Tips and Tools for Real Estate Agents or Home Inspectors: Wall Movements and the Benefits of Braces

Greetings from all of us here at Midwest Basement Systems, a resource for all of your basement, foundation and crawl space building science and inspection knowledge.

This month we are talking about the three stages of wall movement for foundations and the benefits of a PowerBrace® system compared with anchor or conventional brace.

Three Stages of Wall Movement for Block Walls

1. Horizontal Cracking- usually a single horizontal crack on a block wall that occurs around the middle to upper portion of the wall or near the frost line. This is the beast time to repair the wall to maintain as much structural integrity as possible and avoid replacement.

2. Stair-step cracking- This is cracking that commonly occurs at the corners of the foundation indicating a bellying of the wall. This is a sign there has been significant wall movement both bottom to top as well as side to side. The wall is most likely still repairable but needs addressed immediately. 

3. Shear Break- The bottom block remains in place behind the concrete floor, while the second block slides forward breaking away from the bottom block. The final stage prior to a collapse, this is an urgent issue and needs repaired yesterday.

PowerBrace®  is a foundation repair system designed to stabilize failing walls with several advantages over other methods.

• No outside excavation required. The braces are placed inside the basement space along the foundation wall and drilled into the concrete floor slab and upper floor joist, exerting opposing pressure on the failing wall.

• Another benefit from an I-beam brace system is that the brace can be adjusted and tightened at the top of the wall as opposed to the middle like anchors. This allows for access with a drop ceiling and easier finishing options.

• PowerBrace® beams have a zinc coating making them rust resistant in case of any other water problems.

• There is little disruption to the home owner. A brace system takes less time to install and causes less mess and headache. The braces rest right along the side of the interior basement wall, taking up minimal space and make for a neat and clean look. 

Anchors are a tested method of foundation repair but require exterior excavation which can be ugly and time consuming. They also depend upon exterior soil conditions to maintain wall pressure. With a brace system all of this can be avoided and therefor the problem can be solved quicker, cleaner and more confidently.

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About us

Founded in 1995, Midwest Basement Systems has grown into Iowa's Premier and Largest Basement Waterproofing and Foundation Repair contractor. Over the years we have won a number of awards including the Better Business Bureau "Integrity Award" in 2010 that is only available to be one every ten years.    

We are a member of Basement Systems, which is an association of 300 waterproofing contractors in seven countries around the world. This association is a collective brain bank of waterproofing, crawl space repair, and foundation repair techniques