Waterproofing Concerns Turned to Foundation Wall Concerns, Lawrence, MA

Friday, June 17th, 2022 by Travis Kellogg

Challenge

A new homeowner in Lawrence, Massachusetts, has been living in their home since December 2021. After moving in, the homeowner had found spots in their basement where there is some moisture on the wall, and several cracks. After several months of observing the cracks, the homeowner decided it was time to contact a contractor to help solve the problem before it got worse.

The homeowner called Erickson Foundation Solutions for a free inspection and met with design specialist Chris Greenwood. They provided Chris with all the information about when they first noticed the crack and how it seemed to be getting bigger. After a thorough inspection of the foundation walls, on both the interior and exterior of the basement, Chris also discovered there was a significant bulge in the wall. With evident signs of a bowing foundation wall, it was clear to Chris the soils on the exterior of the foundation wall were heavy and wet, and as it became more saturated the soil pushed against the wall with enough force to physically move it.

It was a very good decision for the homeowner to have called for a solution, as this wall was in danger of complete failure if it was not addressed soon.

Solution

As the foundation wall in question was composed of mostly brick and mortar, there was a high risk of causing extensive wall damage if some of the existing bricks were removed. With this in mind, Chris designed and proposed the installation of an auxiliary wall. The word "auxiliary" means, "providing supplementary or additional help and support". The auxiliary wall does just that. Chris's solution was a supplemental, reinforced concrete wall that was poured right against the damaged, structurally flawed foundation wall. This new wall would provide sufficient support to the bowing wall and permanently stabilize it against the bowing soils.

Led by foreman Nick Carelli, the production team began the installation of the auxiliary wall by first installing PowerBraces. These wall braces were anchored to both the cement floor and to the solid floor joists above. These steel supports to assist with stabilizing the bowing wall, however since the wall is a brick structure, more was still required to fully contain the bowing.

After the PowerBraces and the rebar were installed, the team set up big metal forms to begin pouring in the concrete to create the auxiliary wall.

Once the forms were set up and secured, a concrete truck arrived on site. The crew opened up an egress window for access and the truck was able to pour the concrete directly into the forms. After allowing the concrete to cure for a couple of days, the crew returned to remove the forms and complete the auxiliary wall.

It was also noted to the homeowner that a full perimeter waterproofing system be installed, since there were signs of water entering the basement. However, this waterproofing system is to be designed and installed at a later date.