Before & After Photos

Our friends Tom and his daughter Julie from Leland, MI found themselves facing a foundation support issue and they knew that they would eventually need to seek help from trusted experts. That’s why they called us when they realized the sagging beams in their crawlspace needed more support than their homemade braces could give. Upon diagnosing their needs, we installed four Smart Jacks and a new support beam to stabilize their home. The Smart Jack is a supplemental support system for crawl space applications. The Smart Jack effectively supports sagging beams and floor joists caused by, a length of span greater than spanning capability, floor load increased after construction, exceeding design values, and weakening over time due to high moisture and rot. With this innovative stability solution in place, Julie can rest assured that her dad’s home will forever be supported.

Jeff was looking to get better support structure posts in his crawl space to help support his home better, so he called up Ayers. After we conducted a free inspection at his home to pinpoint the best solution, it was decided he could use SmartJacks. This is a supplemental support system built for crawl space applications and made of steel columns that will support her failing support structures. This will lift the home back to its original position and ensure the home's weight is supported and stabilized. This also consists of a sturdy base installed in the ground and attached are these strong, steel columns that extend to maximize support. Jeff was glad he got a professional fix that will keep his home and family safe!

These Tustin, MI customers noticed several different cracks running along on their basement walls, like the large horizontal one in the before picture. After examining it closer, they came to the conclusion that the wall was actually caving in. Our system design specialist went out for a visit and came to the same conclusion. The inward movement of walls like this is called bowing. It’s caused by expanding soil putting added pressure on the foundation and can mean disaster for the structure of homes.

The after photo shows our solution to the problem, the PowerBrace System. PowerBrace beams halt the inward motion by transferring the support of the above floor joists above from the foundation walls to the beams. The beams span the height of the wall, so the wall can no longer bend inwards. As you can see, the beams are placed into portions of excavated foundation floor and attached to the floor joists above with a special tightening bolt for stabilization (Note: before the job was completed, concrete was poured back into the excavated parts of the floor). Not only will this wall stop bowing inwards, given enough time, it may even return to its original position. 

Lynn's foundation wall in her basement was starting to bow and she wanted a permanent solution. She tried to create a temporary solution but was afraid it would not hold up and the wall would collapse. We used PowerBraces to keep the wall from moving any further. The best part about this system is that it is adjustable so that it could potentially straighten the wall.

We received a call about this Traverse City home from one of the owners. The house is in a trust, but as the decision maker, he had been thinking about putting it up for sale. Before he could do that, he wanted to address some concerns about the basement.

The owner noticed that there were several horizontal cracks running along the walls. The Ayers team saw the same thing and noted that the foundation outside was also cracked and leaning slightly. They came to the conclusion that the basement walls were bowing inward. To fix this problem, the team used our PowerBrace system. The PowerBrace system features steel beams that reach from the ceiling, where they attached to the floor joists, all the way to the ground - where they are installed into the foundation. For this home, the team installed 14 different beams against the bowing walls. The system will relieve the wall of added pressure without hurting the foundation.  PowerBrace has the unique ability to be tightened, so the walls will continue to improve over time until they return to their original position. Whenever this homeowner decides he’s ready to sell, the basement walls will already be on their way to straight and upright.