December 19, 2018

Problems to Watch Out for after the Repair of Bowed Basement Walls

If you have bowed basement walls, you will be presented with various options for the repair of your walls. Wall anchors are amongst the best solutions for the repair of bowed walls. They will help to stabilize your foundation and therefore make your home a lot safer than before.

Repairing bowed basement walls with wall anchors

Wall anchors are designed to provide bowing basement walls with a stable base of support. The anchors can also help to straighten the wall.

Wall anchor repair involves installing anchors into the soil on the outside of the bowed walls. The anchor is installed at a 20-degree angle. A rod running from the anchor is then passed through the wall and attached to a steel plate on the inside face of the wall. The rod is then tightened to support the wall and prevent further movement. This rod will have to be tightened periodically to straighten the wall and to maintain tension.

Problems that you may experience

Many homeowners would like to believe that all their foundation problems will be solved once and for all. They are therefore shocked to see cracks and other issues that they thought would be resolved with the repair of their foundation.

When you apply a foundation repair method that provides greater stability to the foundation walls and changes their orientation, you should be prepared to encounter various problems. These include:London, OH | Everdry Columbus

  • The appearance of cracks
While cracks are often a sign of structural problems under normal circumstances, they often aren't in this case. They are in fact only superficial cracks resulting from the repair activities. They can be easily repaired by patching them up and painting over them. Your wall will look as good as new.
  • Alignment problems with doors, windows and trim
If you had repaired your doors, windows or trim before the foundation repair was done, you can expect even more alignment problems. This is because the bowing or leaning of the walls has been corrected. Things aren't likely to line up once the walls begin to straighten out. It is therefore best to hold off on any window, door or trim repairs until your wall is straightened.
  • Damaged floors and ceiling
This depends on the material used to make your floors and ceiling. You may notice tiles cracking or popping out of place. These are only a result of putting stress on different parts of the home as the walls are straightened. Simply repair your floor when the foundation repair has been completed.