Beaumont-Wilshire: Foundation Wall Stabilization With Wall Anchors

The situation

The north basement wall was bowing inward about three quarters of an inch at its midpoint, with a horizontal crack tracking across it at roughly the same height. Waterlogged dense clay (opens in a new tab) against the wall had been pushing on it for years, and the movement was continuing rather than settled from some past event.

What we did

We installed 4 steel wall anchors: earth anchor plates set in stable soil well beyond the house, connected through the wall to interior wall plates by galvanized steel rods. Tightening the rods pulls the wall back toward plumb over time and holds it there against the same pressure that was pushing it in.

The outcome

The wall has not moved since the anchors went in, confirmed against the crack monitor we left in place. The owners chose not to push the wall back to fully plumb immediately, since stopping the movement mattered more than cosmetic straightness, and the anchors can still be tightened further later.

A wall that is only cracked, without bowing, is usually a crack to inject rather than a wall to anchor. Working out which one you have is the point of the inspection, and it decides whether the fix takes an afternoon or 2 days.

By the numbers