Basement and Foundation Repair in Security-Widefield

Repairing Mid-Century Foundations in Security-Widefield

Security-Widefield is an unincorporated community about 8 miles south of Colorado Springs. Much of its housing went up between the 1950s and the 1970s, and the neighborhoods are full of ranch homes and split-levels with basements. Those houses have stood a long time, which means their foundations have been through many cycles of wet springs, dry summers and freeze-thaw winters. Some still have original gutters, downspouts and grading, which may have worn down or shifted over the decades.

Older basement walls here are often concrete block or early poured concrete, and both show their age in different ways. Block walls can develop stair-step cracks along the mortar joints or start to bow inward as soil pushes against them. Poured walls tend to crack in straight lines and may seep at those cracks after storms. Original clay or concrete drain lines, if a house has any, may no longer move water well. Mature trees planted when these neighborhoods were young now have big root systems that pull moisture from the soil in summer, which can add to seasonal movement near the house.

Split-level homes add a twist, because each level sits at a different depth and can move a little differently. We often find that a crack in an upper-level wall traces back to settlement or water at the lower level. Many homes have also been remodeled, with finished basements or new additions on old footings, so we look at how old and new parts meet before suggesting a fix. Common repairs here include wall anchors or steel braces for bowing walls, carbon fiber straps, interior drain tile with a sump, and piers where a corner has settled.