The homeowner noticed that the hearth of the fireplace, in the basement, had a large horizontal crack across it. It also appeared to be pushed from the wall itself. Concerned about potential structural issues, and not being able to see the wall behind their finished walls, they called The Basement Doctor. John Clements inspected the home and agreed that there were potential structural issues present, but the drywall and paneling had to be removed to see what was behind it. The homeowners approved and as he began removing the drywall, he found the issue was far worse than anticipated. The wall was bowed by several inches and was showing stair step cracks into the corners. He also noted that the basement had water leaking into it for a long time which was deteriorating the foundation, the wooden framing and causing mold. Continuing the inspection John found leaky single pane windows and a lack of insulation in the floor joist.
John wanted to provide the homeowner with a drier, cleaner, safer and more energy efficient finished basement. First he corrected the bowing and cracked walls with the PowerBrace tension loaded I beam system. This meant no excavation was necessary and the walls could be moved back to plum from inside. Next the mold was cleaned up and an interior waterproofing system was installed to keep the basement dry. At this point the windows were replaced and Sun House window wells were installed. 2 part closed cell Poly Urethane was sprayed into the floor joist cavities to seal and insulate the home. The walls were finished with the Everlast wall system and the floors were covered with Thermal Dry inorganic snap together tiles. The final step was a SaniDry professional grade dehumidifier to regulate and clean the air.
The homeowners were kind enough to agree to having our team record 8 segments for Today’s Professionals TV show, which shows the progression and talks about each problem and solution. We encourage you to watch the series and see the amazing transformation first hand.
