Home basements are the venue of a variety of activities. Some of these activities may be undertaken on a daily basis, while some may be occasional. In most urban homes, today, the basement is used to store extra supplies in groceries, harbor the laundry machine, and store extra furniture. Many basements also serve as alternative exits that are used to get rid of the garbage or trash in the house. You need to remember here, that it is the structural foundation of the house and puts up with a great amount of lateral soil pressure. The foundation serves to support the building framework, and the basement walls do show signs of the strain experienced by the foundation in due course of time.
A common occurrence in most houses- bowed walls often tend to appear after the basement has bee n used over a long period of time. What are bowed walls and how are they fixed? Do bowed walls give rise to cracks? Are the cracks on the walls of your basement treatable? On a careful look, you will find that most of the concrete or masonry walls are the ones which tend to exhibit this problem of bowing. According to wall builders, bowing happens due to the presence of too much lateral pressure that is exerted by the soil outside the building. However, when bowing sets in too early, then the cause can also be attributed to the lack of a strong, original design. Another strong reason that gives rise to bowed walls is poor drainage, waterproofing, or uncontrolled water flow within or outside of the walls.
Wall Grouting: A Close Look
Bowing does cause cracks in the wall of the basements. In case, these cracks and the overall bowing is not treated, then there is a chance of wall breakage. Engineers and construction managers undertake different processes to correct these problems. One such process is wall grouting, a technique that straightens the wall before reinforcing it. The process of wall grouting is a labor intensive process that straightens bowed walls and prevent wall collapse. The experts start out by sealing the cracks, that occur in the wall, and follow up, by drilling holes, in the vacant core of the block walls. Temporary jacks are attached to these holes and used to straighten them both from the exterior and interior. In most cases, the exterior of the building wall is excavated to facilitate the process of wall straightening using complex and heavy equipment.
Thus, you need to be on the look-out for signs of bowing and crack formation and immediately call in professionals in basement repair. Baltimore area residents must make sure they call the best professionals in order to get the best results.
Basement repair Baltimore- Looking for expert help in basement repair? Keystone Foundation Repair, Inc. offers expert basement repair services to residential and commercial customers in Baltimore.
