Services
Basement Wall Repair in Metro Atlanta
When a basement or foundation wall bows inward or cracks, it is usually water-saturated soil pushing against it. We brace the wall with structural steel beams anchored top and bottom to stop the movement, and often recover a good deal of it where conditions allow.
When a basement wall starts to bow
A basement or foundation wall is built to hold back the soil around your home. When that soil gets saturated and heavy, it pushes inward against the wall, and over time the wall starts to bow, crack, or lean in. Left alone, that movement doesn't stop on its own. It ends in a wall that can eventually fail.
Warning signs
- A wall that's visibly bowing or leaning inward
- Horizontal cracks running along the wall, often near the middle
- Stair-step cracks in block or brick
- Walls pulling away or separating at the corners
- Doors and windows nearby that have started to stick
Why it happens
The usual culprit is hydrostatic pressure, water building up in the soil outside the wall with nowhere to drain, pushing against it with enormous force. Poor drainage, a negative grade, and Georgia's expansive clay all make it worse. The wall didn't fail because it was built wrong; it failed because the ground turned against it.
How we fix it: steel H-beams
We stabilize a bowing wall with steel H-beams, heavy steel beams set vertically against the inside of the wall, spaced along the affected span, anchored into the floor at the bottom and secured to the floor framing at the top. Where the wall needs more, we add channel between the beams and grout behind them so the block bears evenly against the steel.
Stopping the movement is the job we take on and the result we stand behind. Beyond that, we can often recover a meaningful amount of the bow and bring the wall back toward its proper alignment. How much comes back depends on the wall, the soil behind it, and how far it has already gone, so we tell you what is realistic for your wall after we have seen it rather than promising a number up front.
Wall anchors and tie-backs are a different tool for a different job. We use those out in the yard on retaining walls, not on basement walls.
And because we're masons too, we don't stop at the structure. We repair the cracked brick and block the movement left behind, so the finished wall is sound and looks whole again. One contractor for the whole job, and qualifying repairs carry a transferable limited warranty whose terms are set out in your written proposal.
