- A vertical or diagonal crack in a poured wall, sometimes wet after a heavy rain
- Horizontal or stair-step cracking through the joints of a block wall
- A wall that bows inward, or leans in at the top
- Small round holes in a poured wall that weep water, or push their old filler back out
- A gap or crack where the i-beam sits in the wall
- Water showing up at the corner of a basement window
- Doors or windows that no longer close the way they used to
- A seawall with gaps that keep widening and letting water through
Foundation Repair in Southeastern Michigan
Something Cracked, Moved, Opened Up or Started Leaking. The Question Is Why.
Poured and Block Foundations — Residential, Commercial & Industrial
A foundation problem usually shows up as a crack, a wall that is no longer straight, an opening that was built into the wall and has started to leak, or ground under the footing that stopped carrying the load.
What matters is not the crack itself, it is whether the wall is still doing its job and what is pushing on it. A hairline crack in a poured wall and a block wall leaning inward are not the same problem, and they do not get the same repair.
We work on poured and block foundations across Southeastern Michigan — residential, commercial and industrial.
Call Now: 586-465-5500 or Request a Free Assessment Online
FOUNDATION REPAIR
A Solution for Every Foundation Problem
What Foundation Trouble Looks Like
Most people notice one of these before they notice anything else.
Why Foundations Move in Southeastern Michigan
Nothing about the house changed. The ground around it did.
The soil here is heavy clay. Clay holds water, swells when it is wet and shrinks when it dries, and that cycle pushes on a foundation wall from the outside every single year. Freeze-thaw makes it worse — water in the soil expands when it freezes, and in this part of Michigan that happens repeatedly through a winter rather than once.
Poured and block walls fail differently. A poured wall cracks in a line, because concrete shrinks as it cures and flexes under load. A block wall gives at the mortar joints — stair-step cracking that follows the joints, or a horizontal crack running straight across the wall.
Then there are the openings that were built in on purpose. Tie rod holes left by the forms, the pocket where an i-beam sits in the wall, and the pocket under a basement window. None of those are damage. They are original construction, and they leak once whatever sealed them wears out.
Seeing a Crack You Can’t Explain?
A look at the wall tells you whether you are dealing with a crack, a wall that has moved, or an opening that was built in — and what your foundation is made of changes the answer.
It is free, and it is the only way to know which repair you actually need.
Call Now: 586-465-5500 or Request a Free Assessment Online
Which Repair Do You Need?
Four questions sort almost every foundation problem in this area. Is the wall cracked, has the wall moved, is water coming through a crack or an opening that was built into the wall, or is the ground under the footing what gave way?
Seawalls are their own case — a waterfront wall holds back soil and water at the same time, and fails differently. That work is covered on the seawall repair page.
A crack in the wall
A crack in a poured wall is sealed by basement crack repair, injected from the inside with no excavation outside. The injection fills the crack through its depth rather than sealing over the face of it, and the material is chosen for the crack: polyurethane where it is actively leaking, epoxy where it is dry and structural bonding is needed. Block walls crack through the mortar joints instead — stair-step, or straight across horizontally — and are handled differently.
A crack that keeps opening is telling you the wall is still moving. Where it needs holding as well as sealing, carbon fiber staples stitch across it.
The wall has moved
A wall that bulges inward or leans at the top is under pressure from the soil outside. It does not correct itself and it does not stop on its own.
How far it has gone decides the repair. Bowing basement wall repair covers the range — carbon fiber straps for a wall that has moved a little, steel i-beam bracing for one that has moved further, and excavating and straightening a wall that has gone past that.
An opening that was built in
Tie rod holes left behind by the forms, the pocket where an i-beam sits in the wall, and the pocket under a basement window are all original construction. They are not damage and they do not mean the wall is failing.
They leak when whatever sealed them wears out, and each is repaired its own way — rod holes, i-beam pockets and window pockets.
The wall is fine, the soil under it is not
Not every foundation problem is the wall. Sometimes the ground under the footing has stopped carrying the load — soil that was poorly compacted, washed out, or weakened over time.
That reads differently than a bowing wall. You get settlement instead: cracks opening at a corner, floors going out of level, doors and windows that no longer close the way they did. Bracing the wall will not fix it, because the wall is not what moved.
The repair is deep injection soil stabilization, which strengthens the soil below grade so it carries the load again, with no excavation.
Not Sure Which One You Need?
Call Now: 586-465-5500 or Request a Free Assessment Online
Why Choose Suburban Basement for Foundation Repair
Foundation repair starts with reading the wall — whether it has moved, and what is pushing on it. That sounds obvious, and it is the step most often skipped.
We are not a dealer for anybody’s system
Most of the large foundation repair companies here are franchises or dealer networks, so every recommendation routes back to the one product line they are licensed to sell.
We are independent. Interior drain tile, exterior excavation, curtain grouting, crack injection, chimney foundations — all of them get installed here, so none of them is the default answer.
Poured, block, stone and brick
Block and poured are the two we see most. They leak differently, and a company that only knows one of them will treat your wall like the one it knows.
Sometimes the honest answer is smaller than you feared. If your problem is grading or a downspout, that is what you will be told.
- The repair is chosen for the wall, not for a product line
- We install every method, so none of them is the default
- Free on-site assessment before anything is quoted
- Lifetime transferable warranty on most repairs
- Over 20 years on Southeastern Michigan foundations
Experience the Suburban Basement Difference
Call Now: 586-465-5500 or Request a Free Assessment Online!
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does foundation repair cost?
It depends entirely on what the wall needs. Injecting a single crack and straightening a bowing wall are not in the same range. We look at the wall, tell you what it needs, and quote that — there is no charge for the visit and no obligation.
Is foundation repair covered by insurance?
Usually not. Most policies exclude gradual water intrusion and earth movement, which covers almost everything in this category. Sudden events are sometimes treated differently. Your policy is the only place that answer exists.
Can a cracked or bowing wall be repaired without digging?
Often, yes. Crack injection, carbon fiber straps and steel bracing are all done from inside the basement with no excavation. A wall that has moved too far to hold with bracing has to be excavated and straightened — that is the exception, not the rule.
How long does the work take?
Crack repairs, rod holes, carbon fiber and steel i-beam bracing are typically same-day. Excavating and straightening a wall takes longer and depends on access and weather.
Does a crack mean my foundation is failing?
Not on its own. Poured walls crack as concrete cures and as the wall flexes, and plenty of those cracks are stable for decades. What matters is whether the crack is still moving and whether the wall is straight. That is what the assessment tells you.
I had a crack repaired before and it came back. Why?
Usually because the first repair sealed the crack without dealing with what was opening it. Injection is a permanent seal that fills the crack through its depth rather than covering the face of the wall — polyurethane where the crack is actively leaking, epoxy where it is dry and structural bonding is needed. But if the wall is still moving, the crack opens back up and leaks again. The fix has to match the cause, not just the symptom.
