Before & After Photos

We got a call from this Lansing, MI homeowner when he noticed that the basement walls in his rental property were starting to crumble. Horizontal cracks running down the middle of a wall, like the one in the before picture, are one of the biggest hints to a bowing foundation. The foundation had been bowing inward for some time, and when it wasn’t addressed, things only became worse. With no sign of the walls improving on their own, the owner sought out help from the foundation experts here at Ayers.

The crew was able to save several of the walls with our Geo-Lock Wall anchors. However, the one pictured was beyond repair. To keep the foundation from completely giving in on itself, the crew excavated next to the wall and replaced the crumbling stone blocks with new ones. But before the crew could take away part of the structural integrity of the home, they had to stabilize the floor above. To do so, they used our PowerBrace system in a slightly different way than usual. PowerBrace is typically set up against bowing walls and spans from the floor to the ceiling to take pressure off of the foundation walls. In this case, it was set a few feet away from the crumbling wall, so that the floor joists remained supported while the old blocks were replaced. With all the walls stable again, the owner can go back to enjoying this property worry free.

This Lansing homeowner called us when they noticed that their basement walls were tilting in and one had a crack the length of the wall. We knew this was a big issue and wanted to fix it right away. We installed PowerBraces which are great for stabilizing foundation walls that are tilting inwards. The PowerBrace Foundation Wall Repair System not only halts movement but can potentially sraighten the wall. The PowerBrace System is made up of  steel beams that are secured to the joists above the wall for extra strength. This system has a very quick install and causes minimal distruabnces to the basement.

David and his wife are in their forever home and have been for many years. They wanted to home to last and to do that there were some things they needed to have fixed. They had some basement walls that were starting to bow and buckle so we stabilized the wall with CarbonArmor. The CarbonArmor Wall Reinforcing System is made out of carbon fiber straps that are secured to the wall and will keep the wall from moving any further.

Steve owns a duplex he rents to his daughter and worries about the condition of the building. He already spent money on restoring the garage with a different company, but saw that it drifted away from the main home again. Steve called Ayers and had our Foreman Evan inspect the home on his behalf due to him being out of state. After listening to Steve's concerns, he drafted a treatment plan that would reintroduce stability to the home's foundational soil and prevent further drifting.

Evan and his team installed a Helical Pier system to stabilize the home. The piers are installed by excavating the outer perimeter of the home and driving screw-shaped steel beams into the ground at an angle, past the weak soil, and into the frim ground. The tops of the beams are fitted with loadbearing concrete blocks that the entire home rests on.

One of the walls in this Lansing, MI basement was bowing inward and had multiple cracks in the cinder block seams. The homeowners wanted to do some remodeling in the basement, so they wanted the issue resolved before doing so.

To stabilize the shifting wall, we installed the CarbonArmor system that used carbon fiber straps to hold the wall in place. The straps are 10x stronger than steel and are adhered to the wall with a strong epoxy resin. Once attached to the walls, the system was secured into place with steel brackets to prevent the wall from continuing to shift and crack over time.