Foundation Repair for Glendale homes
The Milwaukee River winds right through Glendale, and on the low-lying streets closest to it the ground stays wet for a big part of the year. Most homes here went up in the postwar years on concrete block basements. Put block walls in soaked clay, add deep frost and spring snowmelt, and you get hydrostatic pressure pushing from the outside for months at a time. That's when stair-step cracks appear and walls begin to lean.
A sump pump that runs all spring is a clue worth paying attention to. It tells you the water around your house sits high, and it hints at how much pressure is resting against the block. We look at the pump, the crock, the walls and any seepage along the floor joint together, because in a river city the water and the structure are tangled up with each other.
Structural repair comes first. Cracks get hydraulic cement or structural sealant, carbon fiber straps hold a wall that has started to bow, and steel I-beams anchored at the floor and joists take over when the movement is bigger. Once the wall is stable, we can talk about drain tile or waterproofing if the water still needs handling. When the City of Glendale requires a permit, we pull it.
