Basement leaks from a wall crack and a tie-rod hole, and cracks sealed by injection from inside, by Mansour's Innovations in Southeast Michigan

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A 19-day freeze and a 75-degree swing hit Metro Detroit last winter. A Shelby Township contractor explains how frost and thaw find foundation cracks.

SHELBY TOWNSHIP, MI, UNITED STATES, November 8, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Last winter was hard on Metro Detroit basements, and most homeowners didn't notice until spring.

From January 22 to February 9, 2026, Detroit went 19 days in a row without a high above freezing, according to National Weather Service data reported by WDIV Local 4. The weather service's winter summary for Detroit puts the season's low at -10°F on January 24. On February 18, less than four weeks later, it hit 65°F.

That kind of swing matters to a foundation, said Imad "Matt" Mansour, owner of Mansour's Innovations, a family-owned waterproofing, excavation and plumbing company in Shelby Township.

"Clay holds water, and when that water freezes it expands," Mansour said. "Frozen ground pushes on the wall all winter. Then it thaws all at once, the snow melts on top of ground that's still frozen, and the water has nowhere to go but sideways into the backfill against your house. That's when we get the calls."

Why Southeast Michigan walls take the hit

Much of Southeast Michigan sits on old lake bottom. Michigan State University's Natural Features Inventory describes the region's "poorly drained glacial lakeplain," often with a layer of clay underneath. Clay drains slowly, swells when it is wet and shrinks when it dries, so the soil around a basement is rarely still.

Michigan's residential code sets the frost line at 42 inches, which is why footings go at least that deep. The basement wall above the footing still sits in soil that freezes, thaws and fills with water every year. Detroit's normal snowfall is 45.0 inches a season under the weather service's 1991-2020 climate normals, and every inch of it melts somewhere.

Home inspectors say cracking in a poured foundation wall is expected. Concrete shrinks as it cures, and houses settle. Mansour said the crack itself is not the problem. Water is.

"A thin crack that stays dry often just needs watching," he said. "Once it leaks, it needs to be sealed through the whole wall, not painted over. A surface patch holds until the clay gets wet again."

Which cracks to worry about

Mansour's crews seal cracks from inside the basement across Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties. Here is how they sort them:

1. Hairline vertical cracks that stay dry. Mark each end with a pencil and the date. If it grows or starts to leak, have it looked at.

2. Vertical cracks that leak. These are the most common call. They are usually sealed from inside by injecting polyurethane or epoxy under pressure until the crack is filled through the full thickness of the wall, with no digging. Polyurethane is used when water is coming through, because it seals even while the crack is wet.

3. Tie-rod holes. Poured walls have small holes left from the forms, and the metal ties in them rust and leak. In Shelby Township's 1990s and 2000s poured-wall subdivisions, Mansour said, many leaks come through these holes and hairline cracks, and almost all of them can be sealed from inside.

4. Horizontal cracks or a wall that bows inward. This is a different problem from a leak. It means the soil is pushing the wall, and it needs a structural assessment, not just a seal.

5. Water at the joint where the wall meets the floor. Injection can't fix that. It usually comes from water pressure under the slab, and the fix is drainage.

What to do before the ground freezes

Mansour gives homeowners a short list for the fall:

- Walk the basement with a flashlight, including corners and behind storage, and mark any cracks so you can tell in spring whether they grew.
- Extend downspouts so they empty at least 6 feet from the foundation.
- Check that soil slopes away from the house, about 6 inches of drop over the first 10 feet.
- Clear leaves out of window wells and make sure the drains at the bottom are open.
- Test the sump pump by pouring a bucket of water into the pit.

"Most of what floods a basement in March started in November," Mansour said. "If you find a crack now and it's dry, you've got all winter to watch it. If you find it in April with water coming through, you're on our list with everybody else."

The company has published a homeowner guide to vertical and horizontal basement cracks, along with details on its foundation crack injection service and county-by-county crack repair pages for Macomb, Oakland and Wayne.

About Mansour's Innovations

Mansour's Innovations is a family-owned waterproofing, excavation and plumbing contractor based in Shelby Township, Michigan, serving Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties since 2014. Owner Imad "Matt" Mansour has more than 20 years in the trade, and the crew has completed more than 1,600 projects. The company holds a 4.9-star rating on Google, is licensed, bonded and insured, offers free estimates and answers emergency calls 24/7.

Imad Mansour
Mansour’s Innovations
+1 586-345-7292
Info@mansoursinnovations.com