What Causes Bowing Walls?
Have you noticed your Peoria home’s basement walls bowing or leaning inward? There are several reasons why this may be, but one of the more common reasons is the soil that surrounds your foundation. When soil takes on water, it expands and places inward pressure (called hydrostatic pressure) on the walls. Under this pressure, walls can crack, tilt, or bow. And while this effect may lessen when the soil dries out, these wet-dry cycles can place enormous strain on your foundation and reduce the structural integrity over time.
Here at MidAmerica Basement Systems in Peoria, bowing walls are nothing new, as we have seen our fair share; and we can recommend the best solutions for your home. One of the common methods we use is foundation wall anchors, which utilize deep anchors placed in the ground outside your home. These anchors are attached to your foundation walls through steel rods and wall plates. This method provides long-lasting stabilization for your foundation walls with minimal disruption to your home or property.
Foundation wall anchors can repair many Davenport bowing basement wall problems. Soil anchors are placed in the ground outside.
Steel rods attached to soil anchors extend through the foundation wall and wall plates. Wall plates distribute clamping pressure. Tightening nuts on the threaded ends of the rods stabilizes the wall for a permanent solution.
Identifying Symptoms of Foundation Wall Failure
The signs of foundation settlement and basement wall collapse can appear quite similar, so it’s always best to have your local Peoria basement wall repair experts assess your home. However, there are a few symptoms to keep an eye out for, including:
- Stair-step cracks or horizontal cracks along your basement walls
- Diagonal cracks at the corners of walls or near door or window frames
- Walls leaning in from the top or sliding in from the bottom
- Inward bowing or bulging at any point
- Walls that are visibly damaged, allowing water and/or soil into the basement
Diagonal cracks at the corners of poured concrete foundation walls
Horizontal or stair-step cracks along seams of block foundation walls
Inward bulging or bowing at any point in the wall
Walls leaning in at the top or sliding inward along the bottom
Walls that are severely damaged and soil in the basement
Any of these could be a sign of foundation wall failure and require repair.
How Much Does Moisture Affect Clay Soils?
These two clay samples started out exactly the same in size, weight, and composition. The sample on the right was allowed to dry out, while the one on the left was kept moist.
If a small sample of clay can gain this much volume when it gets wet, just imagine how dramatic the changes are in the soil around your home!
Solutions for Bowing Basement Walls in Peoria
MidAmerica Basement Systems most often uses foundation wall anchors for a permanent solution to bowing walls. Our warrantied Geo-Lock™ wall anchor systems have been proven effective and can stabilize your foundation walls for good.
In cases where foundation wall anchors may not be an option, the PowerBrace™ system is a good alternative solution. This system uses a set of I-beams installed inside your basement to prevent further inward movement.
If you have noticed any of the above symptoms of potential basement wall failure, please reach out to us at MidAmerica Basement Systems right away. One of our basement and Foundation repair experts in Peoria can inspect your bowing wall and give you a free estimate to discuss your repair options.
Installing Foundation Wall Anchors
At MidAmerica Basement Systems, we recommend the Geo-Lock™ Wall Anchor System to stabilize failing foundation walls. Our Davenport foundation wall anchor contractors follow these six steps when installing our warrantied wall anchor system:
Holes are dug for earth anchors: We will determine the optimal location in your yard to maximize system effectiveness. Then, our team will carefully remove the sod and place it aside before drilling a hole for the earth anchor.
Once the outside hole has been excavated, our installation experts will core a small hole through the bowing basement wall and drive the steel anchor rod through the hole. It will extend below the soil all the way through your yard and into the hole we dug earlier.
The rod is attached to the earth anchor in the yard, and the entire piece is buried below grade using the same soil we removed earlier. Because all our wall anchor systems are made with premium galvanized steel, it won’t rust or deteriorate in your yard. Even so, every Geo-Lock™ earth anchor we install comes with a 25-year warranty against manufacturing defects, as well as our own in-house quality and performance warranty to ensure you get the protection your home deserves.
Once the exterior parts of the system are set in place, it’s time to place the wall plate inside. The rod we extended through the yard is situated in the center hole of the wall plate, and a large nut is screwed into place to stabilize your wall and anchor it in place.
Our team understands the importance of restoring not just the stability of your home, but its appearance as well. We make it a point to leave each property as we found it, which means restoring the sod we displaced earlier as well as any other landscaping that may have been disturbed.
Tightening wall anchors is an essential and ongoing part of our process. Geo-Lock wall anchors can do more than stop the inward movement of your walls. In some cases, they can actually straighten foundation walls over time, significantly repairing it or returning it to its original position.
Saving a wall with the PowerBrace™ system. This innovative system stabilizes bowing walls and can even straighten walls over time.
PowerBrace™ System
When foundation wall anchors aren't an option—whether there isn’t enough viable yard to work with or for any other reason—PowerBrace might be the solution to fit your needs. This interior bowing wall repair system uses a series of I-beams to brace and stabilize the basement walls against further inward movement, and it, like wall anchor systems, can help re-straighten walls over time in some cases.
Contact Us for Bowing Wall Stabilization and Repair
At MidAmerica Basement Systems, we're proud to provide warrantied solutions to permanently halt the inward progress of bowing, buckling foundation walls.
Get your free, no-obligation Davenport bowing basement wall repair estimate in Illinois or Iowa by calling the location nearest you or filling out our online contact form.