Bowed basement walls can be the result of different factors. These can affect your house individually or in combination. It is a matter that must be looked into immediately, because it not only poses a danger to your property, but to your life and that of your family too. Bowed basement walls are the result of walls losing their strength and capability to hold at bay the forces pushing them inward.
Some Possible Explanations
There are many possible options or reasons for this to happen; the most common are related to things outside the wall. For example, a driveway or shed built after the house was built could be putting pressure on the ground under it and the easiest way for it to move is towards the empty space in your basement. Tree roots can also push soil and themselves against the basement walls and make them collapse. Bad drainage in the area near the wall may also cause it to bow under the pressure the water and mud exerts on it.
Nature is not the only possible responsible party though; the original builders can be at fault too. When the house was designed, the architect and the engineer had to make sure that the basement walls, which keep the house in place, were thick enough. If they made a mistake in their calculations or someone down the line added extra weight to them, it is possible that they cannot resist the strain and have shifted or bowed under it. Faulty materials can also be responsible for the problem. Even a batch of poorly mixed concrete can cause problems in a wall holding that much weight.
Dangers of Bowed Walls
The greatest danger is that the wall continues to bow under the pressure and finally collapses. The damages caused by the collapsed wall may vary too. If the wall is a main support wall which is absolutely necessary for to the house’s integrity and stability, there is the possibility that the house may completely collapse and fall. This is definitely the worst possible scenario, as it may fall on itself or it may tilt and fall on the house next door.
Less dramatic but dangerous possibilities include the collapsing of the wall inside the basement leaving a gaping hole into which the house may tilt. If the bowed wall is caused by bad drainage and water accumulation, it may finally break through and flood your basement, damaging anything and everything in it. There are other possibilities, but these are the most likely ones. If this is happening in your home, it is important to have a structural engineer take a look at it so you can have it fixed as soon as possible.
