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It's time to reclaim the bottom floor of your home! Waterproofing your basement and sealing your crawl space has many advantages, including:

•  More Space for Storage or Finish it for Living Space!
•  Lower Utility Bills
•  A Healthier, More Comfortable Home
•  Increased Home Value

Foundation settlement is often the first step to serious foundation damage, including wall cracks, sticking windows, tilting chimneys, jamming doors, and, most importantly, the potential complete failure of the foundation itself. The problem will only become worse (and more expensive to repair) over time, so it's best to begin repairs for foundation settlement area right away.

Many different methods of leveling settling foundations have been applied over the years. These solutions, ranging from replacing the foundation entirely to less dramatic solutions like installing piers to support the foundation have all been applied.

Foundation settlement will continually compromise a structure. Eventually if it's not repaired or replaced, the foundation will fail completely, with potentially disastrous results. Foundation replacement is the most invasive, expensive, time-consuming, and disruptive solution, but if the foundation has deteriorated to a very advanced stage, it can be the only way to address the problem.
Foundation replacement is a very work-intensive project. The entire perimeter of the foundation will need to be excavated, and all landscaping must be removed. Shrubberies, trees, gardens, walkways, steps, porches, and other landscaping will need to be removed, and mounds of dirt will be heaped around the area. Temporary supports will be set in place to keep the house upright, and the foundation walls will be removed and rebuilt. After the foundation has been rebuilt and the mounds of dirt and landscaping have returned, the backfilled soil will experience some settlement- the area will need to be regraded in a year or so. Additionally, if nothing is done to help with the original problem of foundation settlement, the same problems that caused your first foundation to fail may also affect the new one.

These solutions are vary in how successful they are, and while they all look attractive on the surface, they are not equal. To meet with a foundation expert for a free foundation leveling quote, call or contact us online today!

If you're looking for an efficient way to add structural support in a smaller, lighter structure, the FSI Helical Pier System is a great option. Able to support patios, porches, steps, and similar structures, they can provide long-lasting support with an installation that lasts about a day. Helical piers are created with a steel shaft and corkscrew-like end. To properly install them, an area around the foundation must be dug out for each one. The pier is then driven into the ground below the structure. A bracket is attached to the footing of the structure, and to the helical pier shaft. Helical piers install easily on older or weaker structures and can be used for pre-construction or new construction bearing systems in poor soils.

Over the years, many methods of waterproofing have been developed. At Foundation Recovery Systems, we believe ours is one of the BEST systems available today.

We use a perimeter drain system engineered specifically to solve basement water problems effectively-- without worry of clogging from soils under the floor.

The sub-floor drainage system along the perimeter of the floor is designed to accept water from the walls without leaving a gap around the edges. Because it does not sit in the dirt, so clogging from silt and sediment under the floor is not a problem.

Our team of waterproofing experts will assess your wet basement to provide you with the best solution to solve your basement’s needs.

Three Types of Leaks
Locating where water is entering your home is key to choosing the appropriate solution, so mark the source whenever the seepage is active.

1. Over the Top of the Foundation Wall:

Water entering at the top of the wall, between the concrete and wooden sill-plate, is due to one of 2 things: The soil grade has been built up outside the home, higher than the concrete. Homeowners, in their efforts to keep water away from the foundation, build the dirt level higher than the concrete wall, ironically creating a seepage problem through the below grade brick or siding.

Sometimes there is an above grade penetration of water, due to a caulking or tuckpointing issue. Any water that penetrates the veneer of the house will run down the back side of the siding and appear at the sill-plate juncture in the basement.

The surest way to verify which of these two "spillover" problems you have is to water test by running a hose on the ground on a dry day. If water comes in, it is a below-grade problem. If water does not come in, then it is an above grade problem that will require caulking, tuckpointing or possibly roofing repairs.

The basement is a valuable part of your home and is designed to be dry, usable space, whether as a finished recreation room, a workshop, or simply a safe storage area. Once a leak occurs however, its usefulness and value is very limited - fortunately permanent solutions are available for all seepage problems. Review our solutions on the left for more information.

2. Through the Basement or Crawl Space Walls:

The most common basement leak is due to seepage through wall cracks. These cracks will continue to deteriorate and will eventually leak, and this seepage will get worse over time.

Other possible wall leaks are tie rod ends, honeycombed concrete and pipe penetrations.

3. Through the Basement Wall/Floor Joint:

Most modern homes are built with a drain tile system around the footings to keep water from creating pressure against the floor or cove area (floor/wall joint). Some drain tiles run into the sump pump, others to the city storm sewer system. If seepage occurs in this area, check your pump's operation first, if that is working normally, then your drain tile is not.