Heaving Basement Floor Repair in Cheyenne, WY

Basement floor heave repair deals with a concrete basement slab that has risen, cracked or tilted because the soil under it swelled or got wetter. It's for Cheyenne and Laramie County homeowners whose basement floor has a hump, cracks that keep widening, or interior walls and doors above it that are being pushed up. We connect you with a foundation contractor who can tell heave from settlement and explain what's practical.

What does floor heave look like?

A raised hump or ridge in the basement floor, often near the middle
Cracks in the slab that branch outward from one area
Basement partition walls with cracks at the top corners of doors
Interior doors in the basement that stick at the top
Floor tile or vinyl plank lifting or cracking in one area
Stairs that no longer meet the floor evenly at the bottom

Why do basement floors heave?

Most basement slabs in this region are poured directly on soil and are not tied to the foundation walls. If the soil under the slab takes on water and contains swelling clay, it pushes the slab up. The Wyoming State Geological Survey describes how sodium and calcium montmorillonite clays expand and contract with changes in moisture, and Laramie County's own open hole report form asks whether expansive soils were present at a footing. Water can reach those clays from a leaking drain line under the floor, a sump or perimeter drain that isn't working, or surface water running toward the house. In a dry climate, the change from bone-dry to wet is often what sets heave off.

What are the options?

Find and stop the water. Plumbing tests, a camera down the floor drain, and a check of gutters, grading and any sump system come first. Without this, any repair is temporary.
Protect the framing above. Basement partition walls can be built or rebuilt as floating walls with a slip joint at the bottom, so the floor can move without lifting the house's framing. Doors and stairs can be adjusted to suit.
Remove and replace the slab. Badly heaved areas can be cut out, the soil below corrected, and new concrete poured, sometimes with a void or compressible layer to allow some movement.
Structural floor. In severe cases, a framed or structural concrete floor supported on piers is built over a crawl space so it no longer rests on the soil. It's the most involved option and is usually engineered.

What affects the cost?

How much of the floor is affected, whether the basement is finished, what's found during leak testing, whether walls and stairs need to be reframed, and whether an engineered structural floor is involved. We don't quote prices; the contractor or engineer sets the scope first.

Is it settlement or heave?

A floor elevation survey answers that. Settlement shows low points at the outside walls; heave shows a high area in the interior. The repairs are opposites, which is why the survey should come before the bid.

Where we connect you with help

Common questions

Can piers fix a heaving basement floor?

Piers under the foundation walls don't stop a slab from heaving, because the slab isn't resting on the walls. Heave is addressed by stopping the water, isolating framing from the floor, or replacing or rebuilding the floor.

What is a floating basement wall?

An interior partition wall built with a gap and slip joint at the bottom, so a basement slab can rise or fall a little without pushing on the floor framing above.

Should I finish my basement if the floor has heaved before?

Get the cause found and the floor evaluated first, and build any new partition walls so they can tolerate floor movement. Finishing over an active problem hides it and makes it more expensive to fix.

Related services

More background: Laramie County foundation repair guide.

Heaving basement floors