bowing and cracking walls, basement water issues and leaning chimneys.

Thrasher’s team of certified foundation repair experts is backed by 45+ years of experience and a team of structural engineers. We offer unparalleled expertise, superior installation methods and patented, industry-leading products and processes that set the standard for foundation repairs everywhere, all backed by the best, transferrable warranties.

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Sunken foundation repairSunken Foundation Repair When your basement floors or walls are sinking, sunken foundation repair restores them to their original position and repairs any damage, restoring your home’s structural integrity. Sunken foundation repairs often require push or helical pier solutions, shifting the weight of your home onto brackets and hardening unstable underpinning soil with injections.
Foundation crack repairFoundation Crack Repair Repairing foundation cracks will restore your foundation’s structural integrity, waterproofing your basement and preventing moisture, foul odors and other infestations from coming in. Wall anchors, braces or carbon fiber straps are common solutions for wall cracks, while push or helical piers are common repairs for floor cracks, but every foundation crack repair system is as unique as your home and the ground holding its footings.
Leaning chimney repairLeaning Chimney Repair One of the heaviest structures of your home, a leaning chimney can leads to gaps in your siding or foundation, falling bricks or most dangerously, combustible gas leaks. Depending on the specifics of your chimney, the ground underneath and its connection to your home’s foundation piers, smart jacks and wall braces can help straighten a leaning chimney.
Street creep repairStreet Creep Repair As concrete street and pavement around your home expands in warmer weather and contracts in colder weather, debris can fill the cracks in between sidewalk, street or driveway slabs, gradually negating expansion joints that would normally absorb the change in pressure and creating a very slow but very powerful force on your garage and foundation walls and floors. Installing new expansion joints and reinforcing walls with anchors can repair this street creep.

Foundation Repair Solutions

Your entire house sits on its foundation, so making sure your home is structurally sound and protected starts with making sure its foundation is solid and intact. When your foundation needs repair, you are protecting your biggest investment, as well as the health and safety of its occupants. Ignored too long, you risk foundation collapse, causing significant structural issues and very expensive and time-consuming repairs.

Foundations need repairs for a number of reasons, mostly involving improper construction, drainage issues and hydrostatic pressures created by soil in the moisture expanding and contracting with seasonal changes over time. The first signs your might need foundation repairs can be fairly minor – a window or door sticking, a small crack in the floor or wall, maybe some moisture gathering or condensing in a window. 

As these problems worsen, this can lead to cracking, bowing or leaning walls, as well as sagging or heaving floors, allowing moisture, foul odors and other infestations into your basement. Foundation problems rarely go away and almost always worsen left unaddressed.

Foundation repair solutions are unique to your home and its setting, ranging from anchors, braces and carbon fiber straps for walls to push or helical piers for floors and footings.

Wall repair systemsWall Repair Systems Wall repair systems – whether wall anchors, braces or carbon fiber straps – help repair and cracking, buckling and bowing walls, preventing moisture and infestations from getting into your basement and restoring your home’s structural footing.
Foundation pieringFoundation Piering Foundation piering systems – often either push pier or helical pier – help repair sagging, sinking or heaving walls and basement floors, shifting weight off of unstable soil onto brackets attached to the piers anchored in compact, load-bearing soil.

Our Approach to Foundation Repair

Thrasher has provided high-quality, long-lasting foundation repair solutions for more than 45 years. Trust our team of experts, supported by structural engineers, for long-lasting repairs for cracked or bowing foundations, leaning chimneys, and more. 

We use state-of-the-art materials, including maintenance-free carbon fiber strapping, and tried-and-true methods honed over almost a half-century of foundation repair work.

Your satisfaction matters to us here at Thrasher, and we want to make sure you are happy with our foundation repair services. And that’s why we offer a 25-year transferable warranty as well as guarantees on satisfaction, efficiency, and property protection.

When you’re ready for Thrasher to take a closer look at your cracking, sinking or bowing foundation, set up an appointment that works with your schedule. And we will deliver a same-day, no-obligation estimate with transparent pricing.

Before & After

Crawl Space Encapsulation Stops Musty Smell in Wichita Home January 20, 2021  |  Before & After Crawl Space Encapsulation Stops Musty Smell in Wichita Home This homeowner had horrible smells coming up into her kitchen and the rest of the home. Thrasher traced it to the crawl space and suggested a permanent fix.
Sump Pump Ensures Dry Basement in Grand Island | Thrasher January 19, 2021  |  Before & After Sump Pump Ensures Dry Basement in Grand Island | Thrasher This new homeowner purchased a home that previously had a wet basement repaired by Thrasher Foundation Repair and “inherited” the warranty that went along with it.
Egress Window Solution for a Growing Family in Eagle, Nebraska September 11, 2020  |  Before & After Egress Window Solution for a Growing Family in Eagle, Nebraska Thrasher Foundation Repair helped the Kosmicki's get something more from their home as they needed room to accommodate a growing family.

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Thrasher Service Areas

Proudly Serving Sioux City, Omaha, Wichita, Grand Island, Kansas City, Springfield and more.

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Cracked foundations, leaky basements and mildewy crawlspaces are often serious problems that shouldn't be ignored. If you feel you've put your repair project off long enough, financing can help you get it done now instead of later. It's not worth gambling with the investment you've made in your home!

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Frequently Asked Questions

  • A foundation repair project generally takes less than a day to complete with the proper
    assessment, trained experts and the right equipment. For repairs that require some yard
    disturbance – wall anchors or pier solutions -- a small surrounding area must be excavated,
    although disturbance is kept to a minimum, allowing for working in tight areas. The more
    widespread foundation problems are, the larger the repair system required, taking extra time.
    Once the project is completed, all signs of work will be covered as dirt is put back into place and
    landscaping restored.

  • If a foundation is properly set on the right soil, the house sits on a crown so water flows away and the gutters and drainage all properly work, your basement should be dry all of the time. Now,
    even if all of these things are true when a home is constructed, it can change over time. To
    guarantee a dry basement all of the time, you will have to make sure all of these factors remain
    intact over time, requiring extra viligance. Even the best viligance, however, won’t be able to
    catch everything, especially changes to the soil alongside and beneath your home, though
    proper drainage can go a long way to preventing these changes.

  • Sometimes the source of water intrusion into your basement is obvious, for instance a clogged
    drain, crack in a wall or failing mortar between blocks that allows water to get in. However,
    knowing the full path and source of that water leak can take some serious foundation detective
    work, requiring a trained expert with the right moisture detection tools. The cold joint, where the
    basement wall meets the basement floor, creating a natural seam, is a frequent point of water
    intrusion. Hydrostatic pressure, water building in loose soils, can also force moisture through
    porous blocks, joints and cracks.

  • Many minor cracks are simply visual, and not indicative of serious structural damage. However, to distinguish this from cracks that might show larger problems, you must look at the size and
    number of cracks. If cracks are more than 1/8 inch or spanning a large surface area, that's probably serious. If the cracks are growing over time, it likely signals the foundation starting to give way under pressure,which could become a very serious issue.

  • Drywall cracks, if not caused by seasonal changes in humidity, may also be caused by structural
    problems. For example, poor settlement leading to cracks in concrete slabs often indicates that
    sagging walls are next and drywall is soon to follow. If your house is built on uneven soil, the
    shifting and sinking will result in cracks forming on your interior walls.

  • There are several precautions to take when preparing your basement for finishing. First, make sure there are no moisture issues, including leaks, pooling water or condensation or dampness gathering on walls or other surfaces. Second, make sure all of the basement walls are plumb (straight vertical) and the floor is flat horizontally. If either of these things are off, that could indicate deeper structural issues that need to be remedied. Third, get your basement checked for radon and take appropriate steps to have any radon mitigated.

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Related Resources

Four Stages of Foundation Wall Failure September 11, 2020  |  Article Four Stages of Foundation Wall Failure When you see a symptom of potential foundation failure, it's important to address it as soon as possible. To help you know what to look for, here are the four stages of foundation wall failure to pay attention to.
How Foundation Soils Affect Your Foundation July 05, 2020  |  Article How Foundation Soils Affect Your Foundation Soil characteristics have a major affect on the foundations and other structures they surround, and play a role in foundation settlement problems.
Heavy Rains and Shifting Soil Impacts Your Foundation Walls June 02, 2020  |  Article Heavy Rains and Shifting Soil Impacts Your Foundation Walls The shifting soil beneath your home is the main culprit of settlement issues like sticking doors or bowing walls in your basement.

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