Repairing Your Basement Foundation As your home ages and settles, damage to the foundation of your basement is inevitable. The first step in repair should begin assessing what caused the damage and how severe it is. Before you fix the damaged foundation, you need to repair what caused it. If it is a minor repair, you should be able to fix it. If it is a large repair job, it is best to hire a contractor that is licensed to do this type of job.
Aging is a common reason for basement foundation problems. Many of the older built basements used building materials like bricks or stones that were put together with mortar, which is a paste used to bind building materials together. Overtime the mortar breaks down causing the walls of your basement to leak and sag. If the basement wall is okay structurally, the repair is simple. You can just chip out the old mortar and replace it using the tuck-pointing trowel. If the basement wall is starting to sag, you will need to have a contractor tie it into a concrete foundation that is new or replaced. Damage is especially serious if the parts of the wall that are starting to crumble or sag are load-bearing. Water is often a symptom and cause of foundation problems so if you see water in your basement check the walls to see if there are any cracks. If you see cracks, they need to be fixed immediately, especially if you live in a cold climate. If the water freezes and then thaws it could cause more damage. If the crack is small you can used a kit that contains sealers to repair them. In larger cracks, sometimes hydraulic cement is used for repair. This type of cement expands along with putting pressure on the cracks sides. This ensures that no more water will be able to get into your basement. Although it is possible to repair large cracks yourself, you should hire a concrete contractor to look at the damage. The cracks could indicate there is damage to the structure of the foundation’s load-bearing parts. Water in your basement could be caused by seepage through the walls from the outside. This may mean that the exterior waterproofing coating of your basement has worn away or was not applied properly. It will need to be fixed. This is another repair job that should be done by a professional as the earth will need to be re-graded to make sure that the water flow goes away from the basement foundation. For seepage that is mild, you can apply waterproof paint to the interior walls of your basement. Sealant will need to be reapplied to the exterior area.
Bama Concrete Finishing of Alabama is a full service concrete construction company. Be it commercial concrete pouring or drive way construction you can trust us for the best quality work. The next time you need a concrete construction company in Greater Birmingham, Huntsville, and Gadsden areas just give us a call at (205) 901-4112.