Bowing Walls
The shifting and expansion of the clay soil outside the foundation caused the basement walls to crack and bend inward.
PowerBrace Beams
Instead of replacing this wall, which is expensive, time-consuming, highly disruptive, and won't fix the problem, we installed PowerBrace steel beams. The PowerBrace System is a patented system that can be tightened. That means it can actually improve the condition of the wall over time!
Foundation Crack
In addition to foundation wall problems, this home's foundation was shifting, causing cracks. This foundation crack used to be small, but grew over time.
Stair-Step Crack
A telltale sign of a shifting foundation is stair-step cracking. It occurs when the foundation around and beneath the home settles or moves because of unstable soils.
Foundation Excavation
The first step to stabilizing the foundation is to excavate the area around it, to expose the footing.
Permanent Stabilization
A steel bracket is secured to the foundation footing at each pier location. Since the foundation bracket is installed before the piers are driven into the earth, the push pier can take advantage of the home's structure, stabilizing the pier as it is advanced deep below your foundation to competent soils.
Push Piers
Next, rugged, interlocking steel pier sections are hydraulically driven through the bracket until bedrock or stable soil is reached. The weight of the home is then transferred through the piers to this load-bearing soil. The home is now permanently stabilized in its new position!