Foundation repair in Wilkes-Barre, PA

One request instead of a week of phone calls

Foundation trouble rarely shows up at a good time. You notice a stair-step crack in the block wall, a door that suddenly sticks, or a damp line across the basement floor after a storm. You want someone who knows foundations to look at it, and you do not want to spend days calling around.

This site gives you one place to ask. It is a referral service. You fill in a short request, and we pass it to an independent local foundation repair contractor who serves Wilkes-Barre and the towns around it. They contact you to set up a visit. If no contractor can take it, we let you know.

You agree to any work only after you have talked with them, seen what they found, and the plan makes sense to you.

Problems you can send a request about

• Cracks in poured concrete or block walls, or in the basement floor. See foundation crack repair.
• Bowing, bulging or leaning walls, often with a horizontal crack partway up. See bowing basement wall repair.
• Water in the basement: seepage at the floor joint, wet walls, a sump pump that cannot keep up. See basement waterproofing.
• Crumbling stone or mortar in an older fieldstone or rubble foundation. See stone foundation repair.
• Sinking or settling: sloping floors, sticking doors and windows, gaps at trim or chimneys.
• Crawl space problems: damp soil, sagging floor framing, musty smells.

Why foundations here take a beating

Wilkes-Barre sits in the Wyoming Valley, on the Susquehanna River, with ridges on both sides. That brings a few pressures that show up in basements:

• Older houses. About 47% of homes in Wilkes-Barre were built before 1940, according to Census estimates. Many sit on stone, brick or early block foundations that were never waterproofed the way new ones are. The service area page lists each town with its own housing figures.
• Water. Spring rain, snowmelt and hillside runoff push water against basement walls. Saturated soil presses harder on a wall and forces water through cracks and joints, which is how many walls start to leak, crack and bow.
• Frost. Very wet soil expands as it freezes and can push a basement wall sideways, which matters most for concrete block walls.
• Old mine workings. The Luzerne County hazard mitigation plan describes a strip of abandoned underground coal mines running across the Wyoming Valley along the Susquehanna. See mine subsidence and your foundation.

How a request works

1. Tell us what you see. Fill in the request form with your ZIP code, the problem, and a few plain sentences about where it is and when you noticed it.
2. We pass it on. We send your request to an independent local foundation repair contractor who serves your area. If no contractor can take it, we let you know.
3. They contact you. They set up a time to look at it and explain any fee for the visit. You decide whether to go ahead with anything they recommend.

What to have ready

• Photos. Take a wide shot of the wall and a close shot of each crack with a coin or tape measure beside it for scale.
• When it started. Did the crack appear after a wet spring, a dry summer, or nearby digging? Has it grown?
• Where water comes in. At the floor joint, through a crack, through the wall face, or up through the floor.
• The age of the house. A rough guess is fine.
• What has been done before. Earlier patches, a sump pump, gutters or downspout changes.

Questions to ask any contractor

• What do you think is causing this, and how sure are you?
• What are my options, from the smallest fix to the full repair?
• Is the work covered by a written warranty, and does it transfer if I sell the house?
• Will you need a permit, and who gets it?
• Are you registered as a home improvement contractor with the Pennsylvania Attorney General?

Under Pennsylvania’s Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act, most home improvement contractors must register with the Attorney General’s office, put their registration number on contracts and estimates, and use a signed written contract for jobs over $500. Ask for the number before any work starts, and check it on the Attorney General’s website.

When to act quickly

• A wall that is visibly moving, with a crack that keeps widening or a bulge you can see from across the room.
• Water coming in fast or reaching outlets, the furnace or the water heater. Stay out of standing water near anything electrical.
• Doors that suddenly will not close or new cracks above doors and windows upstairs.

If you ever think a wall or ceiling could give way, get everyone out of that area first.

Send your request

When you are ready, send a foundation repair request. It takes a few minutes and does not commit you to anything.