Thrasher Foundation Repair Before & After Photos

LeAnna and Rodney R. wanted to preserve the home that her dad built. There were humps and valleys in the floor. They were worried the floor wouldn't support the weight of everything. They had already done work to try and fix this, but nothing seemed to work.

LeAnna and Rodeney called Thrasher and our System Design Special, Sean Robinson, evaluated the problem. We installed 18 SmartJacks along the full spans of both main beams (9 on each beam).  We also installed a 20' supplemental beam and 4 SmartJacks under the bathroom and LeAnna's scrapbooking room, where she has a lot of heavy furniture and full bookcases.  All this allowed us to even out and level the floor through the full span of the house. We also encapsulated the crawl space and installed a SaniDry Sedona dehumidifier to get moisture and humidity under control, in order to preserve the flooring system and floor support.

Owners of public buildings must be very cautious about having tripping hazards on sidewalks.

All concrete slabs settle – it’s a matter of when, not if, it will happen.

The Raytown School District has used Thrasher Foundation Repair on many occasions to maintain the safety of the sidewalks and flatwork around their schools and office buildings.

Owners of most public buildings are required to repair any public sidewalk or entryway that has more than 3/4″ differential movement from one piece of flatwork to another.

Thrasher was hired to eliminate any potential tripping hazards along the sidewalks and entryways at one of the district's office buildings. We were able to return all the concrete flatwork to the original condition without interrupting their working schedule or the facility's function.

Although we do not use or provide mudjacking services today, we provide a polyurethane injection system, PolyLevel, to offer an economical, quick and effective solution for lifting situations like these and residential sidewalks, patios and driveways.  

Sunken or heaved concrete slabs can present tripping hazards that you may be liable for as a homeowner. Concrete repair is essential to protect your driveway, sidewalk or patio for the future. 

At Thrasher Foundation Repair, we use PolyLevel® for concrete leveling because it's a fast and effective way to lift and stabilize sinking concrete. PolyLevel is a lightweight, strong high-density polyurethane foam developed by our sister company Supportworks and only available to an exclusive network of foundation and concrete repair contractors. It lifts and supports concrete slabs without adding weight to the soil beneath, and it's waterproof so that it won't wash out or dry out like traditional mudjacking material. It's environmentally friendly, too, with no environmentally harmful chemical leaching. Concrete leveling with PolyLevel expanding foam not only raises concrete slabs but also compacts the soil around them, creating a stable environment that will ensure that your driveway, patio or pool deck remains level into the foreseeable future.

Our comprehensive concrete protection system provides additional durability:

1. Your concrete is lifted and leveled using PolyLevel® foam.
2. Your cracked concrete and control joints are filled and sealed using NexusPro joint sealant.
3. The whole surface is protected from the elements with a coat of SealantPro™, which permanently bonds to your concrete.

When you lift, level and protect your home's concrete, you can rest assured it will keep looking and working great well into the future — plus, you'll sleep better knowing you've got a five-year warranty.

When we visit your home for the first time, you can expect a thorough inspection and a detailed explanation of the concrete leveling solution we propose and why. We offer several levels of protection and transparent pricing to meet your specific needs. 

We use PolyLevel to lift and level concrete. PolyLevel polyurethane foam is pumped beneath cement slabs through tiny ports about the size of a penny. Initially, PolyLevel flows like water, filling even the smallest cracks and crevices in the soil. It quickly expands and hardens, lifting the concrete slabs above it and compressing the ground around it at the same time. PolyLevel is waterproof, so it will never wash out, and it won't degrade over time due to temperature extremes. It's environmentally friendly, too, with no ecologically harmful chemical leaching. Best of all, PolyLevel cures quickly, allowing your concrete to be used usually the same day.

Having a home that is 100 years old means that the homeowner must handle problems with unique solutions, especially repairing the foundation and waterproofing.

For Michael and his mother, this was the case for the foundation of their home in Omaha, Nebraska. The foundation was made of brick and had been DIY-repaired several times with concrete patches. Still, water continued to fill the basement during snow melts or when it rained.  

Over a year ago, Michael had several contractors give estimates to repair the foundation. While Thrasher Foundation Repair provided a proposal, another contractor was awarded the job. That contractor did some work to replace part of a wall but left Michael with a mess and a basement that still flooded when it rained. While Michael was fighting the previous contractor to get his money back, he decided to reach back out to Thrasher Foundation Repair to get another opinion.

A Permanent Solution for a Wet Basement and Damp Crawlspace

System Design Specialist Wyatt Simon visited the home and inspected the entire foundation to make recommendations. Michael’s desire was for a permanent solution that would allow for the basement to be used as a recreation space in the future. He and his mother also have allergies and were hoping to improve the air quality in the home as well. Wyatt was able to identify three primary issues. One, there were portions of the foundation wall that needed to be shored up. Two, the basement needed a waterproofing system to keep it dry. Three, the dirt crawlspace needed sealing to prevent humidity from continuing to cause air quality issues.

Wyatt proposed a structural repair to the failing portions of the brick foundation. 

Thrasher recommended a perimeter drainage system specially designed for old stone foundations to control the water.

After- A TripleSafe Sump Pump System was installed in the corner, and the drainage system directs all water from under the floor to be pumped outside.  This system prevents the three most common sump pump failures: mechanical failure, power interruption, and pump capacity.

 Parts of the basement floor were broken up and replaced as part of installing that system. The system drains to a sump pump system, with Michael choosing to add a battery back-up pump to ensure the basement stays dry during power outages. Lastly, Wyatt suggested a liner to encapsulate the crawlspace and seal the dirt off from the rest of the house. The liner provided a barrier between the damp earth and the dry indoor air. We used the same CleanSpace product on the brick walls to prevent moisture from seeping through the brick.

After- Once all the systems are installed, you can see the possibilities for next steps in refinishing the basement.

Michael had Wyatt out several times to make sure he understood the project and because he didn’t want any of the issues that he had with his previous contractor to be a problem again. It’s one of the reasons Thrasher is so devoted to redefining the contractor – customer experience. We see a world where the contractor does it right the first time, uses the highest quality materials, trains their employees to deliver the best customer experience, and offers a permanent solution that they stand behind. We believe the bar for an exceptional customer experience can be set so high that mediocrity in the contracting world is simply no longer accepted or tolerated.

Michael then moved forward with the project, and the Thrasher team was able to complete all the work in a few days. Michael and his mother gave rave reviews of the project and are grateful to have a 25-year warranty on all of the work performed. 

When you’re ready to move forward with a fix-it project in your home, we hope that you will give us the opportunity to have a free inspection. With more than 45 years fixing foundations, leveling concrete and waterproofing basements, we’ve seen it all. Give us a call to schedule an appointment or fill out the form, here.

Dirt crawl spaces are common, but they can cause issues to homes. The problems include sagging floors which can be repaired with floor jacks and dirt in vents which can be solved with crawl space encapsulation. In addition, there can be moisture in the crawl space which can be prevented or mitigated with a vapor barrier like CleanSpace.

A home in Forsyth, MO had a dirt crawl space that needed to be repaired. The Thrasher Foundation Repair installed our CleanSpace product. This allowed the homeowner to use the crawl space as a storage area.

This homeowner had horrible smells coming up into her kitchen and the rest of the home. Thrasher traced it to the crawl space and suggested a permanent fix.

Sandra had horrible smells coming up into her kitchen and the rest of the home. No homeowner wants that, especially in the kitchen. She traced the source of the offending odors to the crawl space. But what was causing the smells? Moisture is the root cause of most musty house smells. The most common reason for a musty odor in your home is the presence of mold or mildew. This is one reason that some houses smell after it rains or when you've had a plumbing leak.

Getting Rid of Musty Smell in Your Home

So how do you get rid of the musty smell in the basement? Deodorizers? Air filtration? Fans? Over time, it's more than an olfactory annoyance. There are even deeper worries about how it may be affecting your family's health. Fifty percent of homes have at least one person that suffers from allergies. And, 90% with allergies show sensitivity to mold spores. Indoor air quality is an often overlooked but critical issue in the health of your home.

The problem is the amount of humidity in your home. Part of the challenge is how air circulates in a home. It's called the "stack effect." The stack effect refers to the process in which hot air leaves the home through your attic and upper levels. As it does, a vacuum is created below, and new air is pulled upwards through the basement, crawl space, and lower levels. And, all of that moisture is pulled along with the air through your home. Mold, mildew and even dust mites thrive in humidity-rich environments. What's a homeowner to do? 

Here's a video that explains the stack in your home(opens in a new window).

Permanently Fixing Humidity Issues in Basements, Crawl Space

Sandra called Thrasher Foundation Repair. System Design Specialist Zach Goldberg confirmed what Sandra suspected, and that was her problem originated in the crawl space. The solution was an efficient system to eliminate the moisture and keep it from spreading throughout Sandra's home. Zach recommended: 

• Complete crawl space encapsulation - A vapor barrier slows or prevents ground moisture evaporation into the crawl space air. A vapor barrier, by its nature, resists the passage of air. By stopping air movement from the ground, it can also turn your crawlspace into a semi-conditioned space – one that is close to the temperature of the living spaces above. 
• Also, a highly efficient dehumidifier, the SaniDry Sedona, was recommended to pull the moisture out of the air and prevent it from being released into the home. The SaniDry Sedona eliminates damp, musty odors in your basement or crawlspace by drying and filtering the air. It will keep your home below 50% relative humidity – mold won't stand a chance, and dust mites will die off!
• By installing a SuperSump sump pump system, they'd be able to capture additional sources of moisture like groundwater, any water that collects in the crawl space and a resource for emptying the dehumidifier. Your sump pump is the critical component of keeping your basement dry. Without a reliable and operational sump pump, your basement is likely to get wet.
• As a final step, drain we installed lines to route water away from the home to avoid reintroduction into the crawl space. If the soil around your basement is saturated with water, hydrostatic pressure will build, and water will find its way in through the path of least resistance. These resistance paths can include porous concrete foundation walls, form ties on poured foundation walls, cracks in foundation walls, and the cold joint where the foundation wall and footing meet.

This was a big project to consider, and Sandra felt like she needed some help to decide. She called on her son Paul to offer counsel. Paul is a highly-regarded contractor in Wichita, was very much involved after the original consultation. Zach went and visited Sandra and Paul and thoroughly discussed the inspection and the options presented. After an hour and a half, they decided that this was the best for Sandra and her home. Part of our Thrasher Difference is our Design Specialists will educate you to make the most informed decision about how to repair and restore value for your home. We have a variety of products to fit various problems, and if we can't fix it – we'll let you know that too. The 25-year transferrable warranty on the crawl space encapsulation also offered peace of mind for moving forward.

What’s the Right Level of Humidity in My Home

So, what's the right level of humidity in your home? Every basement is going to have a humidity level. The question boils down to – what is a safe humidity level to have in your home? Safe humidity levels range from 30% up to 50%. Once you get up to that 50% marker in a basement, there is enough moisture in the air to allow some of the common indoor allergens to start to survive and thrive. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends(opens in a new window), "Keep humidity levels in your home as low as you can—no higher than 50%–all day long."

In the video below, Shane McClintic, one of our basement repair experts with over ten years of waterproofing experience, provides more information and explains what an average, healthy basement humidity level is for most homes and symptoms of basement humidity that exceed this level. Shane also discusses how high basement humidity levels can lead to potential health issues, including mold growth, dust mites and allergies.

Here's a video that explains "normal" levels of humidity in your home(opens in a new window).

Once we did the work, Paul told Zach at the job site that he doesn't give praise much because his standards are so high, but that he was impressed with everything Thrasher did for his mom.

He would recommend us to anyone.

Ready for Peace of Mind

If your basement or crawl space doesn't pass the "sniff test,' call us to determine how you can better ensure your family's health. And remember, it includes a warranty she can pass on if she decides to move on! If you have any nagging problems where Thrasher Foundation Repair can help, call us today or link to our Free Inspection form here.