Expert Foundation Repair Services In Milwaukee, WI

The median age of Milwaukee homes is 78 years old, and almost 23% of Milwaukee’s houses were built before 1939. Over time, many of these homes have settled due to the shifting of the soil beneath and around them. This is largely due to the soil that ranges from poorly-drained organic soils to well-drained sandy or loamy soils. The most common issue with the soil is that it can shift under the weight of homes, causing cracked foundation walls and allowing water to get in the basement.

The biggest factor in foundation problems in Milwaukee is the weather. Long, cold, snowy winters, spring thaws, and hot, humid summers cause foundations to freeze and thaw, thus expanding and contracting regularly. However, the crazy Wisconsin weather isn’t the only thing that can affect your home’s foundation. Other factors that may contribute to foundation problems in your Milwaukee home include:

• The Watershed — The Milwaukee River, the Menomonee River, the Kinnikinnick River, Oak Creek, and the Root River all flow through Milwaukee County on their way to Lake Michigan. If any of these rivers flood, homes are at risk of foundation damage and flooding.

• Topography — Wisconsin bears the scars of glaciers that scoured the land to create flat plains, rolling hills, the famous Dells, and abundant wetlands. The often uneven topography can lead to foundation damage due to water pooling during the spring melt and heavy rains during the warm months.

• Tree Roots — As beautiful and beneficial as trees are, they can also be harmful to your home’s foundation. This is especially true for Milwaukee favorites like Oak, Ash, and Poplar trees whose roots are responsible for more damage to foundations than any other trees in Wisconsin.

• Erosion — Loss of soil around your foundation can cause big problems. If your yard slopes towards your home, you could have major issues with erosion over time. Downspouts that aren’t far enough away from your house can also cause erosion to occur.

• Hydrostatic Pressure — When the soil surrounding your foundation becomes drenched, it can actually push through the porous concrete, causing your basement to flood. This is typically a problem during the spring melt and again with heavy rains that occur in the summer months.

• Expansive Soils — When your home’s foundation was dug, the excess soil was removed and the foundation was backfilled. The soil that is used to backfill, however, may allow moisture to build up, creating pressure on the foundation walls, leading to cracks and water infiltration.

A damaged foundation can lead to a variety of problems for you and your home, but don’t worry. You can count on our trained foundation repair professionals. We’ll diagnose the cause of your foundation wall problems and provide you with a long-lasting, economical solution that will stabilize and protect your home. If you notice any of the following, connect with us right away:

Cracks in Walls

Foundation settling and other problems can cause your foundation walls to form stair-step cracks to form in the concrete. These cracks are often caused by weak backfill soil surrounding the foundation. If this is the case in your home, we may use foundation piers to provide extra support for your home.

If the walls inside your Milwaukee home have horizontal or vertical cracks that run the length of the wall, stair-step cracks, or diagonal cracks that form in corners around doors and windows your foundation is at fault. In some cases, the problem is due to a sagging crawl space, other times, it’s a failing foundation wall. Either way, our foundation experts will find and fix the problem for you.

Bowing Walls

The unique makeup of Milwaukee’s soil leaves your home’s foundation susceptible to bowing, which is typically caused by expansive soils or hydrostatic pressure. Expansive soils put pressure on the walls when water is present or when the ground freezes. Likewise, hydrostatic pressure pushes inward on your foundation walls, causing them to crack and fail.

Common signs of this problem include stair steps and horizontal cracks along the foundation wall, diagonal cracks in corners, walls that bulge inward, and foundation walls that lean in at the top or bottom. Bowed walls can cause serious damage to your home, but we have the technology to stop the walls from bowing and potentially return them to their former position.

Water in the Basement

A dry basement adds valuable living space to your Milwaukee home, and it can be a great place to store things you don’t need every day. However, if water makes its way into your basement, it’s a sign that you’ve got a big problem on your hands. Not only will the water damage your possessions, but it can also wreak havoc on your home’s structure, leading to massive repair bills.

Water typically infiltrates the basement walls via cracks caused by settling. It can also make its way into the foundation through hydrostatic pressure or expansive soils. Thankfully, basement water problems aren’t permanent. In fact, we have a solution for each of these common Milwaukee basement water problems.

The short answer is, maybe. Structural engineers like ours may also get involved with projects that improve the structural integrity of an existing building, such as improving the foundation of a Milwaukee home.

• According to the Milwaukee City construction codes, foundation repairs can be completed by a person who has obtained their Dwelling Contractor License. The contractor has the obligation to pull the proper building permits with the City of Milwaukee and to ensure that the work is completed according to the Milwaukee City Building Codes. Our team can do this for you, so a structural engineer may not be required.
• If your home has foundation problems, and you’re having a hard time handling the problem physically or financially, help is available. In fact, low-income Milwaukee residents who are in need of emergency home repairs may be eligible for free home repairs through community organizations.
• Foundation problems are common in some of Milwaukee’s oldest neighborhoods. While it’s not required to have a structural engineer make repairs to an older home’s foundation, you will want to hire someone with experience like Regional Foundation Repair. Otherwise, you risk damaging your home’s historic significance.

The average cost of foundation repairs in Milwaukee is right around $4,300, but a variety of factors come into play when determining the actual costs. For example, the type of foundation problem you have is a huge contributor to the cost. If you’ve caught the problem early and have only minor cracks in the basement wall, for example, the cost will be lower than if the problem has persisted and structural problems are happening.

Keep in mind that foundation issues can have a dramatic effect on your home’s value. With an average selling price of $157,000, homes in Milwaukee are very affordable and the market for homes is strong. A weakened or damaged foundation, however, can make your home unattractive to buyers and reduce its selling price. Even if you don’t plan to sell anytime soon, investing in foundation repairs can help ensure your Milwaukee home’s value remains high.

As mentioned before, Milwaukee’s unique soil composition ranges from well-drained sandy soil to damp organic-rich soils. This combination of soil types can cause your home’s foundation to suffer in more ways than one. For example:

Soil Composition

If your Milwaukee home’s foundation sits on particularly clayey soil, it may heave upwards when water saturates it. This heaving motion can cause the floors and walls of your basement to move. Not only can this create cracks in the walls of the basement and upper levels, but it can also affect the way your doors and windows operate. Expansive soil causes stress and pressure on your foundation walls, again leading to cracks and other structural issues.

Ground Moisture

Wisconsin’s winters are well known for lasting months. You can expect heavy snow to last for the majority of the winter and into spring. When all that snow melts, it seeps into the ground, saturating the soil surrounding your foundation. Likewise, heavy spring rains and seasonal thunderstorms during the summer months can produce copious amounts of rain. With nowhere else to go, the water seeps into the ground and eventually forces its way into the concrete walls of your foundation.

Freeze and Thaw Cycles

The soil composition of your property and moisture are only two of the things that affect your foundation. Another more difficult to control issue is the weather. Temperatures can dip to well below freezing in the middle of winter, and frost can build up to four feet below the surface. The additional pressure frozen water puts on the soil pushes the foundation inward, causing bowing, cracks, and leaks. At the end of the long winter, when the temperatures rise, the frozen ground becomes soft, mushy, and full of water. All that excess water eventually finds its way into the porous concrete walls of your home’s basement foundation.

Although you can’t change the soil composition or control the weather, you can protect your home’s foundation from their damaging effects. If you’re already experiencing foundation issues, you can rest assured that we’re experts at repairing foundation issues in Milwaukee and the surrounding areas. Our unique knowledge of the Milwaukee building codes, soil, water table, and weather ensures that any foundation work we do for you is done right the first time.