Basement Wall Reinforcement - Carbon Fiber Straps

14 years ago

We recently received a recommendation from a structural engineer that it would be helpful if we had carbon fiber reinforcement straps installed on 2 of our exterior basement walls (this is done from the inside). We have some stair-stepping however our issues are minimal and left untouched would probably lead to more significant problems 7-10 years down the road. We've done some research and from the information appears that if done carefully - and in accordance with manufacturer's instructions - is something we could do.

Does anyone have experiences - good, bad or otherwise with either having contracted this work out or having done it themselves?

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Comments (3)

Mossonarock
10 years ago
Im guessing you have installed the straps already?
I have no experience but am thinking of doing the same to my house since I have bowing foundation walls. It does look like something any home owner could do theirself. Of course, the trick is to properly prepare the wall's surface to adhere the straps. Otherwise, it looks a lot like laying fiberglass cloth with epoxy resin, which I have experience with doing. I'd like to know how your project turned out.
irl5fan
10 years ago
I'm also looking into this. Does anyone know if you can just simply order a roll of carbon fiber and high strength epoxy and just cut the strips to size and apply. Or are the kits you buy from the dealer more complicated than that? It would be much cheaper to buy them separately if it yields the same results.
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Mossonarock
10 years ago
Ok so I made the plunge and did the carbon fiber straps. Its worth it IMO. It really is a do-it-yourselfer type job but you will need to repoint your wall's broken masonry joints first.

The kits and process isn't any more complicated than working with fiberglass cloth and epoxy but I believe the epoxy used for the carbon fiber straps is formulated for this application. I would recommend that any epoxy you buy is formulated for carbon fiber strap application. I agree the kits can be a bit gimmicky but they do work. Carbon fiber straps are a superior way to reinforce a bowed basement wall in comparison to traditional installing steel beam supports.

The kit that I bought had the carbon fiber straps all in one 32 foot long roll and I had to cut them to lengths and that was nice. I could cut the lengths to the exact height of my basement wall. The kit came with a separate epoxy formulation that was for filling the cracks and mortar joints but there wasn't enough of it to do my wall- one of those gimmicks that drives up the cost of the kit. My wall was cracked up bad. I had to repoint the mortar joints using traditional masonry repointing techniques. It was very time consuming and a lot of work but repointing is a good skill to learn to do.