Foundation Repair for Okauchee Lake homes
Okauchee Lake is ringed with homes on closely spaced lots, many of them old cottages that have been rebuilt, raised, or expanded more than once. A lot of those houses sit only a few feet above the lake, with a narrow side yard between them and the neighbor. That combination puts heavy demands on the foundation. Groundwater sits close to the basement floor, and there is very little room outside for water to go anywhere but against the wall.
When a cottage gets expanded, the new foundation often meets the old one at a seam, and that seam tends to crack as the two settle at different rates. Tight side yards mean roof water from two houses can end up in the same narrow strip of clay. Add Wisconsin frost and spring snowmelt, and we find bowing block walls on the narrow sides, cracks at old and new joints, and seepage where the wall meets the floor.
Most of our foundation repair happens from inside, which suits these lots well. There's no need for big equipment in a yard you can barely walk down. Cracks are sealed with hydraulic cement or structural sealant, and moving walls get carbon fiber straps or steel I-beams anchored at the floor and joists, carried in by hand. Okauchee Lake is in the Town of Oconomowoc, and when the Town of Oconomowoc requires a permit for the work, we pull it.
