Basement Waterproofing & Foundation Repair in Duluth, MN

Now that you know how dangerous foundation wall cracks can be, you might want to take steps to avoid the wall cracks in the first place. Avoiding foundation wall cracks can be an important element of ensuring that your foundation stays as healthy as possible for a long period of time. 

• Always Invest in High-Quality Work  

Never spend your money on low-quality fixes for anything in your home, especially foundation repairs. Remember, the foundation is the basis of your entire home. If anything, you want to make sure your home’s foundation has the highest quality of anything so that it can keep your home safe and secure for longer.  

In this same vein, it’s a bad idea to try and DIY foundation work. If you take the DIY approach, it’s more likely that you’ll end up with significant problems regarding your foundation as a whole. DIY responses to foundation problems are never a good idea because they’re unlikely to fix the underlying problem. Instead, they’re much more likely to exacerbate the problems.  

• Do Regular Inspections   

Even if you’re the one doing regular inspections yourself, it’s still a good idea to do those inspections. When you do regular inspections, you can make sure that you’re paying attention to anything that might have changed from the last time you inspected the area. Plus, professional inspections are more likely to catch problems as soon as possible.  

When you get inspections from an expert, you’re going to fix your problems more effectively. With an expert’s advice, you’re less likely to end up with serious foundation problems that can require incredibly invasive and difficult procedures to fix the home. Talk to an Innovative Basement Authority expert today to make sure you get the appropriate fix.  

Most homeowners are able to recognize when their  current drainage systems are faulty. However, smaller issues can quickly grow out of control, too.  

It can be difficult for homeowners to pinpoint the true origin of these issues. Here are a couple of ways to know your basement is facing any waterproofing issues you might not be able to spot 

• Consider the Climate  

The climates in Midwestern states like Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and eastern Montana all tend to be the same. You face hot, humid summers and cold, snow-laden winters. Both can result in excess moisture soaking into the soil around your foundation and infiltrating your basement. This leads to leaks, flooding, and foundational issues.  

Excess moisture threatening this space can be especially dangerous. A severe storm might wash away the supporting soil under your foundation and cause it to shift or even crack altogether. As a result, you might find your basement flooding more often. 

• Hire a Basement Inspector  

While some projects like painting can be completed through DIY work, basement waterproofing is not one of them. It’s important to have the right solutions at hand to fix the specific problems you are facing with your leaking basement. 

Therefore, you need to leave any basement repairs or installations to the basement experts at Innovative Basement Authority. We have worked in countless basements and implemented several different basement solutions tailor-made for each home. Leave any repairs to us and reap the benefits of a dry basement today! 

What Are Some Other Basement Waterproofing Issues I Might Miss? 

The average homeowner will be able to spot obvious damage such as leaking, floods, or cracks around their basement. However, there are often other, subtler signs of damage that you might not catch that will help you prevent the worst damage from occurring. 

• Musty Smell  

If you notice a rather rank smell permeating throughout your first floor but nowhere else in your home, it is possible your basement has flooded or is facing other moisture-related issues. It will not help if this space grows overly warm and makes any water or even raw sewage that managed to seep through smell even worse. 

It is also good to keep in mind that this musty smell may come from other additional sources as well. Mold and mildew often tend to give off musty stenches of their own. Pests may also emit certain odors to attract others of their kind to your home as well. 

• Shifting Walls  

Pay attention to any shifts in your home’s infrastructure. Your home’s foundation is meant to keep your home steady and upright. It also keeps the lower levels of your home relatively dry. Of course, if your basement is constantly facing moisture issues, chances are your foundation might also face similar damage without your knowledge. 

When your walls, doorways, or window sills begin to tilt out of alignment, you can bet that the problem lies with your foundation. A shifted or uneven foundation allows more moisture to flood your basement. It is a vicious cycle that only feeds into more property damage. This is why you need to call the basement experts at Innovative Basement Authority to inspect your basement right away! 

A wall anchor system is an effective way to solve problems related to wall bowing, which might arise in your foundation due to hydrostatic pressure. Here’s how a wall anchor system really works. 

• Wall Plate 

The first main portion of the wall anchor system is the plate that goes on the inside of the wall. This is typically a square or rectangular metal plate that is fairly thick, but can go relatively unnoticed once it’s installed. Especially if you install the plate before you finish the basement, it can be very easy to add the finishing over the plate. 

This plate allows the wall anchor system to dissipate its energy over a much larger area, which means it can utilize more force overall. It also makes it much less likely that the anchor system will fail. Lastly, it helps to ensure that the wall anchor system itself won’t cause cracks in the wall, as there isn’t a single spot where cracks might otherwise form. 

• Anchor 

The other component of the wall anchor system is the anchor itself. The anchor is typically a metal rod that sits 6-10 feet into the ground outside of the wall. This is why you need at least 6-10 feet available on the outside of your basement; if you don’t, the anchor itself won’t have enough space to have an impact on the wall anchors. 

The anchor is attached to a rod, which ties the anchor and the wall plate together. An expert can tighten that rod to bring the anchor and the wall plate closer together; because of the strength of the soil holding the anchor in place, the wall plate will pull back toward the anchor, causing the wall to straighten. The distance of 6-10 feet allows the anchor to have enough staying power that it keeps the wall straight over time. 

One would think that leaving the vents in your crawl space open may seem like a good idea, especially since their purpose is to allow air through the crawl space to condition and dehumidify it. However, this can do more harm than good in the long run.  

Consider Your Local Climate 

Moisture and humidity are the enemies of crawl spaces. Indeed, open vents can exacerbate the problems that come with moist conditions. As such, areas that are at high risk for moisture damage in crawl spaces are those that experience a decent amount of rain and snow in the winter or humid days in the summer. 

Rush City, MN, is characterized by frigid, snowy winters and somewhat humid summers. The annual average rainfall sits at 32 inches of rain. This, combined with the annual snowfall average of 49 inches, can add up to a lot of water. Similarly, Fargo, ND, experiences similar climate trends, having around 24 inches of rain and 49 inches of snow each year. When the snow melts or when rainwater enters through any open vents into your crawl space, this can result in a multitude of problems.  

Open Vent Damages 

Water in any shape or form, whether it be rainwater, snow, sleet, ice, or fog, can enter your crawl space vents if they are open. This can result in many water-related damages, including but not limited to: 

• Wood rot 
• Dry rot 
• Mold and mildew 
• Structural damage 

Moisture in your crawl space is also an invitation for many common pests. Crawl spaces are typically colder than other areas of your house, but more comfortable than remaining outside. They are suitable for retaining moisture and protecting bugs from the elements. Furthermore, many humans do not even go near their crawl space, making it the ideal place to live and proliferate. Some particularly damaging pests that can enter through open crawl space vents are cockroaches and wood-eating insects, such as the termite, but other harmless insects can live in crawl spaces as well. 

It is possible to lift concrete slabs and surfaces alone, but we do not recommend that you try this. Especially if the repairs are structural in nature, these processes are often dangerous as well as complex. 

Injuries are Likely 

The problem with structural repairs is that they require a lot of specialist equipment and often rely on heavy machinery. This makes the process of repair laborious, complicated, and dangerous, especially to someone who lacks the proper training or a lot of experience. Foundational repairs, for example, and repairs to bowing walls can lead to structural collapse if done wrong. This is not just dangerous but can be potentially lethal. 

Even smaller repairs and lifting processes that use methods like mudjacking and polyurethane foam injection can cause injury when they go wrong. This will not only increase the time required to restore your home but increase the cost of repairs. 

Professionals Know What to Do 

Professionals are considered experts for a reason: They have the skills, the training, the experience, and all the equipment they need to hand. They can get all of the best products easily and they are able to react quickly when something becomes more complicated than originally expected. This is why they can guarantee a certain standard of work, too. 

We urge you to consider professional concrete lifting and repair services as an investment in the long-term health of your home, because that is precisely what it is. Professional services offer more durable and seamless solutions.