Your home is your safe haven. It’s where you go to unwind, enjoy time with loved ones, and create lasting memories.
But this safe haven can quickly become a hazard if foundation problems are not properly addressed. Getting into the habit of checking for foundation issues and repairing them right away will save you time, money, and stress.
Your home deserves personalized approaches, professional solutions, and the expertise of trusted local foundation repair experts. At Baker’s Waterproofing, we put your safety and satisfaction first. With thousands of successfully repaired and protected homes in Pennsylvania and Northern West Virginia, our foundation solutions offer unparalleled stabilization.
By contacting Baker’s Waterproofing, you’ll receive a free inspection from our respected local team, plus swift and comprehensive services to address any foundation issues. Don’t wait. Schedule your inspection today and ensure your home is a sturdy and secure haven for your family.
Why is Foundation Repair Important?
Don’t delay foundation repair – it’s crucial for your home and family’s safety. We get it, it can be scary and costly, but putting it off only makes things worse. Act now to avoid even bigger problems and higher costs down the road.
Safety Dangers
Don’t overlook the warning signs. Issues like uneven floors or stuck windows can lead to hazardous conditions and be deadly in an emergency. That’s why we’re dedicated to safeguarding your home against these risks and ensuring your foundation remains stable for years to come. You and your family deserve to live in a secure and protected environment, and we’re here to make that happen.
Diminished Functionality
Is your home plagued by dishes that rattle when you walk across the floor, rolling items, and improperly functioning doors and windows? Uneven flooring may be the culprit, causing daily annoyances and reminding you of hidden problems lurking below the surface. We understand your frustration and believe you deserve a home that feels secure and stable. Let us help you address the root cause of these issues and restore your sense of peace.
Expensive Home Damage and Repairs
Delaying repairs can lead to increased, serious damage like cracking floors or a wall collapse, as well as aesthetic problems such as cracking countertops. But you can protect your home from costly repair bills by addressing foundation issues early on. When you repair foundation problems when they arise, you’ll not only save money in the long run, but you’ll also have peace of mind knowing your home is safe and secure.
Reduced Property Value
Selling a property is stressful enough without worrying about negatively impacting its value. Even minor damage can significantly decrease the worth of a home, and prospective buyers and home inspectors will quickly notice these problems. Simply covering them up won’t solve the issue, and it’s not worth the risk of losing value in your most significant investment, your home.
Protect Your Investment and Ensure Your Safety
Identifying Foundation Problem Signs
Many signs of foundation damage are easy to spot in your home. Look out for these common symptoms:
- Wall cracks
- Exterior brickwork cracks
- Bowing walls
- Sticking windows and doors
- Uneven floors
- Gaps between walls, floors, or ceilings,
- Tilting chimney
- Water damage
- Mold growth
Don’t wait! Act fast if you spot any of these warning signs and reach out to a trusted local foundation repair specialist.
Moisture problems such as mold, musty smells, and water damage are often caused by foundation issues. To avoid further damage, don’t hesitate to reach out to Baker’s Waterproofing and let us help you mitigate these issues.
What Causes Foundation Damage?
The root cause of your foundation damage is water and soil, and how these two powerful forces interact.
Our vast region throughout Pennsylvania and Northern West Virginia has an array of soil types, but the majority of these soils are clay-based.
Clay-heavy soil tends to hold onto excess water and expand, which puts pressure on your walls, also known as hydrostatic pressure. Over time, this can lead to serious problems like leakage, bowing, and cracks.
Our area is also a humid continental climate with wet summers and more than 40 inches of annual rainfall. All this water saturates the soil and leads to flooding and water collecting near your foundation. Dry seasons also cause the soil to shrink and contract.
Whether from too little moisture or too much, unstable soil cannot support your foundation or home, resulting in various damage.
Additionally, other causes of foundation issues include poor foundation drainage, damaged gutters and downspouts, improper yard grading, and invasive tree roots.
The Baker’s Waterproofing Solution
Baker’s Waterproofing offers top-quality solutions for all your home’s issues. Our products are expertly designed to withstand even the toughest of Mother Nature’s challenges. Plus, all our foundation repair services come with a Life of the Structure Warranty, ensuring our commitment to excellence. With our transferable warranties, you can trust that your investment will maintain its value, even if you decide to sell your home.
SettleStop Wall Repairs
Moisture has no place in your basement, but it can easily find its way inside your home and cause cracks and leaning basement walls. Fortunately, you can prevent this with wall repair. Our methods provide superior protection against problems like mold and efflorescence, with minimal disruption to your home and yard. We perform the majority of the work in your basement, ensuring a speedy and clean installation.
Here are the techniques we use for wall repair:
Wall Anchors
If your basement walls have cracks accompanied by more than two inches of inward movement, they will benefit from lateral support offered by our SettleStop Wall Anchors. The solution includes anchor plates that are fitted inside your basement walls, as well as earth anchors buried outside your foundation.
We’ll use a specialized wrench to tighten steel rods that connect the plates. This creates tension which pulls the plates closer together, halting inward movement and restoring the strength and stability of your walls.
I-Beams
Don’t let limited space be a roadblock to stability. Our SettleStop IntelliBrace™ I-beams provide the perfect solution.
Installed vertically on your basement walls, these steel I-beams are securely braced to both the basement floor and floor joists. With a simple tightening of the top bolt on the floor joists, pressure is exerted against the walls, firmly holding them in place.
By transferring the weight from the walls to the floor and floor joists, these I-beams provide vital structural support, preventing any further inward movement and stabilizing your basement walls for good.
Carbon Fiber Reinforcement
Your basement walls don’t have to be crumbling or falling over to warrant repair. If you notice any cracks or inward movement of less than two inches, our SettleStop Carbon Fiber Reinforcement is the solution.
Specifically designed to fit into tight spaces while providing ultimate stability, we use high-strength carbon fiber straps along with an epoxy adhesive to install them seamlessly inside your basement. These straps are 10 times stronger than steel and can withstand hydrostatic pressure, ensuring your walls are fully supported. Our minimally invasive installation process guarantees little disruption to your daily life.
SettleStop Pier Systems
If you are struggling with diagonal wall cracks, uneven floors, and stubbornly stuck doors and windows, your home is likely resting on unstable soil. Reaching more stable load-bearing soil or bedrock with our SettleStop pier systems provides the permanent reinforcement you need.
The installation process is quick and efficient. With SettleStop pier systems, you won’t have to worry about settling and shifting soil conditions. Our pier systems come with a lifetime, transferrable warranty for your peace of mind.
Baker’s Waterproofing uses two options for piering: helical piers and push piers. They function the same but differ in their design and application.
Here’s how each pier system works:
Helical Piers
Our SettleStop Helical Pier System uses steel piers with circular helical plates that act like screws to anchor your home into the stable soil below. Helical piers are versatile and perfect for supporting lighter structures in various situations.
Our installation team excavates the soil around the footing and then uses hydraulic equipment to advance the piers into the earth. The helical blades cut through the soil like screws, and we monitor their progress until they reach the necessary depths and capacities. A durable steel bracket is then securely attached to the footing to transfer the weight of your home to the stable soil below.
To ensure your peace of mind, we set up benchmarks at the pier installation points and use a laser level to place small rivets in the exterior foundation walls. We’ll return to realign the laser level with the rivets, confirming the system’s continued security.
Push Piers
SettleStop Push Piers function the same as helical piers to provide long-lasting foundation support, but they are slightly different. This system is comprised of elongated steel rods that are pushed deep into the ground.
Once the foundation footing is exposed by removing surrounding soil, the footing bracket is attached. The piers are then pushed through the bracket until they bypass unstable soil and reach bedrock for enduring stability.
As with helical piers, our crew will install benchmarks – rivets on your exterior walls – above the piers.
SettleStop IntelliJack™ Crawl Space Support Posts
You won’t have to worry about creaky, uneven floors, rattling furniture, or tripping hazards once SettleStop IntelliJack™ crawl space support posts have been installed. Our robust steel posts are designed to provide additional strength to weak or sagging floor joists in crawl spaces.
Our adjustable crawl space support posts are installed beneath the floor joists and securely attached to the support beams above, allowing them to provide upward support. With an allowable load capacity of more than 24,000 lbs. per support jack, our crawl space support system exceeds industry standards.
Protect your home with local experts you can trust. We understand how much your home means to you. That’s why we’re committed to providing the most reliable products and tools available to permanently stabilize your foundation and home. Count on us to treat your home like our own.
View more Foundation Repair Solutions >>
Factors Affecting Foundation Repair Cost
Home repair projects can be costly, which is why homeowners must carefully consider their options. When it comes to fixing your foundation, there are several factors that can impact the overall cost.
- Foundation Type: Every house is different, and the type of foundation plays a crucial role in determining the repair techniques required, which can impact the overall cost. For instance, repairing slab foundations may differ from repairing crawl space foundations.
- Damage Severity: The extent of foundation damage has a significant impact on the repair cost. Minor cracks may incur lower expenses compared to substantial shifts in the foundation or structural damage.
- Soil Conditions: The type and condition of the soil surrounding the foundation can also affect the repair costs. Expansive clay soil, which expands and contracts with changes in moisture, can lead to more significant foundation issues and result in higher repair expenses.
- Location: The geographic location of the home can influence the cost of foundation repairs. Areas with higher living costs or stricter building codes may incur higher repair expenses, for example.
Ultimately, the cost of foundation repair for your home is based on its unique circumstances and the severity of its foundation issues.
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Award-Winning Service
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Randy Fonner visited my home for an estimate. One of the best and most honest employees I’ve ever worked with. He walked me through the entire process. Can’t speak more highly of his professionalism!
View review Read Tom Becker's review for Baker's Waterproofing
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Shawn was extremely thorough and helped us understand the system installed in our basement! Took his time and answered all of our questions.
View review Read Kendra Dayton's review for ITG Basement Systems
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Jared, Chris, Anthony, and Marcus did a great job. Very happy with the finished install. Baker’s has a good team with these guys.
View review Read L H's review for ITG Basement Systems
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Kyle, Jon, and Ricky were quick, clean, and professional. The process of installing the basement system took two days. They answered any questions I had and showed me how the new system worked. They made almost no mess, which surprised me. My…
View review Read Richard Corley's review for ITG Basement Systems
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Brain, Garret, and Aaron did a great job were very professional and actually finished ahead of schedule!
View review Read Kole Reist's review for ITG Basement Systems
What to Expect from Baker’s Waterproofing
If you are tired of contractors who disappoint and fall short, look no further than Baker’s Waterproofing.
We pride ourselves on transparency, communication, and safety. Our team is devoted to providing top-notch service and treating your home with the utmost care.
Beginning with our initial inspection, we protect your floors by wearing clean booties and go the extra mile by leaving your space spotless after completing the job. You can trust us to treat your home as if it were our own.
- Scheduling an Inspection: Scheduling an inspection has never been easier! Simply call us, fill out our online form, or book directly online. You’ll then get a confirmation email with all the info you need about our company and our top-of-the-line solutions. Let us make it convenient for you!
- 48-Hour Confirmation Call: To make things easier, we’ll give you a call and text two days before our arrival to confirm the inspection time at your address.
- On the Way Call: On your inspection day, you’ll receive an “on the way” call from your Certified Field Inspector to confirm the exact arrival time. No more waiting and guessing! With our GPS system, you can also track our team’s real-time location, ensuring transparency every step of the way.
- Arrival & Introduction: We understand having someone you don’t know inspecting your home can feel uncomfortable. That’s why our Certified Field Inspector will greet you upon arrival and take the time to listen to any concerns or issues you have with your house. They’ll work with you to create a clear inspection plan and review the specific areas they’ll assess.
- The Inspection: Our inspector will thoroughly evaluate your home’s interior and exterior, taking precise measurements to create a detailed diagram. With your approval, reference photos will be taken to aid our installation team. We ensure that any concerns you share with us upon arrival are effectively addressed when the repairs are completed.
- Review of Outcomes: After completing the inspection, we’ll go over the results with you and propose a comprehensive repair plan. Keep in mind that you get to decide which repairs we do. The plan we provide will give you all the information you need to make an informed decision that suits your home best. We offer same-day estimates, so you’ll have a clear understanding of the foundation repair costs and financing options from the get-go.
- Schedule Work: Once you give us the go-ahead, we’ll quickly schedule the project and work with you to find a convenient installation date. You don’t need to worry about getting any work permits because we’ll handle everything for you. Our team will also conduct a careful review of the proposed solution. If needed, a licensed structural engineer will oversee the foundation work, ensuring a higher level of safety and professionalism.
FAQs
Foundation damage of all kinds is very serious, but settlement is arguably one of the most serious and hard to deal with, because it affects the entirety of your property over time. Settlement is a process of fragmentation and sinking that can be caused by a number of issues, most of which begin in the soil. The limestone and shale rich soil that is commonly found around York, PA, is has very good drainage capabilities, but the climate here can be wild and a particularly bad storm can have a serious impact on the soil around and under your home.
The issue most likely to cause foundation settlement is a process called soil washout. This can occur when the soil is saturated over a long period of time, or when serious issues like flooding cause intense and short-lived saturation. Washout can displace soil from under your home and leave large voids or area of loose, unstable soil which fail to provide proper support. Over time, this can lead to your property’s foundation cracking and fragmenting as the unsupported areas begin to break away and fall into the voids beneath them.
This is a serious issue and can lead to cracked and uneven flooring as well as wider structural issues like bowing walls. Here at Baker’s Waterproofing, we can repair a foundation that has suffered from settlement with the installation of foundation piers. These piers are used to lift the damaged sections of foundation back into place and transfer their weight to stable soil far below the surface, thereby preventing the recurrence of settlement at a later time.
Foundation damage is a serious issue that should never be underestimated. As well as being severe, foundation issues are notorious for growing at an exponential rate and having an impact on the wider structure of a property. From your walls to your floors and all the way to your roof, every part of your Pittsburgh property is dependent on your foundation for support and stability. Any movement or destabilization in your foundation will leave the door open for serious damage.
So, as you might imagine, we recommend that you deal with foundation damage as soon as you see the warning signs. Many property owners prefer to wait until a problem becomes impossible to ignore before they act, of course, but there are a few good reasons as to why you should not do this. The dangers of waiting too long are very simple. The longer you wait to fix foundation issues, the more likely they are to grow and spread to other parts of your home. This can lead to all forms of secondary and tertiary damage like dampness, wood rot, and mold formation. All these issues present unique dangers to your health and home.
The benefits of acting as soon as you see signs of foundation damage, of course, are just as simple and powerful as the drawbacks of waiting too long. If you deal with foundation damage as soon as you see it, then you will make the process of repair much simpler and far less expensive. In fact, the cost of repairs will get more and more expensive over a very short period of time. It will also prevent the formation of secondary issues (for example, the formation of mold, which could be harmful to your health and wellbeing). There is also a lower chance that you will need serious cosmetic repair if you act quickly.
Much like the basement and crawl space solutions, many of the foundation and concrete lifting repair options tend to overlap each other. Some of these include the various pier systems. Foundation repair experts may recommend push piers, helical piers, or slab piers depending on the type of damage and foundation you have. They also differ in their shape, installation, and is dependent on the soil type of your home.
There are also many reinforcement systems for strictly foundation walls. The SettleStop Wall Anchor System is installed deep into your soil to support weakened foundation walls from the outside. For a less invasive solution, there is also the SettleStop IntelliBrace™ that can be installed directly onto the inside of your foundation wall and can work to prevent further damage and may even straighten it over time. The SettleStop Carbon Fiber Wall Reinforcing System is ideal for those who have less space or those who want to simultaneously pull wall cracks closed as well.
For concrete lifting, SettleStop PolyRenewal™ injection foam is dually functional. It is an incredibly lightweight foam that expands and can support even the heaviest of concrete slabs and even lift it back into its original position over time. It is also waterproof, so it can protect against soil erosion and thus, soil compaction, and concrete settlement.
Foundation damage can be caused by a number of issues, but they can all be generally split into three categories: pressure, lack of support, or defects. Each of these issues is distinct and unique, but they tend to present themselves in the same ways. The main signs of foundation damage are spreading cracks, unevenness, dampness, sinking, and heaving. You may also notice wood rot or mold as secondary issues if the damage to your Central PA foundation has been at work for some time. So, because the signs are fairly uniform no matter the cause, it is important to contact a professional so that they can determine the cause and the correct solution.
A fundamental flaw or defect in the design or structure of your Central PA property’s foundation is the least likely underlying cause but simultaneously the most serious. Defects can occur as a result of poor design (for example, the architect miscalculating the depth of the foundation) or because of the materials (for example, poorly mixed or cured concrete). Either way, the damage will be hard to rectify, and it will be more likely that foundation replacement will need to be carried out in part or in full. Damage caused by pressure or a lack of support, however, can generally be repaired and prevented from recurring.
Few things can exert enough pressure to damage a property except the earth itself (and incidentally, issues with support tend to be soil-based as well). The soil around Central PA is generally loamy or chalky, which means that it is non-expansive or minimally reactive. As such, its capacity to exert direct pressure is lower than soils that are expansive and clay-based. However, this kind of soil can begin to move if faced with prolonged flooding or heavy rainfall. When this happens, the hydrostatic pressure levels around a home can skyrocket, and soil washout becomes far more likely. Both of these issues can cause foundation damage like fragmentation, sinking, cracking, and lateral movement.
Soils rich in clay and silt have the greatest potential to damage a foundation. Clay absorbs water easily, expanding in volume as it becomes more saturated. So-called “expansive clays” can cause foundations to crack, heave and shift.
When clay soils dry out, they shrink and crack, leaving gaps around a house where water from the next storm can penetrate easily and deeply to repeat the expansion cycle. Clay-rich soils usually cause more foundation damage by expanding than by contracting.
Hydrostatic pressure is a natural force created by the weight of the soil and the water that it contains.
Sudden or significant increases in hydrostatic pressure can be caused in different ways, but it is most likely to occur because of heavy rainfall. This can cause the soil to wash out or flood, or expand and press against your basement walls.
When this happens, structural damage is almost certain because hydrostatic pressure is often applied laterally. Concrete is durable, but it really cannot bend or flex. Lateral pressure can then cause it to crack and buckle. Bowing walls and foundation fragmentation are common outcomes when hydrostatic pressure gets too high.
