Block Foundation Repair with steel pilasters – Cincinnati, Ohio

This customer had been referred to us by Michael Montgomery, the engineer for this project. The homeowner has a block foundation that had been bowing in for a while, and we were hired to come in and install 5 steel beams to counteract the wall pushing in.  At the bottom of the wall there was a drainage system that stuck out about 3 inches from the wall along the perimeter of the basement that tied into a sump pump.  To install the steel beams and avoid the drainage system we welded square tube steel to the steel beam to bump it out from the wall.  The steel was to be installed in three different rooms in the basement, two in the kids play room, two in the sump pump room, and one in the bathroom.   The kids play room and the bathroom were finished rooms.  After starting to demo the kids play room we discovered that the drainage system that was in the bathroom and sump pump room was not in the kids play room, and therefore, we did not need the tube steel welded to the steel beam.  We then decided to cut the tube steel off of those two beams so that we would not have to bump out the finished walls in the kids play room.  We then installed the two steel beams in the kids play room, bolting the beams to the concrete floor with heavy duty sleeve anchors and bolting pressure treated wood to the floor joists above, as well as grouting solid the gaps between the wall and the beams.  Then replaced the framing and hung, finished, and prime painted new drywall to finish off that room.  The sump pump room was not finished, but in this room we had to cut out and re-tuckpoint the mortar joints from where the wall was pushing in.  To cut out the existing mortar joints we used our new vacuum that attaches to our grinder with a special shroud that catches all the dust for a safer working environment and less clean up.  Then all we had to do was install the two beams just like in the kids play room.  The last room was the bathroom; we first had to take out the sink and light fixture to demo the wall and ceiling.  We installed the last steel beam, grout it solid, and then frame a bump out in the wall where the sink would hide the beam.   The last step for this project was to hang, finish, and prime paint the drywall we replaced in the bathroom, and reinstall the trim we took off of the finished rooms.