Leaning Foundation Wall Repair

Repairing Your Leaning Foundation Wall

Leaning foundation walls are a significant problem for a number of reasons, including weakening a key support for your home’s structure, creating gaps for moisture and infestation and potentially causing growing, widening cracks that could indicate coming wall failure.

Leaning basement walls affect your home’s structural integrity, possibly causing floor shifts, windows and doors to start sticking, tilting chimneys or other issues.

Foundation walls normally start leaning due to lateral forces from hydrostatic pressure. The three most common causes are wet clay soil, soil expanding due to moisture, or frost heaving when cold temperatures cause soil to contract. In masonry basement walls, this pressure normally causes cracks in the mortar joints between blocks or bricks, oftentimes creating a stair-step pattern. In poured concrete walls, the lean is normally at the top where soil is looser, and diagonal cracks can start to form in the corners.   

There are a number of solutions for repairing a leaning foundation wall, including wall anchor, brace or carbon fiber repair systems, depending on underlying cause of the issue, the extent of the lean and your home’s unique circumstances. 

Before & After

August 14, 2020  |  Before & After Crack Repair in Grandview, MO In this crack repair case study, we review the epoxy method we used to remedy this house flipper's cracked foundation problem in Grandview, MO.

August 14, 2020  |  Before & After Carbon Fiber Vertical Wall Restraints For bowed wall repair, carbon fiber vertical wall restraints are frequently used. We use this repair method at Thrasher Foundation Repair – learn about carbon fiber here.

August 14, 2020  |  Before & After Kansas City, MO Bowed Wall Repair Using Steel Beams A repeat client contacted us for bowed wall repair in Kansas City. Thrasher Foundation Repair installed steel beams and a waterproofing system.

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Frequently Asked Questions

• What is a wall anchor and how are they installed? 

  Wall anchors are one of the most proven and widely used methods of repairing basement walls damaged due to foundation issues. Not to be confused with drywall anchors, wall anchors are two metal plates, one placed in packed soil in your yard, the other placed against your basement wall, joined by a steel rod that can be rotated to bring the anchors together, restoring bowing, leaning and cracked basement walls to a straight vertical position.

• What is a push pier and how is it installed? 

  A push pier is a foundation bracket placed along the footing of a building foundation to prevent sinking. Push piers are installed after the ground around the building foundation has been excavated and are anchored deep into stable soil to better support the building. A series of push piers are often used to help distribute the weight of a building onto the stable soil that anchors them.

• How long does a typical foundation repair project take and how much of my yard will be disturbed? 

  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.

• I have some cracks in my foundation and a few in my basement, how do I tell if they are serious? 

  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.

• I have cracks in the drywall on some of my interior walls. What caused this? 

  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.

• What type of warranty is offered on the work performed? Does the warranty transfer to the new owner if I sell my home? 

  Thrasher guarantees customer satisfaction, offering a transferable warranty. Foundation repairs, basement waterproofing and crawl space repair are backed by 25-year warranties, while concrete repairs have a 5-year warranty and egress windows have a 10-year warranty. When any owner sells the home where Thrasher has performed the work, the warranty transfers to any new owners, through the life of the warranty. 

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