Repairing & Straightening Tilting Walls Near Georgetown, Richmond, Lexington
Correcting Tilting Foundation Wall Problems Quickly To Allow For Basement Finishing
We at The Basement Doctor of Central Kentucky are here to help with any tilting or bowing foundation walls. Straightening foundation walls is the specialty of our in-house foundation experts who have reliable solutions for making all kinds of foundation repairs.
We provide free, no-obligation foundation wall straightening quotes throughout our Kentucky service area, including Georgetown, Richmond, Lexington, the surrounding areas of Frankfort, Nicholasville, Danville, Winchester, Berea, Middlesboro, Shelbyville and nearby. Call or e-mail us today to schedule your appointment!
Basement walls that are showing signs of bowing, buckling and tilting can get worse over time and they should be addressed before finishing the basement.
However, most homeowners will want to finish their basement and enjoy the space right away and wall anchors may take some time before your wall has returned to its original position.
Your foundation repair expert can talk with you about options to quickly and effectively restore your foundation wall to its original, straight alignment.
What Causes Tilting Foundation Walls?
Pressure from the soil around your home's foundation varies based on the types of soil that are present, how much moisture is in the soil and how far underground your foundation extends.
Other factors that contribute to foundation issues include:
- expansive clay soils
- improper gutter systems
- hydrostatic pressure
- frost
- poorly graded soils
The constant pressure pushing on the foundation is not equalized because there is no pressure pushing the walls back out! If the outside pressure becomes greater than the strength of your foundation walls, they will surely begin to fail.
The first sign of failure is usually cracks in the masonry and then sections of the wall will actually begin to bow, buckle, or tilt inwards. If this problem is left alone, the damage will increase and can even result in walls that completely collapse. Luckily, this type of foundation failure can be fixed!
We can repair this damage using proven, long-lasting techniques that are much more affordable than the total replacement of the foundation. To stabilize bowing or buckling walls we often use a wall anchor system. Once a series of these wall anchors have been installed, the system can be gradually tightened to return damaged walls to their original straight orientation slowly, but surely.
In some cases, homeowners may want their bowing and/or tilting walls to be straightened right away as opposed to gradually. This will allow the basement to be finished or to be put on the market. A completely corrected foundation wall is possible regardless of the reason.
Basement walls can be excavated and straightened immediately rather than waiting to tighten the walls periodically if that's what the homeowner desires.
Repairing & Straightening Tilting Foundation Walls
At The Basement Doctor of Central Kentucky, we recommend correcting damage done to failing foundation walls with the GeoLock® Wall Anchor System.
Designed by Foundation Supportworks, this foundation wall system is currently being used by foundation contractors throughout the United States and Canada as a solution that permanently repairs failing foundation walls.
Excavating the Foundation Perimeter
The picture on the right shows severe inward bowing of a wall due to soil pressures. This severe soil issue is something that can cause serious damage to your home's foundation. We begin fixing a problem like this with the straightening process. The soil is excavated from around the foundation to relieve pressure placed on your foundation walls from outside moisture and soils.
When the foundation walls need to be straightened right away, exterior excavation is necessary. Signs of this include walls dangerously damaged and bowing, or if you have scheduled your basement to be finished. Typically, though, this step is not an essential part of all Geo-Lock™ wall anchor system installations.
Position The Earth Anchor
A whole is dug where each anchor will go outside of the foundation. To do this, a section of the sod is carefully and temporarily removed at each of these locations.
High-quality, galvanized steel makes up the earth anchors we install. They are made to resist corrosion each earth anchor has a center hole for attaching the rod that will be installed in the next step.
Prepare The Foundation Wall
Once the ground hole is complete and the earth anchors are placed, we drill a small hole in your foundation wall for the steel anchor rod that will extend from the wall to each earth anchor. The anchor rod is then driven through the soil until it can be attached to its earth anchor.
Other methods of wall anchoring may require a large hole or section of concrete block to be removed for installation, but our superior wall anchor system only requires a small hole of just 1" in diameter!
Mounting Wall Plates
On the inside of the foundation, a steel wall plate will be mounted to the anchor rod. This will cover and seal the earth anchor that has been attached to the anchor rod in the previous step.
When this is completed for each earth anchor, they can be tightened to continually straighten and support the failing foundation wall. With this installation, your foundation walls' inward movement will be permanently halted.
Straightening Basement Walls
Don't let your basement walls bow, buckle, or sag again- make sure to avoid excessive soil pressure in the future by adding gravel or drainage tile around your foundation. Your foundation repair experts will know exactly what to do to keep your foundation walls straight and on their way back to their original position.
Wall anchors will be tightened and adjusted accordingly and will provide long-term support for the walls.
Additionally, they will take care in restoring the sod and landscape around your foundation for a job well done.
Cleaning Up & Preparing For Basement Finishing
Inside your home, all wall plates can be covered with our attractive Hide-A-Way® Wall Anchor Covers to help them blend in with your basement finishing installation.
Outside your home, all holes created for the soil anchor installation will be carefully filled in with excavated soil and mechanically compressed. You will not be able to notice the difference because we take care to replace your sod and seamlessly restore any of your landscaping that has been disrupted in the process.
Contact Us For Foundation Wall Repair In Kentucky!
At The Basement Doctor of Central Kentucky, we take pride in providing a clean, reliable solution for homeowners in need of foundation wall repair. To help you decide if we're the contractors for you, we offer free written basement wall repair quotes for property owners throughout our KY service area.
We serve the Lexington, Richmond, Georgetown, area, as well as Winchester, Frankfort, Nicholasville, Shelbyville, Berea, Middlesboro, Danville, and many outlying areas. To schedule an appointment, call or e-mail us today!
Looking for a price? Get a no cost, no obligation free estimate.
our service area
We serve the following areas
- Berry
- Carlisle
- Clearfield
- Corinth
- Crittenden
- Crockett
- Cynthiana
- Denniston
- Dry Ridge
- Elizaville
- Elkfork
- Elliottville
- Ewing
- Ezel
- Farmers
- Flatgap
- Flemingsburg
- Frenchburg
- Ghent
- Hillsboro
- Hope
- Isonville
- Jonesville
- Keaton
- Mason
- Millersburg
- Moorefield
- Morehead
- Mount Olivet
- Mount Sterling
- New Liberty
- North Middletown
- Olympia
- Owenton
- Owingsville
- Paris
- Plummers Landing
- Sadieville
- Salt Lick
- Sanders
- Sandy Hook
- Sharpsburg
- Sitka
- Stambaugh
- Wallingford
- Wellington
- West Liberty
- Williamstown
- Worthville
- Wrigley