Foundation Repairs - In Need Of Recommendations

[Doolan Wesley]

Hey everyone, I just closed on a single family home in Bay View, Milwaukee last week. The house needs some substantial repairs to its foundation. Any cost effective recommendations for quotes? I am looking to BRRRR this property. Thanks everyone.

Doolan

[Marcus Auerbach]

Congrats on the closing @Doolan Wesley!  

Accuate Basements, Gaidish, GSI, Verette and McCoy are all good ressources. I have personally never seen any of them oversell a job, but I sometimes come across properties where one wall needed to be braced and and someone braced all four - not sure who did that, but it supports the notion of having an independent consultant evaluate first.

Sellers often require an independent consultant out of fear that hey are being oversold by a contractor. I have seen all of the above contractors look at job and say it does not need work, just monitoring and some downspout extensions etc. If you have a little understanding of construction issues you will understand what they tell you if and why work is needed.

Almost always it is actually a basement wall repair and not a foundation repair; the wall sits on top of the foundation (or footings). Block wall repairs are pretty straight forward (sometimes I am glad I went to engineering school) - we have done them in house if in a rush. Footings are tougher, as often times helical piers need to be installed under the foundation. Pre-1940 basements are often built from brick or field stone and a lot more tricky to work on than a block walls and require a good amount of experience.

A few tips: if the wall is plumb and/or straight (some were built out of plumb by a drunk mason and are fine) and does not show a long horizontal crack, you probably don't need to brace it. Step cracks and vertical sheer cracks are usually not a major concern. Before you commit to a full drain tile job, break open the corners and see where water flows and where it doesn't - they could be blocked to smashed in just one spot. 

Most importantly: manage your surface water, gutters and downspouts - the root cause of most basement issues.