Tag Archives: bowing walls

Are Bowing Walls Serious?

What You Need To Know

bowing wall spotlights with damaged wall in backdrop

First Things First. Are bowing walls in your Virginia home serious? The answer is a definitive yes.

Bowing walls occur when excessive exterior pressure affects the foundation and its wall support. Because of this pressure, walls curve inward forming a “bow”. When this exterior pressure becomes too much for foundation walls, they begin to bow, crack, or even break. You should not ignore a bowing wall in your basement. In fact, if you continue to ignore a pressurized wall, it may eventually collapse and cause severe damage.

As established, bowing walls occur because of exterior pressure, or hydrostatic pressure. This pressure is caused when the ground around your home is saturated with water. When too much water accumulates, it starts to “push” or exert pressure against your foundation walls. Additionally, when this water turns into frost, the soil expansion becomes permanent during colder months. This is why it is important to have an industry expert inspect your home’s foundation.

Call A Foundation Expert

When foundation experts come and inspect your home, they will get a better picture of the damage that has occurred. When it comes to your foundation, severe damage can completely compromise the integrity of the entire structure and cause your house to be too dangerous to live in. So this is why it is vital to get a professional analysis. At Reliable Waterproofing and Masonry, we will inspect your bowed walls and discover where the problem began. For instance, is there a tree root causing hydrostatic pressure, or has severe precipitation and perhaps a lack of waterproofing lead to bowing foundation walls.

A Few Solutions For Bowed Walls

There are several solutions for bowed walls. When answering the question: are bowing walls serious, we can all agree that they are, in fact, quite serious. With this said, what can you do about this?

Exterior Drainage Systems: We can install state of the art drainage systems to keep your basement dry and to decrease wall damage. These exterior management systems provide more space for water to flow within the soil beneath a home. Some exterior drainage products include channel drains, sub-surface drainage, and dry wells.
Foundation Repair: Oftentimes, it is necessary to fix foundation issues before installing exterior draining systems. For instance, in order to properly install any new exterior system, proper wall anchors need to be in place, and helical and push piers should be in place to ensure a foundation’s safety before starting new waterproofing measures.
Interior Drainage Systems: Another great option to prevent bowing walls is to install interior drainage products. In fact, these diversion water systems take the increased moisture away from the foundation surface and filters it through an interior source like a sump pit.

We Can Fix Bowed Walls

Reliable Waterproofing & Masonry can help with your bowed wall woes. Reach our expert foundation contractors in Virginia today by filling out a form on our Contact Page. Or, Call our main office at 804-674-0273. Let us find solutions to all of your bowed wall issues AND all of other waterproofing and crawlspace repair.

Soil Can Damage My Home’s Foundation?

This weekend, it will be warming up, but it will also be starting to rain. All weekend we will have showers in Richmond. We’ve also had wet conditions before this, and it might be starting to take a toll on your home. Did you know that water can saturate the soil and cause your foundation big problems? Find out how and how to resolve it in this article.

Hydrostatic Pressure and Your Home

When the soil under and near a home is not compacted correctly, it can be loose and turn to mud easily. When enough water from rain, flooding, or otherwise gets into the soil, it becomes saturated. This now wet, heavy soil begins to push against the foundation and cause unexpected pressure in those areas. The foundation was not built to withstand this pressure because it’s not supposed to be there. So, eventually, the foundation will begin to crack from all the pressure on it. This can lead to wet basements, insects, and pests, and even eventually to bowing walls. So, what can you do to resolve the issue?

Why Isn’t Wall Crack Repair the Answer?

It seems like the obvious answer–patch the crack with wall crack repair! However, it’s not as easy as it seems. While the wall crack repair would hold up for a little while, it would only be masking the real issue. This is dangerous for you not only because it can lead to instability and an unsafe home, but it can also lead to a buildup of hidden mold that affects your air quality. This is even more dangerous if new people were to move into the home and not know about the “patch” job on the wall crack. They may assume everything is fine when they have an unstable home and a mold problem. The key to resolving a wall crack is to find the root of the problem. Make sure that the real problem is resolved before wall crack repair.

Solutions for Foundation Damage

In most cases, this is a foundation issue. Foundation repair can easily be completed with underpinning products such as push piers, helical piers, or even carbon fiber strips. This will all depend on the severity of the problem and if the walls are already bowing from undue pressure. This is when it’s important to get the opinion of a professional contractor like those at Reliable Waterproofing & Masonry. We will perform a free estimate, look for the root of the problem, and then make a recommendation on our advice for resolving the issue. Plus, we’re happy to answer any questions that you might have!

Contact Reliable Waterproofing and Masonry for Wall Crack Repair

While we won’t JUST repair the wall crack, we’ll make sure to get to the root of the issue so you never have this problem again. Contact us for more information about Reliable Waterproofing & Masonry and about wall crack repair.

Foundation Repair for Virginia

Do you have floor or wall cracks? How about bowing or leaning walls? Does your chimney look like its leaning? Do you ever worry about foundation failure for your Virginia home or business? Then call Reliable Waterproofing & Masonry. We have the solutions for all your foundation failure, masonry, and concrete problems. While our name may suggest that we only offer waterproofing and masonry services, we offer a variety of foundation repair, waterproofing, masonry, and concrete repair options for your specific needs.

If you notice things like floor or wall cracks, bowing or leaning walls, or a leaning chimney while walking around your Virginia home or business, you may be in need of foundation repairs. Not sure whether or not your home or business is being affected by foundation failure? Well we have a list of common problems that may pop up around your home or business. These can help you identify foundation failure easily, and early so that you can promptly receive foundation repairs. Some of these common problems include:

These are all signs of foundation failure. Now, you should not panic if you see these signs. They do not mean your house will collapse any second, but you should also not ignore them either. If they do mean foundation failure, ignoring them will leave the problem to get worse and worse. This could not only create more common problems around your home or business, but it could also mean more complex, time-consuming, and expensive repairs when you get them.

If you notice these signs of foundation failure, call Reliable Waterproofing & Masonry. We can help you identify for sure if your Virginia home or business is experiencing foundation failure. We can help repair your foundation failure with our variety of foundation repair options such as:

Reliable Waterproofing & Masonry has the tools to help you fix your foundation. Give us a call today to learn more about our foundation repair, waterproofing, masonry, or concrete repair services. We want to help you feel safe and secure in your Virginia home or business, and with the help of our foundation repair services, we can help you get there. Reliable Waterproofing & Masonry has your back, no matter the problem. Contact us today!