Some foundation repairs can only be done from outside the house, with the soil dug away from the basement wall.
Before any excavation
Digging is part of the repair, not a separate job. We dig along the stretch of wall the repair needs, do the work and put the soil back so it drops away from the house.
Johnson County's residential foundation guideline puts footings at least 36 inches below the ground. A basement footing sits much deeper, down at the level of the basement floor.
Reaching one is real work, so we only dig when the repair needs it.
When the problem is outside
You will never see the outside of your basement walls, but they leave clues inside the basement and along the edge of the house.
Look at where water comes into the basement. If it seeps through a long stretch of wall instead of one crack, the whole outside of that wall is getting soaked.
That water is reaching the concrete from the soil behind it, so the fix starts on the outside face of the wall.
Set a ball on the basement floor. If it keeps rolling toward the same corner, that corner of the house has likely settled.
The footing under it sits below the ground outside the wall, so reaching it means digging.
Follow the cracks in the basement wall or the brick outside. If they get wider as they run toward one corner, the footing under that corner has likely dropped.
That is a problem underground, not one you can fix from inside the basement.
If the only basement window is small, high on the wall or stuck shut, nobody could get out through it in an emergency.
A window big enough to climb through needs a larger opening in the foundation wall and a deeper, wider well outside it.
Walk along the outside of the house and look for a low strip of ground right against the wall.
That soil was dug out and filled back in when the house was built, and it settles over the years. Rain collects in that strip and soaks the ground against your basement wall.
Some block walls lean in so far that you can see the bow from across the basement.
Bracing may not hold a wall like that, and rebuilding it means digging the soil off the outside first.
Run your hand along the lower rows of block and feel for a ledge where one row has slid in past the row beneath it.
The soil outside is still pushing on that wall, so rebuilding that section starts with digging it out.
Call us as soon as you notice water coming through a wall or a corner that has settled. When you do, mention what sits along the outside of that wall: a patio, a deck, the air conditioner, the gas meter or a garden bed.
Those decide how we reach the wall, so knowing them helps us plan your inspection.
How we dig
Digging is never the repair by itself. It is how we reach the outside of the wall or the footing under it, so every excavation below is part of a specific repair.
01
A waterproof membrane has to cover the outside of the wall from the top of the soil down to the footing.
We dig a trench along that stretch of wall down to the footing, clean the wall and apply the membrane, then lay a drain at the footing before the soil goes back.
02
A pier is fastened to the footing, the concrete base the wall sits on, so we have to reach the footing to install one.
We dig a hole beside the footing at each pier location instead of a trench along the whole wall, then fill each hole back in once its pier is in place.
03
An egress window needs a bigger opening in the basement wall and a window well big enough to climb out through.
We dig out the space for the new well, cut the larger opening in the foundation wall, set the window and the well, then fill the soil back in around it.
04
Before a damaged section of block wall comes down, the soil pressing on the outside of it has to come off.
We dig along that section down to the footing, rebuild the wall, waterproof the outside and then fill the trench back in.
05
Loose soil dumped back against a wall settles into a low strip that catches rain, which puts water right back where the repair was.
We fill the trench back in against the wall, pack the soil down as it goes and shape the ground so it drops away from the house. Johnson County's residential foundation guideline asks for at least 6 inches of drop in the first 10 feet.
Before we dig
01
Not every job needs digging, and plenty of water and wall problems can be handled from inside the basement.
We look at the wall from both sides with you, and we only dig when the repair works better from the outside or cannot be done any other way.
02
Next we look at what is in the way outside: a patio, a deck, landscaping, an air conditioner or the gas meter.
We go over what has to be moved before we start, so nothing in your yard is a surprise on the day we dig.
03
A membrane has to cover the wall all the way to the footing, while a pier needs a hole beside the footing at just one spot.
That depth sets how big the dig is and how long it stays open, and we tell you both up front.
04
Last, we show you where the soil will be piled while we work and how the ground will be shaped when we fill it back in.
Your written estimate covers the digging, the repair and the backfill, and explains why each part is needed.
Where we work
We're based in Gardner, and we're a growing company. Right now we're expanding about 45 miles out in every direction, which covers most of the metro on both sides of the state line. Not sure if we make it out your way? Give us a call and ask.
Free estimate
In the message box, tell us which side of the house the work is on and what sits along that wall, like a deck, a patio, an air conditioner or a garden bed.
Those things change how we reach the wall, so knowing about them ahead of time lets us plan the inspection around them.
Worth knowing
A trench next to your house sounds like a mess. Here is what actually happens to your yard, your soil and your utility lines.
We dig only along the stretch of wall the repair needs, or a single hole at each spot where a pier goes in.
The soil gets piled beside the trench while we work and goes back in when the repair is done. Grass and plants right along that wall will have to come out, so tell us about any you want to save.
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