Straightening & Strengthening Foundation Walls

Foundation Repair Experts In Iowa

The PowerBrace™ system is designed to stabilize failing basement walls and provide the potential to straighten walls over time.

Foundation walls are designed to support heavy loads that bear down from above. But these masonry walls don’t have the same resistance to loading that comes from outside the foundation. That’s why soil pressure sometimes causes structural damage to foundation walls.

When soil pressure damages a concrete block foundation, the wall often develops “stair-step” cracks along the joint lines between individual blocks. The blocks can actually be pushed inwards, creating uneven or bowed sections. In a poured-concrete wall, soil pressure damage causes more random cracking, and the wall can either bow inward or tilt inward at the top.

Whether this damage occurs in a concrete block wall or a poured-concrete wall, it needs to be repaired so that it won’t worsen and seriously threaten the building’s structural integrity.

The PowerBrace™ System puts the power of the I-beam to work

Fortunately, it's often possible to stabilize and straighten bowed or tilted foundation walls using the PowerBrace™ System from Supportworks.

The PowerBrace™ System relies on proven performance of steel I-beams – the same structural building blocks that support the Empire State Building and other giant commercial buildings.

In a typical PowerBrace™ wall repair, steel I-beams are positioned vertically inside the foundation and in front of the bowed or tilted wall section. Each I-beam is secured to a fixed bracket anchored to the concrete floor and to an adjustable bracket bolted to a floor joist directly overhead.

By tightening the top bracket in stages, the I-beam exerts pressure against the wall, gradually pushing it back towards its original plumb position. The number of I-beams used depends on the scale and severity of the wall deformation problem.

The PowerBrace™ System offers a number of advantages over other techniques used to correct bowing or tilting foundation walls. It’s less expensive and less disruptive than excavating outside the house. The PowerBrace™ System can be installed year-round, and many wall repairs can be completed in one day. Thanks to the corrosion-resistant zinc coating on PowerBrace™ I-beams, these structural members will not rust and deteriorate over time. Most PowerBrace™ repairs come with a warranty against further bowing and tilting that lasts as long as you own your house.

Your Foundation Wall Repair Contractors In Greater Des Moines

At Midwest Foundation Repair we want to help you restore your bowing, buckling, tilting, or shifting foundation walls back to their original, structurally stable condition. To help you decide if we're the company for you, we offer free foundation wall repair quotes throughout our Iowa service area.

We proudly serve Iowa and areas such as Ames, Des Moines, Waterloo and Ankeny, Urbandale, West Des Moines, Marshalltown, Ottumwa, Fort Dodge, Cedar Falls and many other parts of Iowa.

Looking for a price? Get a no cost, no obligation free estimate.