Behncke Construction · Serving Silvis

Foundation Repair & Basement Waterproofing in Silvis, IL

Silvis grew up around the Rock Island Line railroad shops, and many of its homes are now 50 years old or more. We find the real cause of your foundation or water problem and fix only what your home needs.

Family owned since 1948 · BBB A+ Accredited · Licensed & Insured · About 26 minutes from our Davenport shop

From our own records
35+

Silvis homeowners in our QuickBooks customer records. We are not new to Silvis. We have been looking at basements here for years.

Silvis at a glance

A railroad town with aging foundations

Six in ten Silvis homes were built before 1980. That is the age when we start seeing cracks, damp walls and tired sump pumps.

8,003
residents
1972
median year homes were built
60%
of homes built before 1980
24%
of homes built before 1960

Home age and population: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

Local ground conditions

What’s under Silvis homes

Loess soils and hills

Silvis sits on wind-deposited silt loams. Around the town center the soil survey maps Sylvan and Bold soils on steep slopes, where water runs downhill toward foundations if the yard is not graded right.

The Rock River

The Rock River gauge at Joslin has a flood stage of 12 feet. It reached a record 19.24 feet in June 2002 and 18.51 feet in 2019.

From Hero Street to Deere Run

Silvis has older homes near Hero Street and the La Yarda neighborhood and newer ones near TPC Deere Run. Hillside lots and older basements each need their own approach.

What we look for

Common problems in Silvis basements

We diagnose the real cause first and recommend only the repair your home actually needs. Many cracks and damp spots turn out to be smaller problems than they look.

Hillside drainage

On sloped lots, runoff from uphill yards can push water toward a basement wall. Regrading or a drain often solves it without digging up the whole foundation.

Cracks in older walls

Most cracks in a 50 year old basement are not structural. We tell you which ones to watch and which ones need repair, in plain English.

Damp basements and sump pumps

An old or undersized sump pump is a common cause of wet floors. We check the pump, the pit and the discharge line before recommending anything bigger.

Free · No obligation

See what your Silvis home actually needs

Tell us what you’re seeing. A working contractor, not a salesperson, will take an honest look and give you a written estimate.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau ACS; USDA NRCS Web Soil Survey; National Weather Service Rock River gauge at Joslin.