Family owned, owner installed
Foundation repair in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky
Bowed basement walls, foundation cracks, and sinking foundations all start with soil movement. We inspect your home in person, trace the problem to its source, and tell you which repair fixes it. If nothing needs fixing, we tell you that too, so you know where your home stands either way.
What foundation problems are you seeing?
These are the most common signs your foundation may need repair. Whether you noticed it inside the basement or on the foundation outside, it's worth a closer look.
A basement wall that is bowing or leaning inward
Horizontal cracking across the middle of a block wall, an inward lean, or bulging, caused by lateral soil pressure.
A foundation that is sinking or settling
Sloping floors, doors that stick, stair-step cracks in exterior brick, or gaps where walls meet the ceiling.
Cracks in the foundation wall
Not every crack is structural. Horizontal, stair-step, and widening cracks are the ones worth a closer look.
Water coming in instead of walls moving? See basement waterproofing.
Foundation repair for bowing walls and sinking foundations
The right repair depends on how your foundation is failing. After a free owner inspection, an owner personally recommends the system your home needs and explains why. These are the three we install.
I-beam bowed basement wall repair
When soil pressure pushes a wall in past what surface reinforcement can hold, this is the repair. It is a pre-engineered I-beam stabilization system designed by Steve Cohen for the load clay soil puts on basement walls here. Watch for a horizontal crack across mid-wall, a lean you can feel by hand, or a wall closer to the room than it used to be.
Helical pier foundation repair
When a foundation sinks instead of bowing, helical piers are installed through the moving soil to stable ground. They carry the weight of the house from there. Watch for doors that stick, floors that slope, or a stair-step crack climbing the brick near an outside corner.
Carbon fiber wall straps
Caught early, before a wall has moved more than a couple of inches, carbon fiber straps bonded flat against the wall hold it where it is. No digging, nothing torn up outside. Watch for a thin horizontal crack with little or no lean yet.
Why foundations move here and how repair stops it
Foundation repair stops soil movement from damaging a home's foundation. Soil either pushes a basement wall inward or lets the house settle, and Stealth Foundation matches the repair to which one is happening.
Much of the hillside ground in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky is shale and clay that swells with rain and shrinks as it dries. That includes Price Hill and Mt. Auburn in Cincinnati, and the river hills of Covington, Newport, and Fort Thomas. On a slope, water can collect against the uphill basement wall, which is one reason one wall can bow while the others hold.
Flatter ground has its own pattern of soil movement. In Boone County, central Kenton County, and around Blue Ash in Ohio, some homes sit partly on native soil and partly on fill. Fill can keep settling after the house is built, which can leave one corner sinking while the rest holds steady.
Call to schedule your free owner inspection
Every home is different, and what's going on with yours depends on your lot, not just your county. An owner will come out for a free inspection, look at your foundation, and tell you which repair fixes it. We serve Hamilton, Butler, Clermont, and Warren counties in Ohio, and Kenton, Boone, and Campbell counties in Northern Kentucky.
Foundation repair questions from local homeowners
Common signs are doors and windows that stick, diagonal cracks from the corners of door and window frames, and floors that slope. Outside, look for stair-step cracks in brick, and in the basement, look for walls that crack horizontally or lean inward. Any one of these is worth a free owner inspection.
On hillside lots across Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, the cause is usually soil and clay reacting to rain. On flatter lots it is often clay or fill settling unevenly. Either way, it is soil movement, not something wrong with how the house was built.
Helical pier repair typically runs $5,000 to $15,000 in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. I-beam bowed basement wall repair typically runs $3,500 to $15,000. The range is wide because every home is different.
Price depends on how much of the foundation is affected, how far it has moved, and access to the work area. An owner gives you a written estimate after the free owner inspection, with no obligation.
The repair depends on how your foundation is moving, and an owner works that out at the free owner inspection. A sinking or settling foundation usually needs helical piers, which carry the weight of the house down to stable ground.
A wall bowing inward from soil pressure needs I-beam bowed basement wall repair. Carbon fiber wall straps fit when the movement is caught early. Sometimes a crack turns out to be cosmetic and needs no structural repair.
Sometimes, yes. If the problem is complicated, or you are getting conflicting opinions from different companies, an independent structural engineer is worth calling. An engineer has no interest in selling you the work.
Some of our inspections end with us recommending an engineer. You can bring their findings back to us.
Usually not. Most standard homeowners policies exclude damage from soil movement and settling. Those are the usual causes of foundation problems in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.
Coverage can apply when a covered event caused the damage, such as a sudden plumbing leak. Read your policy or call your agent before you file, since your insurer decides what is covered.
Most foundation repairs take one to two days, and carbon fiber wall straps are often done in one. A larger project can take up to three days. You get a specific timeline at the inspection, before any work begins.
Yes. Every foundation repair system Stealth Foundation installs carries a lifetime transferable warranty. That includes I-beam bowed basement wall repair, helical piers, and carbon fiber wall straps.
Transferable means the warranty passes to the next owner if you sell the home.
An owner does. Steve Cohen and David Cohen own Stealth Foundation, with Steve running Ohio and David running Kentucky. An owner personally quotes your job and installs it.
There is no salesperson, no handoff, and no crew you have never met. The person whose name is on your warranty is the one under your house.
Get your answer from the owner who does the work
A bowing wall or a sinking foundation won't get better on its own. Schedule a free owner inspection, and an owner will tell you what is happening and which repair stops it. Every foundation repair we install carries a lifetime transferable warranty.
Call (513) 489-0332 in Ohio or (859) 356-1002 in Northern Kentucky, or schedule online.
Schedule your free owner inspection
We will reach out within one business day to schedule your free owner inspection and written estimate.