Basement Wall Reinforcement

The basement wall of your home is effectively a retaining wall. It is designed to support the pressure of the soil and water outside the wall, as well as the weight of the house. If the combined forces exceed the design capacity of the wall it may bow in and crack. Abnormally high water in the soil during seasonally wet periods of the year is the primary cause of overstressing of basement walls. The expansive forces exerted by marine clays may aggravate the problem.

Some noticeable symptoms of overstressing of your basement wall are long horizontal cracks that “stair step” up or down near the corner of masonry walls. In cast concrete walls the cracking frequently appears as a vertical crack more or less in the center of the wall with diagonal cracks on either side going upward from the floor towards the ceiling. The process is usually cumulative as the wall is overstressed and bows further with each wet season. If the conditions causing the distress are not addressed, the affected wall may eventually collapse.

The problem may be corrected either by eliminating the cause of the distress or reinforcing the wall to support the excess pressure. The latter approach is frequently much less expensive and intensive. There are several methods of reinforcing basement walls. The most cost-effective solution for a particular situation will depend on the type of wall construction, the extent of the existing distress and access for completion of the work. Frequently, improvements in storm water drainage on the property are all that is required to effectively eliminate overstressing and arrest further distress.