Basement, Foundation, and Crawl Space Waterproofing and Repair Services in Kankakee, Illinois
When your basement floods when there are heavy rains or as the snow melts in the spring time or you’ve got cracks along the foundation, you already know this can be a real problem. We are ready to provide assistance when your home has any kind of basement or crawl space flooding, sinking foundation, or bowing basement wall problem. Our team uses time tested products and methods that we stand behind. We have a team of professionals in the Kankakee area that are trained to correctly investigate your home and evaluate your problem to come up with a specialized solution for your problem that will ensure your home is properly protected. When our team implements a basement or crawl space waterproofing system or a repair solution, it is supported by years of industry experience and trusted products.
It is crucial that if you find a problem with the craw space, basement, or foundation that you contact an experienced repair company. We say this as there are a number of potentially dangerous issues that will arise with these issues including mildew, reduced structural integrity, and even catastrophic foundation damage. No matter if you require our basement waterproofing products to stop water damaging your home, foundation repair products to stop cracks from growing in the foundation, or crawl space services to prevent damage to your floor joists, our experts are here to help you.
Basement Waterproofing
Your basement is a very important part of the home regardless of if it is being used as a storage area or have finished the area. Because of this, it is necessary that the entire space is free of standing water and any type of flooding is prevented. Since water can get into your basement through a variety of different paths, there needs to be a number of repair options that we can utilize to keep the area safe. The main places that we find water leaking is at cracks in the basement walls, which are usually in concrete or at mortar joints between blocks, at the cove joint, where the basement wall and floor meet, and at windows that may be at or even below grade.
Regardless of where the problem lies there are solutions that will collect, transport, and eject the water from the basement. If you’ve got leaky wall cracks, the first step is implementing a wall crack repair procedure to prevent the crack from growing and leaking. When the water is leaking at the cove joint or even your windows, installing a custom drainage system will help remove the water from the basement. In some extreme cases, occasionally with older block, brick, or stone foundations, we can recommend installing an entire wall solution that is a floor to ceiling liner that will collect and divert water. If you’ve already got a waterproofing system installed but it is unable to keep up with flooding water, we can install a new, more powerful sump pump to make the system as good as new. We aren’t just installing systems, we can also help you upgrade the drainage in the yard to help stop water from sitting next to the home and seeping in.
Structural Foundation Repair
The homes foundation is easily one of, if not the, most important areas of the home. It not only supports the building itself but it also creates the basement walls. When there are foundation problems, normally they will manifest themselves as stair-step cracks in the brickwork, horizontal cracks that run along the foundation or across the basement walls. You may also notice that the doors will not open or close easily or even cracks at the corners of them. There may also be a problem where the basement walls are buckling inward. While these problems may not seem critical when you notice them, each of them are indicative of a sinking or settling foundation and it is important to have an expert evaluate the foundation for problems to determine if a repair needs to be in place.
Thankfully, many foundation problems have very similar causes and our experts are very good at spotting those issues. We can offer a repair product that is for your specific problem to permanently repair and stabilize the foundation. If there is a uneven foundation, we can implement a system of foundation piers to stabilize the foundation. Depending on how bad it is and where it is, we will use either helical piers or push piers. Both types of piers are very strong and can help stabilize your foundation. If your basement walls are bowing, depending on how much the wall is buckling, there are a few potential options. We can utilize a system of wall anchors which are 2 large plates that are connected by a long, steel rod, or c shaped braces that are installed vertically against the cracks to force them back in line and stop further bowing, or carbon fiber straps and staples to strengthen along cracks and prevent the wall from bowing. When properly used, these products can correct the bowing wall and stop it from coming out of alignment again.
Crawl Space Solutions
In the greater Chicagoland area, many of the homes were built with crawl spaces in addition to basements. For many years, these were constructed with open vents which was intended to increase fresh air flow into the space and keep it dry. Unfortunately, the opposite is usually what happens. Having open vents allows water to enter the space during rain and snow storms and the vents prevent proper evaporation which causes the humidity levels to stay high which will eventually foster the growth of mildew. Up to half of the air in your home can come up through the crawl space so ensuring this area is protected from the weather and controlling excess humidity can increase the overall air quality in your home.
Our team has been encapsulating crawl spaces since 1979 and we know the best way to seal them off and control excess humidity. We do this using a process known as encapsulation which is the installation of a heavy duty liner, occasionally installed with insulation products, which are thick plastic and vinyl sheets as well as vent covers and a sturdy door that can seal the area totally and stop any unwanted moisture from entering. Encapsulation will also stop bugs and animals from settling in the crawl space which will help keep any equipment there safe and allow you to use it for storage. Once the crawl space is encapsulated, we can install an air quality control system which is a dehumidifier and air filter. It will reduce the excess humidity to a proper level as well as remove pollutants from the air.
Additional Services
We also provide a variety of services to help upgrade your basement. We can upgrade, replace, or install new basement windows to increase the air flow or increase the amount of light in the area. After we install a waterproofing system, we can install our wall system as part of a pre-finishing service that is waterproof and resistant to mildew growth. If you are building a new home, our new construction waterproofing solutions can stop any water from entering the home before it can become a problem. If you’ve have a competitors waterproofing system in place, we can perform our preventive maintenance testing to ensure it continues to work at peak efficiency.
Contact Us
If you would like more information about the solutions above, feel free to fill out the form on our contact us page, visit our frequently asked questions page or call us directly at 630-206-1177 and set up a meeting with a member of our team.