Suburban foundations and busy sump pumps in McCandless
McCandless spreads north from the city along McKnight Road and Perry Highway toward North Park, with homes mostly from the 1960s through the 1990s on roomy lots. Water management is the common thread.
McCandless is a township of about 28,000 people in the North Hills, and its housing is largely 1960s to 1990s colonials, split-levels and ranches on larger lots than the inner suburbs. Foundations are a mix of block in the older sections and poured concrete in the newer ones. The ground is still the same clay, and many lots sit in the folds of the hills where water collects.
The calls we get from McCandless lean toward water: a sump pump that cannot keep up, or that has never been replaced; cracks in poured walls leaking behind finished basement walls; and low corners of the lot where water stands after storms. Settling and bowing come up too, mostly in the older block-foundation streets.
A typical plan might be a new sealed sump with battery backup, injection of the leaking crack, and a buried discharge line taking the water to the low point of the yard instead of the foundation.
What we see most in McCandless
Overworked sump pumps
Pumps running all spring with no backup and an old switch.
Poured-wall leaks
Shrinkage cracks weeping into finished basements.
Low corners of the lot
Water standing where the yard funnels it toward the house.
Older block sections
Bowing and corner cracks on the earlier streets.
Parts of McCandless we cover
- McKnight Road north
- Perry Highway
- Babcock Boulevard near North Park
- Ingomar
- Peebles Road
- Duncan Avenue area
- Cumberland Road
- Wildwood Road
Services for McCandless homes
- Crack repair, bowing walls and settling, with piers where the footing needs firmer ground
- Basement waterproofing, interior drains and sump pumps
- Crawl space repair, slab leveling and a free foundation inspection
McCandless questions
How do I know if my sump pump is big enough?
If it runs nearly nonstop in spring, or the basin fills faster than it empties in a storm, it may be undersized or failing. We check the inflow and the pump during the inspection.
Where can my sump water go?
To a buried line or extension that carries it to a safe outlet away from the house, following township rules. Never into the sanitary sewer.
Can you fix a leaking crack without removing our finished wall?
We remove a narrow strip of drywall at the crack and inject from inside. The patch is small and easy to finish.
Nearby: Ross Township · Cranberry Township · Shaler · all areas