Wall Straightening in Frankfort, Kentucky
Challenge
This basement in Frankfort, KY, had a wall that was leaning in. The soil outside the wall was saturated, and all of that water weight was causing the wall to push inwards. The homeowner had largely ignored the bowed wall for months, until they noticed something strange. When the homeowner took a closer look at the bottom of the wall, they noticed the wall was shearing. Shearing occurs in the later stages of wall failure when a leaning wall breaks off from the bottom most block and begins to slide inwards horizontally. Luckily, the homeowner was aware enough to recognize that this wall needed attention from a professional immediately, and they gave us a call to inspect it.
Solution
Our Inspector told the homeowner that we could straighten the wall out with our PowerBrace system. The homeowner agreed, and we got to start the project within a few weeks. We first excavated around the home to expose the troubled wall from the outside. The excavation process helps relieve pressure off of the wall for when we have to push a sheared wall back onto the footing. After excavation, we then began bracing the wall with our PowerBraces. We installed a total of five braces evenly across the wall. We then securely attached the braces to both the ceiling and the floor using special brackets. After securing the braces, we were then able to tighten them. By tightening the braces, we were able to carefully push and straighten the wall back out on top of the footing. After we were happy with the straightening process, we then backfilled the hole outside of the foundation. Be sure to scroll through the photos below for a better visual understanding.
