If your basement walls are bowing inward or look to be bulging, it could be that there is too much water around your property due to poor drainage or because your home is built on expansive clay soil.
This is a serious foundational issue that you’ll need to correct as soon as possible.
There are a few different options to repair a bowing basement wall, but this blog will focus on how we install helical tie-back anchors to secure your foundation.
Step #1: Make Plans & Obtain Permits
Not all home improvements require a permit but work on your foundation does because it involves the structural integrity of your home.
You’re getting helical tie-back anchors installed because your basement wall is bowing inward or bulging. If that wall fails or if the installation isn’t done properly, your home could suffer major damage.
USS will design and detail the installation. A set of stamped and sealed structural engineer drawings will also be completed.
These engineering designs and details will be submitted to the local municipality for permitting. The installation won’t begin until a permit is approved.
Step #2: Prepare Foundation Walls
Once a permit is approved, our repair team will lay out the helical tie-back locations according to the designs completed in step one.
A small amount of soil will be excavated from the exterior of the foundation at each of these tie-back locations. These are pilot holes measuring 3 feet wide and 3 feet deep.
Helical tie-back anchors will be driven through the pilot holes and into the exterior ground soil to provide additional support.
A small hole measuring about 2 inches in diameter will also be cored into the foundation. It will be large enough to pass the couplings and hardware through during installation.
Step #3: Helical Tie-Back Anchor Installation
At this point, our foundation repair experts will be ready to install the foundation helical tie-back anchors. The back end of the helical anchor will be inserted into the basement from the outside, coupling end first.
Next, it will be advanced into the soil using a hydraulic handheld drive unit from the basement. The installation is a three-person project. Two installers are needed to hold the drive head unit in place, and a third operates the drive power pack controlling the amount of pressure and torque.
It’s imperative that helical tie-back anchors are advanced to the proper depth and torque.
Step #4: Ensuring Wall Stabilization
The USS installation team consists of experts in installing helical tie-back anchors and helical piers. They’ve installed them in many different soil types and know what depth or torque is needed.
Once they verify that the tie-backs are properly installed, a wall plate will be installed around the anchor on the interior of the wall.
For the final step, a threaded bar will be inserted into the adaptor and the helical tie-back anchor will be tensioned to bring the wall back into place. After being stabilized, the team will use tightening nuts to complete the repair.
At that point, the damaged wall will be permanently fixed.
Fix Your Bowing or Bulging Walls
We hope this blog helped you understand the process of installing helical tie-back anchors. These anchors should be installed immediately if your basement walls are losing their structural integrity.
Call us today at 847-382-2882 if you have any questions about basement foundation repair, or if you’d like to schedule a free consultation.
