Photo Album: Straightening a badly bowing wall in Hamilton, ON

Ashley has a home in Hamilton, On with a badly bowing block foundation. The walls were bowing, causing the mortar joints to open. This is a challenge because the weight of the earth is still pushing against the wall. Omni Basement Systems had to excavate the foundation wall so that it could be pushed back before it could be reinforced with galvanized beams from Supportworks called PowerBraces. Along with the structural support, both side of the wall were waterproofed.

Large horizontal crack.

As the wall bows, the mortar joint opens up.

Powerbrace

Powerbraces are galvanized "I" beams anchored against the walls at the footing and the floor joists.

excavated wall

To push the wall straight, Omni excavated the wall to take the pressure of the soil off of it.

Waterproofed and finished floor

This is after all the waterproofing is finished and the floor is re-concreted.

Footing holes

The floor is opened up to make footings for the PowerBraces.

Footings

The footing is made of concrete and has an "I" beam inside. Normally, we would bolt the Powerbrace to the house's original footing, but given the age of the home, the original footing is not large enough to support the Powerbrace.