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Home Foundation Repair What Causes Bowing Foundation Walls & How It Can Be Corrected?

What Causes Bowing Foundation Walls & How It Can Be Corrected?

If you’re in search of accurate costs to correct bowing foundation walls, you’ve come to the right place.

Here’s what you’ll learn by the end of this article:

  • How to tell if your basement walls are bowing
  • Why this damage may be occurring
  • How to correct bulging walls
  • How to save money when fixing bowing walls

Your concrete foundation walls support the immense amount of weight of your house. Still, the most potential for foundation damage is from the constant pressure from the dirt around your concrete block walls.

The soil becomes most heavy and dangerous when it gets wet from rainwater or groundwater. The added weight of the water creates hydrostatic pressure and pushes against your home’s foundation.

The walls can only resist so much and end up bowing inward if they can’t hold the amount of pressure being placed on them. Bulging walls often lead to hazardous cracking and loss of some of your foundation’s structural integrity.

Every homeowner should know how to identify and correct bowing basement walls. In this article, we’re going to discuss warning signs and solutions related to this issue and how to save money when implementing a fix.

Table of Contents

  1. What Are The Signs That You Have A Problem With A Bowing Foundation Wall?
  2. What Causes A Foundation Wall To Bow?
  3. How Do You Fix Bowing Foundation Walls?
  4. How To Save Money When Fixing A Bowing Foundation Wall?

What Are The Signs That You Have A Problem With A Bowing Foundation Wall?

Bulging walls in your foundation are usually an indicator that severe damage has occurred or is about to happen.

This type of foundation problem needs to be addressed immediately so that structural integrity isn’t compromised.

It would help if you familiarized yourself with all of the warning signs below so you can have the issue fixed as soon as it’s discovered.

Interior Cracks

vertical drywall crack in the corner of the room

Cracking on the inside of your crawlspace or basement walls can indicate that your walls have bulged in response to enough pressure from the outside.

Cracks that run vertically or diagonally are often from normal concrete settling and usually aren’t related to structural problems. Stair-step and horizontal cracks can be serious and should be inspected by a foundation wall repair expert.

Horizontal cracks are the most hazardous and are almost always caused by too much pressure coming in from the exterior.

The concrete walls flex inward until a fissure forms to relieve the stress from bowing, resulting in foundation wall failure.

Exterior Cracks

Crack in foundation wall

Cracks on the outside of your foundation wall are sometimes easier to see if you have a finished basement.

You need to check for the same things as on the inside. Vertical and diagonal cracking is common and usually not a sign of bowing basement walls.

Stair-step cracks and especially horizontal cracks should be checked by a structural engineer to see if they result from bowed walls.

Tilting

You may notice a tilting concrete wall under your home instead of a bulging one. Tilting usually happens when the pressure on the outside is very high up on the wall. Your foundation wall can crack near the top and lean inward instead of bowing.

You can check for tilting with a visual inspection or by making sure your wall is perfectly vertical with a square.

Bowing

Bowing or bulging happens before the pressure on the outside causes your wall to crack.

Your concrete or drywall in your basement will show visual signs of inward movement.

This happens most often in the middle of your wall and can be tested using a straight edge.

Uneven Floors

Your entire house relies on your foundation to provide a level surface for structure and rigidity. Bowing foundation walls means that one side of your home will be slightly lower than the other.

Since the floors above your foundation rely heavily on a level concrete surface, you may notice uneven floors in your home due to bulging foundation walls.

Doors & Cabinets Not Shutting Properly

Your foundation provides structure to the walls in your home, just like it does to the floors. Bowing foundation walls can lead to flexing studs and framing in the rest of your house.

This flexing can be seen in how your doors and cabinets shut.

You may have difficulty closing doors, or the doors may swing open or closed by themselves.

Bulging Walls

The loss of structural integrity that happens because of bowing foundation walls can translate to movement in the walls on other floors of your home too.

Walls above will often flex outward or inward to compensate for the unevenness caused by the foundation wall movement.

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