What is Hydrostatic Pressure and How does it Affect your Basement?
The pressure building up is not something that you can see happening, you won’t know it is there until walls show signs or you may have random water in the middle of the floor with no signs of entry. These signs of wall failure include cracking, walls pushing out at the bottom, or sliding in at the top. Signs of wall failure can be very intimidating when you first notice them but there are many options to resolve it and make your home safer.
The most common solution for wall failure is total foundation replacement. Foundation replacement is not only extremely disruptive to the client’s daily life but it does not actually address the real issue. The soil is the problem, not the foundation. Replacing the foundation will do nothing for the pressure coming from fluid in the soil around your home.
Ayers basement systems offers a variety of solutions that can be tailored to our individual clients’ needs. When there is little or no access available outside the home our CarbonArmor system is perfect. CarbonArmor is a material that is significantly stronger,10 times, than steel. Its flexible design allows it to adhere tightly to the wall, even if it has a slight bow, and has a low profile design to be easily installed in tight spaces or behind obstacles. Our PowerBrace System is designed for supporting the basement wall and allows for tightening over time. The zinc-coated beams have a non-toxic surface that make the entire system resistant to corrosion and abrasion. PowerBrace has a patented tightening system that allows for walls to be straightened over time. If there is access available outside of the home we can install our Helical Anchor System. This system is ideal if water leakage is not a concern and your basement walls are bowing, tipping in at the top, or pushing out at the bottom.The Helical Anchor System is designed like a screw and is advanced through the soil to more competent soils to support your basement walls. Our Wall Anchor System, similar to the Helical Anchor System, uses competent soils to address wail failure. It uses steel earth anchors connected to your walls by low profile wall plates. Once all components of this system are connected your basement wall is permanently stabilized. The Wall Anchor System causes minimal disturbance during installation, provides the opportunity to straighten walls over time, and can be installed around various wall obstacles.
Now that we all have a better understanding of what hydrostatic pressure is and how it affects our homes, let’s not wait until it’s too late. If you notice any signs of wall failure in your home call us for a free estimate.
