If you find your basement walls are bowing, you are in need of immediate professional help. Bowed walls in your basement can be a sign of serious structural trouble under your home.
If one or more of your basement walls is starting to bow inward, you need to act quickly before the damage gets worse. Those walls are holding up your entire home.
Why Are My Basement Walls Bowing?
There are a few different reasons why your basement walls are bowing, none of them good.
Excessive Water
When the soil around your foundation gets too wet, it swells and adds a lot of pressure to the foundation walls. This can be caused by heavy rains, melting ice and snow, or other extreme weather like hurricanes.
The extra water pressure can also come from a leak somewhere in the home. Even a toilet several floors up, a burst pipe, or leaks from an outside source will add more pressure to the walls and cause them to bow in.
Tree Roots
Large trees around your property also have large roots. These roots continue to grow for as long as the tree exists. Once they hit a solid object, like your basement foundation, they push against it.
They also absorb the moisture around the home, and cause the solid to shrink and shift. This puts a lot of pressure on the walls and will cause your basement walls to bow.
What to Do if Your Basement Walls are Bowing
The first thing you need to do is call an expert to come out and inspect the walls. They will then let you know if it is even safe for you to be staying in the home, at all.
They will then make plans to make the needed repairs to your walls to prevent them from falling down or caving in completely. They will make the needed repairs to make sure your home is safe for you and your family.
Prevention of Basement Walls Bowing
Once your walls are fixed, you should know what caused them. Then, you can take steps to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
Landscaping and Drainage
Getting proper drainage will help keep the water away from your foundation. The land needs to slope away from the foundation to make sure the water runs away from your foundation.
Take Care of Your Gutters
Keeping your gutters in good repair will keep the water running off your roof away from your foundation. Make sure there are no holes or gaps, keep them cleaned out of leaves and other debris, and make sure the spouts are facing away from the home.
Basement Waterproofing
Waterproofing your walls will help prevent your basement walls from bowing. It will direct the water someplace else and prevent water from seeping into the walls.
It can help prevent leaks, flooding, excess moisture, and even help with keeping mold and mildew away. It is your best investment for preventing your basement walls from bowing in the future.
Bowing Basement Walls
The first thing you need to do when you discover your basement walls are bowing is to call us here at Olson Foundation Repair. Our team of experienced and professional foundation repair contractors will carefully evaluate your home’s foundation.
Having a strong foundation is crucial for your home’s stability. If shifting water and soil causes your foundation to fail, you know repairs are needed. Restoring the support your foundation provides for your home is an urgent need, and our team at Olson Foundation Repair can help.