These are the foundation excavation methods we use when a repair has to reach the outside of a basement wall or the footing under it. How far we dig depends on the repair, and we show you the plan before any soil comes out.
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.
Free estimate
In the message box, tell us which side of the house the problem is on and what you have noticed inside the basement along that wall.
Photos of that wall from inside the basement help us know where to look first.
Worth knowing
How deep we dig and how long the trench stays open both come from the repair it is for. These points explain why.
Water pressing on a basement wall pushes hardest at the bottom, where the soil above it is deepest.
A membrane that stops partway down leaves the part of the wall under the most pressure uncovered, so we dig all the way to the footing.
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