The Basement Doctor of Central Kentucky Before & After Photos

This photo set taken from a basement shows the transformation of a bowing wall repair project in Frankfort, KY. The before photo highlights the shearing symptom, which happens in late stage of wall failure, and is super dangerous. Shearing occurs when there is so much external pressure that the wall slowly starts to slide inwards, right over the floor slab. This wall was at a very high risk for complete structural failure. After we repaired the wall with a bracing system, we were able to push the wall back to a plum position. In fact, our crew was able to push the wall back 3 inches far. This repair process was very delicate, but our crew was able to handle the pressure. If you wish to read more about this project, we have a case study that you can read by clicking here. 

This elevated front porch was sinking into the soil, which had caused a gap to form between the home's vinyl siding and the porch floor. The floor of the porch was also angled down towards the home, which made the porch awkward to walk on and put furniture on. Another problem was that the porch was covered, but whenever it stormed really badly, the rain ran towards the homes foundation. We fixed the slanted porch by injecting our polyurethane foam through the slab on the side closer side of the home. After we carefully injected the slab, we were able to even the porch back out again, fixing all the problems the homeowner wished for.

This home's front side wall in Harrodsburg, KY, was moving inwards towards the basement floor. Because the backside of the home features a walkout basement, there wasn't enough opposing soil pressure on that side to suggest a traditional wall bracing system. Without the counterforce, bracing the front side wall could cause damage to the floor joists and even cause the backside of the home to kick outwards near the top of the wall. Because of this situation, we suggested repairing the wall by installing our helical tieback system and our wall anchors. We were able to drill our helical rods horizontally through the front side wall into the soil beneath the lawn in the front yard. After pulling the wall back, we then tarred the wall around the rods to seal the wall, safeguarding it from leaking. Lastly, we anchored the wall with our wall plates to help secure the rods. You may also notice that we waterproofed this basement as well by wrapping the perimeter with our WaterGuard subfloor drains, wrapping the walls with our white CleanSpace vapor barrier, and installing a sump pump (not pictured). 

This basement in Owenton, KY, was experiencing immense amount of water pressure outside the foundation. The horizontal crack along the wall in the before picture is right where the frost line is in the soil outside the basement. A wall may bow and crack horizontally near the frost line due to frost heave — a natural but damaging process that happens when moisture in the soil freezes and expands.  We relieved the pressure by first waterproofing with our subfloor drains and our sump pump. We then stabilized the walls by installing our steel PowerBrace I-beams. We also added a CleanSpace vapor barrier behind the beams to help drain wall leaks down into the subfloor system. The homeowner was happy to know that they no longer have to worry about their leaky bowing walls. 

We encapsulated this dark, pea-gravel crawl space in Junction City, KY, with a CleanSpace vapor barrier to reduce humidity and create a cleaner, brighter environment. The homeowner already had a ventilation system in place, so no dehumidifier was needed. We also installed SilverGlo insulation panels along the walls (concealed behind the barrier) and sealed the rim joists with spray foam for added efficiency. The result was a happy homeowner.