Foundation walls
The wall bows, cracks or weeps where the ground meets the house
A wall that holds back soil takes the weight of water and frost every year. If your basement wall bows, a stone or block wall cracks, or the face sheds its parging, ask where the water goes before anyone patches anything. Send us a photo and tell us which wall it is.
Tell us what you see on the wall
We help you get the repair priced by separate local masonry contractors, and tell you what to ask them first.
Three things to say before you hear a price
Say them on the phone or at the wall. The answers show how a mason works.
Where does the water behind the wall go?
Wet soil at the base sends water through wall cracks.
How far has the wall bowed, and who measured it?
A number lets you see later whether it is moving.
What holds the wall once the repair is done?
Ask what carries the load, not just what covers the crack.
$100 off your first job
Book your first repair through us and take $100 off.
The $100 comes out of our fee; the mason's price stays the same.
Each customer gets one credit per property.
Book the first repair by December 31, 2026, to use it.
Say you hold the credit as you book; we confirm it before work starts.
The Soft Joint promise
- Asking us is free, and asking never ties you to anything.
- We never charge you for the introduction.
- Your $100 credit is honored exactly as our Terms say.
- If an introduction goes wrong, we help you sort it out.
The masonry work is between you and the mason you hire.
Masonry Contractors Syracuse, (315) 640-3590
What you see when this is the next call
A basement wall bows inward
A wall that curves into the room can point to something pushing it. Keep children, cars and stored items away from it, and get a mason or engineer to look at it soon. A patch or a new coat over a bow hides it without changing what moves the wall.
A crack runs across block or stone
Pencil a line at each end of the crack and measure it over several weeks. Ask whether it opens and closes with the seasons.
The wall face is wet or stained
A damp patch shows water reaching the wall. Ask where it enters before the face is patched.
Parging is coming off
Loose cement coating on the face is easy to see. Ask what is behind it and why it let go.
A retaining wall leans or its joints open
Walls that hold back soil take water from behind. Keep people and stored items clear of a leaning wall, and have a mason or engineer look at it soon. Ask about drainage as well as the wall itself.
Where the water behind a foundation wall goes
- The wall face
Joints and parging take the water first. Look there for stains and loose coating.
- The bow
A wall that curves inward can point to pressure behind it. Ask what is pushing it.
- The water
Gutters, grade and soil decide how much water reaches the wall.
Straight answers about foundation wall repair
Does a bowing basement wall mean the house is in trouble?
It can mean something is pressing on the wall, and a mason or an engineer should find out what. Keep people and stored items clear of it, and have one of them look at it soon. Ask each mason whether the repair deals with that pressure or only covers the wall face. Do not try to push the wall back yourself.
Can I just patch a crack in the wall?
A patch may hold if the crack has stopped moving. Mark the ends and watch it first, then ask the mason what they see.
Do retaining walls need drainage?
Water behind the wall can make it lean or open up. Ask each mason how water gets out from behind yours.
Is a wet wall a masonry job or a drainage job?
It can be both. Ask the mason who will deal with the water and who will deal with the wall.
Does a repair need a permit?
It depends on your town or village, and on the work. Ask the mason who pulls any permit, and check with your municipality yourself.
Is this page about steps and walkways?
No. Concrete and stone steps are other companies' work. This page covers foundation and retaining walls of block, stone and brick.
Is it really this sign?
The marked tile, Bowing or wet wall, is the sign this page covers.
What your house's age changes
Older city brick
An older house can sit on a stone or brick foundation with soft mortar. Ask what the joints are made of before anyone covers them.
Village cores
A village center can mix stone, brick and block foundations from different decades. Ask the mason which one yours is.
Post-war houses
A newer house can stand on a block foundation. The Census does not record foundation types, so ask the mason to name yours, and ask where the roof and gutters drain.
Basis: NPS Technical Preservation Services, Preservation Brief 2 U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020-2024 5-year, B25034 and B25035, Onondaga County
What the work includes
Repairing joints and cracks in the wall
Open joints in block, stone or brick are raked out and refilled.
Parging
The cement coating on the face is patched or redone where it has let go.
Rebuilding sections
Loose stones or blocks are taken down and set again.
Drainage at the wall
Where the water comes from is dealt with, or the quote says who will do it.
What looks alike but is another job
Concrete steps, walks and driveways
Those are flatwork, which this site does not cover.
Paver or stone steps and patios
Other companies do that work. This site does not arrange it.
First call to finished wall
Show the wall
Send photos of the whole wall and close ones of cracks, stains and loose parging.
Ask where the water goes
Each mason should say what they think is sending water to the wall.
Compare what each repair touches
Quotes should say which joints, which sections and which drainage work are included.
Book and note the fix for the water
Book your mason and keep a written line on the drainage plan.
- The long crack
A crack running along the wall.
- The stair-step crack
A crack stepping up through the joints.
- The parging
The coat on the face, flaking in patches.
- The damp
White salt and wet marks near the floor.
The paper trail for this repair
What the wall is made of
The contract should name block, stone or brick, and the mortar for each.
The cause the mason found
Ask for a line on what is sending water to the wall, and what changes.
The scope in feet and sections
Ask which lengths of wall are included, and whether work above ground is part of it.
Water does the pushing
Water is a first thing to ask about in a foundation or retaining wall. Preservation Brief 39 says saturated soil at the base of a building sends moisture through cracks in the foundation wall into the basement, and that moisture in the wall eventually damages the masonry. The Syracuse airport normal is 123.8 inches of snow over a year, and the melt has to go somewhere.
Ask the mason where the water comes from: the roof, the gutters, the grade along the wall or the ground behind it. A repair that ignores the water is a repair that will be redone.
Basis: NPS Technical Preservation Services, Preservation Brief 39: Holding the Line NPS Technical Preservation Services, Preservation Brief 2
Block, stone and brick behave differently
Block, stone and brick walls are built differently, and the repair differs for each. Brick walls can push water out through their faces if the joints are too hard.
The Census does not record foundation types, so ask the mason to name your wall and say how the repair changes for it. If a quote treats all three kinds the same way, ask why.
Cracks that move and cracks that rest
The Park Service says a seasonal crack should be watched through the year to learn whether it is active. Active cracks get a flexible sealant, and cracks that have stopped can be pointed.
Pencil a line at each end of the crack and date it. Photograph it every few weeks, then give the photos to each mason you speak with.
Parging is a coat, not the wall
Parging is the thin cement coat on the face of a foundation. When it falls off, it shows you what is behind it, which may be a damp wall.
Ask the mason what is under the coat and why it let go. A patch over a wet wall comes off again.
What to look at from inside and out
Walk the wall from the basement and note where it is damp, where parging has let go and where the surface bows. Then walk the same line outside. Look at the gutters, the downspouts and the ground along the base, and see whether the water runs toward the wall.
Tell each mason what you found, and when it shows up: after rain, after snowmelt, or all year. That detail helps them decide whether the answer is a wall repair, a drainage fix or both. You can send your notes with your request.
Why two quotes can differ
- Handwork drives the cost of any wall job, since joints and units are done by hand.
- Access changes the price: a wall behind a tight bed or a fence is slower to reach.
- Soil and drainage work can add a step, and the quote should say who does it.
- Length matters, so ask each mason to list the lengths of wall on your house.
- Winter work and wet ground slow the crew, which can push up the labor.
Find this repair in your town
Guides that go with it
Any sign
What your masonry contract has to say
What a New York home improvement contract must say.
Measure the bow before you book.