Basement Waterproofing & Foundation Repair in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, MN

An interior drainage system will be installed around the inner perimeter of your Twin Cities’ basement, as its name implies. The only visible portion of this system will be the wall flange installed along the wall and floor joint. Most of the water from leaks tends to gather here. The system then will capture any moisture that tries to seep into your basement and redirect it to the powerful sump pump, the heart of the entire drainage system.

The sump pump has a complex float system that lets it know how much water has entered its system. Once it reaches a specific amount, the pump will then activate on its own and work to pump water away from your home. You will not have to worry about rushing to turn it on yourself in the middle of a storm, for instance. Our pumps can drain thousands of gallons of water. Should your power go out during a blizzard, if you have a battery backup attached to the sump pump, it will still keep churning out water, slush, and ice from your home with ease.

It also has an alarm system that will sound once it turns on and when it is running on low battery power. You can call our basement experts to replace the back-up battery so that it will not shut down in the middle of a huge storm. Installation of this system typically takes less than a day and will not interfere with any other pipes around your home. You can enjoy a completely waterproof basement after just a few hours.

Excess humidity is not something many homeowners consider to be much of a problem. However, it can extensively damage your Twin Cities’ home if you continue to let it linger inside the crawl space. For one thing, the crawl space is already quite small. Having humidity constantly flowing into this space can create all kinds of issues. Mold and mildew spores tend to grow a lot faster in humid conditions, for instance. Similarly, pests of all kinds tend to be more drawn towards crawl spaces with humidity or moisture issues more than other homes.

It does not help that the Twin Cities’ humidity levels tend to fluctuate between 60 to a little over 70 percent humidity all year along. For context, a healthy indoor humidity level for all homes should range around 30 to 50 percent, at most. Any humidity levels over that range will entice mold, mildew, and pests to settle in your Minneapolis or St. Paul home.

There is another form of damage that excess humidity can cause in the crawl space as well. You might notice that your Minneapolis or St. Paul home becomes a lot warmer or more humid than it used to during the summer. This can cause you to turn your air conditioner up even higher just to combat that muggy feeling. Similarly, you might also notice that your floor downstairs has become absolutely freezing to walk along in the winter. You might then crank your heater higher in response. This is a direct consequence of the stack effect. Your energy bills may hike up as a result of your trying to stay cool or warm respectively.

The foundation is a more complex structure than you might think. The average Twin Cities’ homeowner should not attempt to repair any broken part of the foundation by themselves. You might accidentally damage some other part and eventually require even more costly repairs to fix that in the future. It is best to leave such repairs to the foundation experts at Innovative Basement Authority instead. We can offer your home a free foundation inspection and assess the extent of the damage your foundation has suffered. Additionally, we can also offer you a free quote on all our powerful foundation repair systems.

Each system will repair your foundation in different ways. Our pier systems will support your settled foundation from directly underneath it, slowly lifting it back up to its original height again. These piers are essentially drilled or pushed into the deeper layers of soil that will not easily be washed out by moisture to then transfer that strength to your foundation. These piers can also close cracks that have sprouted on its surface over time.

We can also offer various systems that can brace your Minneapolis or St. Paul foundation against any future moisture damage as well. Our wall anchors, carbon fiber wall straps, and SettleStop IntelliBrace™ I-beam system all perform this function. However, our carbon fiber wall straps will stabilize the foundation walls rather than repair any larger damage it might face. Both our wall anchors and our SettleStop IntelliBrace™ system can repair any bowed-in foundation walls. The main difference between the two lies in where they are installed. Our wall anchors will be buried at specific points around your yard, connecting to the foundation via heavy steel rods. The I-beams will be braced against the walls themselves to push back against bowing damage.

Innovative Basement Authority’s pier systems might seem confusing to those looking into all the foundation repairs that we offer. These systems appear to perform the same types of repairs, after all. The main difference between the two lies in how they are installed under the foundation.

Both of these pier systems are used to stabilize and potentially lift your Minneapolis or St. Paul home’s settled foundation back to its original height. Basically, the galvanized steel piers are installed down into the deeper, more compact layers of soil underneath your home. These layers will not be affected by any prominent storms or other moisture damage. You will not have to worry about these layers washing out at all, so their strength can provide continuous support for your foundation for years to come. These piers then essentially can brace your foundation against any and all future moisture damage. Each pier will be attached to the underside of your foundation via a heavy bracket.

There are two different pier systems Innovative Basement Authority can provide your home: helical piers and push piers. Helical piers typically have spiral-like attachments on the end of each pier. It is these attachments that make them easier for our experts to hydraulically drill into especially tough soils. Push piers are best suited for homes with much looser soil. Homes in the Twin Cities will typically have sandy loam soil, which is indeed quite loose enough for experts to install push piers manually by pushing them into this soil. Of course, the choice of which pier system is best for your home should be left up to the experts installing one of these systems underneath your home.

Many Minneapolis or St. Paul homeowners overlook concrete damage due to how insignificant it might seem compared to other damage around your home. However, you should not avoid repairing any cracks, no matter how small. These cracks can always expand further and even extend down to impact your home’s foundation if you continue to ignore them. This is why you need to call the concrete experts at Innovative Basement Authority to fix this damage as soon as possible.

Of course, not every Twin Cities homeowner will have the time to deal with every single crack they might come across along their concrete. This is where knowing which types of cracks can be left alone for a short period of time and which must be repaired as soon as possible. Any cracks that measure less than 1/8 inch wide are known as hairline cracks and will not pose any immediate threat to the foundation for the time being. Any cracks that measure anywhere between 1/8 and 1/4 inches wide can also be left alone for a short period of time. However, it is not wise to leave these cracks alone for too long, either. There is always the possibility that these cracks can grow wider and damage the foundation eventually.

Any cracks that measure any wider than 1/4 inch wide need to be repaired immediately. These cracks are capable of spreading damage out to both the surrounding concrete slabs and the foundation. Melted snow or rainstorms can easily help to widen these cracks, which makes melted snows and rainstorms much more dangerous. Indeed, this damage can wreck your home’s entire infrastructure if you continue to neglect repairs. Fortunately, Innovative Basement Authority’s SettleStop PolyRenewal™ solution can fill in any cracks and gaps in the soil, and permanently protect your concrete.

Innovative Basement Authority’s SettleStop PolyRenewal™ injection foam solution is perhaps one of the best concrete repair solutions out there. It is a lightweight solution that can perfectly lift and stabilize any concrete slab with ease. Of course, its light weight might actually seem like a detriment that will not be able to move concrete, much less boost it back up to its original height. When you compare it to other concrete repairs, however, you will see that its light weight is more of a benefit than anything. Other heavier concrete lifting solutions will weigh around 120 pounds per cubic foot. Eventually, the weight can cause the concrete to sink again in the future. SettleStop PolyRenewal™ injection foam weighs only four pounds per cubic foot in comparison.

Unlike other concrete lifting solutions that require loud construction or other messy installation methods, SettleStop PolyRenewal™ foam is injected directly through the concrete slabs without leaving behind any mess whatsoever. The foam then fills in any cracks in the concrete as well as any gaps in the soil left from washout. Essentially, this foam will bolster and protect both the concrete slabs above and the supporting soil below to ensure that no moisture damage will affect it.

You might worry that this foam can then bleed toxic chemicals into the soil and ruin your Twin Cities’ landscaping or your lawn. Rest assured that SettleStop PolyRenewal™ is made up of eco-friendly materials that will only lift and stabilize your concrete and stabilize your supporting soil. Because other concrete repair methods take a while to cure, you might also be concerned that you will not be able to walk along your concrete for days or even weeks at a time. Fortunately, our foam solution cures 15 minutes after application.