Proudly Serving Greater St. Louis, Springfield & Nearby

Office Hours: Mon - Thurs: 8am - 8pm, Fri - 8am - 5pm

Weekend Phone Hours: Sat: 8:30am - 12:30pm

Foundation Photo Galleries

Enter your Zip Code to see if we serve your area:

Home»Foundation Repair»Foundation Photo Galleries»Stabilizing Kirkwood, MO Basement Walls

Foundation Repair Photo Album: Stabilizing Kirkwood, MO Basement Walls

This Kirkwood, Missouri basement had cracked foundation walls bowing in because of hydrostatic pressure. Part of the basement had already been finished, but the bowing walls pushed on the wood framing—creating cracks in the finished drywall. Sections of drywall had to be cut out in order to expose the bowing foundation walls for repair. Woods Basement Systems installed Foundation Supportworks Geo-Lock™ wall anchors to repair the foundation. The approach to the installation minimized disturbance of the lawn and landscaping. The crew dug holes for the earth anchors beyond the landscaping and away from the foundation. Threaded rod were driven through the basement walls to the holes outside, and earth anchor plates were attached. On the inside, wall anchors were attached to the other end of the threaded rods. The plates were then tightened. Holes were backfilled, and sod was carefully replaced in the lawn. The homeowner replaced drywall on the inside and repainted the walls. It was almost like the problem never happened.

Preparing for Installation of Exterior Anchors

Sod is carefully removed, and the crew digs a hole for each earth anchor.

Threaded Anchor Rod Connects Foundation Wall Anchors

In the finished area of the basement, a small hole is drilled in the basement wall and a 1-inch galvanized, threaded rod is driven through the basement wall to the outside.

Heavy-Duty Earth Anchors Secure Kirkwood Basement Walls

Heavy-duty, galvanized earth anchors are placed securely in stable soil away from the foundation wall.

Earth Anchor Embedded Securely in Stable Soil

The earth anchor is installed in the stable soil and attached to the threaded, galvanized steel rod.

Geo-Lock Earth Anchor Installed in Stable Soil

The earth anchor is placed in stable soil, because the fill soil next to the foundation was disturbed when the house was built. The fill soil was originally dug out to build the home and back-filled after construction, so it is unstable. Fill soil is subject to shrinkage and hydrostatic pressure, which causes foundation problems in the first place.

Geo-Lock Wall Anchor Installed in Kirkwood Basment

The earth anchor is connected to a heavy-duty steel wall plate, which is installed on the interior wall and attached to the threaded rod with an industrial-strength anchor nut.

Bowing Basement Walls Affect Wood Framing

Now that the basement wall has been stabilized with wall anchors, notice how the pressure of the formerly-bowing wall caused the wood framing to bend and bow as well.

Wall Anchors Secure Kirkwood Basement Wall

Once the anchors are installed, the cut drywall can be repaired and painted.

Wall Anchors Fix Bowing Walls

Anchors are tightened and improve the condition of the walls. The anchors secure the wall in its current position without further adjustment. They can also be tightened during dry seasons when the fill soil around the house experiences shrinkage.

Wall Anchor Install in Kirkwood Complete

The crew backfills the holes, replacing the soil that was dug up for the earth anchors.

Cleanup After Kirkwood Wall Anchor Installation

The hole is backfilled and tamped down prior to replacing the sod.

Wall Anchor Install Minimizes Soil Disturbance

Excavation of the exterior wall is not always necessary. In this case, the crew dug holes for earth anchors, backfilled, and replaced the sod for minimal disturbance of the lawn and landscaping. Aside from the shovel, you'd never know we were there.

Wall Anchors in a Finished Basement

In this case, the homeowner chose to repair the drywall and repaint the walls after the installation was complete. Woods Basement Systems also offers Hide-A-Way™ Wall Anchor Covers for finished basements, an aesthetically-pleasing solution that covers the wall anchors plates.