Before & After Photos

Judy P. called because she was concerned about the multiple cracks in her basement walls that had been forming over time. Our team of experts visited her home and found two signs of wall failure in her block foundation walls. The first problem we found was horizontal cracking, which is one of the first signs of wall failure and is likely caused by pressure being exerted on the wall from the surrounding soil. The second problem area we found was stair-step cracking which is usually a sign that the problem is getting worse and needs attention.

In order to save Judy’s failing wall we decided to install the PowerBrace system, which supports your foundation wall. This system consists of steel beams that are fastened to the joists above the wall, which can easily be tightened to straighten the wall over time. The beams are coated with zinc, which is a non-toxic substance that will protect them from corroding. This brace system was a perfect fix for her failing foundation wall because it uses a “joist reinforcement method” that transfers the weight evenly across the basement ceiling and ensures the beams do not disturb the floor above.

The basement foundation was clearly leaning and unstable in the before photo. The homeowners were advised to completely rebuild the wall, but we provided them with a much less drastic, but equally as effective solution: Shotcrete. This concrete is sprayed through a high pressure hose, and reconstructs the wall. Less invasive than completely replacing the foundation, Shotcrete does a great job at supporting and restructuring this basement wall.

This Grand Rapids, MI home had cement block foundation walls with multiple hairline cracks. The walls were also beginning to bow inward and the homeowner wanted to issue fixed before further damage occurred. We installed the PowerBrace system that used zinc coated steel I-beams to stabilize the failing walls and potentially straighten them over time. The base of the steel brace was installed in the floor at the footing of the wall and the top of the brace was securely attached to the joist above the wall. Using the specialized joist reinforcement method, this system works to stabilize and adjust the wall over time without damaging the floor above.

You know that weird sound that old floors make when you walk on them? That sound happens because of poor foundation for those floors. A homeowner from Grand Rapids had a similar problem with her floors and she called us to get it fixed. We drove to her property and installed our SmartJack system.  The SmartJack is a support system used to stabilize and level the floor joists in a crawl space. This system can support up to 60,000 pounds. The SmartJack system is placed on strong concrete fillings that have replaced the soil in that small location underneath the SmartJack. Now this homeowner will never have loud floors ever again.

Our customer is interested in purchasing a home and called us with a couple preexisting issues such as floor sagging, standing water, and rotting wood.  This crawl space was in desperate need of an overhaul.  Most of these issues were caused by high relative humidity; adding waterproofing and a vapor barrier will help to combat these issues.  Using a vapor barrier called CleanSpace, as well as our SaniDry Sedona dehumidifier and a Smart Sump Pump we are able to cut down a lot of excess humidity.  With the rotting wood holding up the floor of the house replaced with Smart Jack Assemblies, we were able to also fix the sagging floors as well.