The homeowner noticed the brick foundation along the south side of their Urbandale home was separating from the structure above. You could see daylight through the gap at the corner, and the siding was pulling away from the foundation ledge. Inside, cracks had appeared in the basement ceiling where the floor joists meet the sill plate.
Urbandale's soil is heavy with glacial clay deposits that expand and contract seasonally. This older brick foundation had absorbed decades of that movement, and the mortar joints had finally given out. The wall wasn't just cracked — it had shifted enough to compromise the connection between the foundation and the house framing above it.
We excavated along the affected wall, removed the failed brick section, and poured a new reinforced concrete wall tied into the existing footing. The crew re-established the sill plate connection to the new wall and sealed the exterior with waterproofing membrane before backfilling.
This kind of sectional foundation repair lets us address the failed portion without disturbing sections that are still solid. The homeowner went from watching their house separate from its foundation to having a structurally sound connection that will handle Iowa's soil movement for decades. See our Ankeny brick foundation rebuild for a similar project on a larger scale.