Before & After Photos

Star-step cracks were appearing in a foundation in Taylorville, IL, so the GeoLock Wall Anchor System was installed. These are galvanized steel earth anchors embedded into the soil out and away from the foundation wall. Once installed, these will hold the walls in their current position and can be tightened to allow for improvement and straightening of the wall over time. These can be installed around obstacles on the wall such as pipes, sinks, or furniture. This is the best solution to straighten the wall over time, as it can fix severe problems and stabilize the foundation for good!

The finished basement of Murali K.’s Mount Vernon, IL home was having major problems. Cracks had formed in the foundation walls that were allowing water to get in and wreak havoc on the finished walls and floors so he called Woods Basement Systems. Woods recommended installing Geo-Lock Wall Anchors alongside a waterproofing system.

Woods installed the Geo-Lock Wall Anchors along the cracked foundation wall to counteract the external soil pressure that was damaging it. To do this, they connect earth anchors buried in stable soil conditions in the yard to walls plates on the inside of the walls using galvanized steel anchor rods. The system is tightened to permanently stabilize the wall as well as to prevent future damage.

External soil conditions can put tremendous pressure on walls and cause damage like bowing, tilting and cracking. The home that Keith and Michelle S. had just bought in Mount Vernon, IL  had foundation walls with extensive damage. They were bowing to a severe degree and large horizontal and stair step cracks spanned the length of the walls. Keith and Michelle worried that the walls were going to collapse so they called Woods Basement Systems. Woods recommended installing PowerBraces.

Woods installed the PowerBraces along the damaged walls. They are adjustable steel beams that are custom fit to each basement. They are held snugly in place against the walls by steel brackets attached to the cement floors and the floor joists above. They permanently stabilize the walls in place and prevent future damage. PowerBraces are zinc-coated to prevent them from rusting and they offer the opportunity to improve walls by tightening them during dry conditions.

Over the years, several of these Mt. Vernon, Illinois basement's walls had become badly cracked. The homeowner worried that, if left unchecked, this damage might eventually cause a total wall collapse. In order to reinforce the walls and put the homeowner's mind at ease, a Woods Basement Systems team installed several GeoLock wall supports. These work by connecting heavy anchors buried in the firm soil far from the home to steel plates affixed to the interior surface of the damaged walls, effectively pulling them outward and straightening them over time. 

SmartJacks were used to stabilize and level the sinking floor in this Mount Vernon, Illinois crawl space. Team Woods installed several SmartJacks throughout the crawl space to reinforce the troubled foundation.