Bowing Basement Walls And Possible Damage To Your Home Atlanta, GA

Bowing Basement Walls And Possible Damage To Your Home Atlanta, GA

The structural integrity of your house is critical for the safety of your family as well as for the security of your assets. Since the basement is part of your home’s foundation, indications of bowing basement walls will certainly worry you.

You should be worried to see any indication of bowing basement walls because if left unattended, the problem can develop into serious horizontal cracks. These cracks may cause the basement walls to curve even further and collapse.

It is important to know what causes bowing basement walls and what a basement repair professional can do to help you fix the problem.

What are the causes of basement wall bowing?

A number of factors can cause basement walls to curve inwards. These include:

Heavy rains

Heavy rain is notorious for causing the soil that surrounds the basement walls to become saturated with water. The excess water that the soil contains raises the hydrostatic pressure that the wet earth exerts on the basement’s walls. Too much hydrostatic pressure can cause your basement’s walls to start bowing inwards.

Plumbing system leaks

A leaking plumbing system may seem harmless. However, if the leakage is not fixed on time, it can cause moisture to accumulate in the ground that borders the basement walls and even within the basement. When this occurs, the basement walls can start bulging and bowing inwards due to increased hydrostatic pressure.

Tree roots

Large or dense roots of trees planted near a house can cause significant damage to basement walls. This occurs as the roots grow and increase the soil’s lateral pressure on the basement walls and the foundation. Coupled with the soil’s hydrostatic pressure, this causes the basement walls to bow or buckle.

Poorly graded landscape

If your home is such that surface runoff and water from gutters and downspouts flows towards the foundation, there will be notable water damage on your basement walls. This includes bowing of the walls.

Solutions to bowing basement walls

If the walls of your basement are bowing, your contractor will use the following methods to fix them:

• Steel bracing – Steel structures are used to reinforce the walls that are bowing.
• Wall anchors – These are structures that are used to reinstate lateral strength in walls to prevent further bowing.
• Carbon fiber – The high tensile strength of carbon fiber makes the material appropriate for reinforcing bowing walls.

Contact the Professionals at Everdry Basement Waterproofing Atlanta Today! (678) 741-2900