Basement Foundation Repair: What You Should Know

Basement Foundation Repair: What You Should Know

As a house ages and settles, it is inevitable that you will be able to see the basement foundation. The first step in basement foundation repair begins with evaluating the cause and severity. If possible, you should first repair what caused the damage, and then repair the damage that was caused. Once you’ve fixed the source that caused the damage, you can either repair the foundation yourself or hire a contractor who specializes in foundation repair, especially if it’s a serious repair. There are several causes for the need to repair basement foundations.

Aging

This is a common cause of having problems with your foundation. In older houses, bricks or stones were used to build basement walls. The bricks and stone were put together with mortar. It will eventually collapse, causing older walls to sag and start to leak. If your old brick or stone basement walls are structurally sound, foundation repair should be an easy fix. You will need to remove the old mortar and replace it with a pointed trowel. If the walls are sagging, you may need to attach them with a concrete base or replace them. Both need a licensed contractor to do any of the foundation repairs. If the load-bearing portions of the walls begin to crumble or sag, this is a serious foundation repair and should be done by a professional contractor.

Water

This can also be a symptom or cause of foundation damage. If you have water in your basement, you should look for cracks in the walls. If you see any cracks, they will need to be repaired. This is especially true in colder climates and the reason is that between thawing and freezing, it can cause more damage to the foundation. You can repair small cracks with a kit that includes sealants.

For larger cracks, there is a kit you can get, but it’s a good idea to contact a contractor who specializes in basement wall foundation repair. A large crack could indicate possible structural damage to the load-bearing members of the foundation. If you decide to use the kit, it will contain hydraulic cement which, when placed in the cracks, will expand and put pressure on each side of the crack, not allowing any more water to flow.

Filtration

This can happen because the waterproof coating was not applied correctly to the exterior basement walls or the coating has worn off and needs to be reapplied. To do a foundation repair for this type of problem, you need to re-grade the ground to ensure that the water flows away from the foundation. Re-sealer the walls or, in less severe cases, simply use waterproof paint on interior walls.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *