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cracked foundation repairs

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newtohobby

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Jul 22, 2006
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I've noticed that theres a crack in the foundation with minor leaking with all the rain and melting snow these past few days.

Anybody have experience with cracked foundations? I was looking at some foundation fillers to fill the crack up. do those work? any recommendations?
 
hard to diagnose these things without seeing them, but in most cases, the best solution is excavating the outside, patching the area and apply deltawrap to the exterior.
 
That can be major damage. I call a few company's up and see what they say. Some dig on the outside, some drill a hole and inject a sealer. We had different company's tell us different ways they repair, we went with the inject a sealer on the inside in 2001 and its holding up, cost only $500 too. Get it repair cause those walls can get weak and cave in.
 
there is no such thing as a minor leak. Water will rot the wall, and it will promote the growth of mold.

An interior injection is a great idea in the winter, but you really should dig up, do the repair, rewrap, and see if the drainage can be improved.
 
yeah, what joe said......with the thaw we're having water can get into the foundation and when it freezes again it will just cause even more damage and eventually the wall will fail. This is how mother nature breaks down mountains.

The thing is you have to patch it from the OUTSIDE, just patching it from the inside won't protect the wall or stop the leaking because concrete is porous.
 
I've had 3 cracks in my basement foundation... my house is 8 yrs old. (That saying about 3's really comes into play here! LOL)

My foundation walls were poured in the spring when it was built- not sure if that has any bearing... but they were also tarred and have proper drainage (weeping tile/ sump pump etc) as well as the hard plastic foundation wrap stuff (can't remember the name of it), so the outside construction was not suspect. The first crack developed when the house was 3 yrs old, so I called the builder, and they told me this was normal and therefore not covered by warranty!? (Had this happened in the first 2 yrs I would have been covered...) Arguing with them was going no where so I called a local company for advice. They did the injection process and it worked great. Cost about $250. Haven't had a leak in that spot since. When the subsequent 2 cracks on opposite walls occurred a year and 2 years later, I had them fix them as well through exactly the same process. My basement has been leak free since 2005 now.

They Guarantee their work for 10 yrs.

PM me if you want the name of the Company.
 
Cracked concrete is common.....all concrete cracks.......what is not good is water leakage..that is a symptom for other issues.

-Make sure your down spouts are directed and draining away from the house
-Try to ensure you have proper water shed off your property...and that the other hopuses around you do not shed water to your property

Water comming in through a crack means the soil against your house leading down to the weeping tile is not properly done....or that your tile system has failed.....and water is building up around the house like boat in water.

Injections of any sort should be considered a short term solution...as the water is going to be forced to another location eventually....

When spring is back.....dig a hole down to the weeping tile and have a company come in and do a scope of the tiles around the house to see if they are clear of debris...that way you can determine the next best course of action.
 
Like all of the posts have mentioned the best way is to address the issue from the exterior of the foundation.

I've used tried using a foundation repair kit called "Crack Pack". It's an injectable two part epoxy repair method. In conjunction I've moved my downspouts further away from the foundation (now approx 6') and I have not had any issues.

I now have found out that a better injection method is to use a polyurethane type of sealant. The polyurethane will have some flexibility if the foundation is still moving (as with newer homes). The polyurethane is actually a chmical reaction that does not need air to dry. The epoxy or acrylic type of injection methods will not have any give and if the foundation moves the joint will re open.

BTW, is used PL Premium (a polyurethane adhesive) and drywall mesh tape to repair a large cracked flower planter that had split. This was over 3 years ago and there is no sign of deterioration of the joint.
 
the repair will be determined by the extent of the crack. Most concrete foundation walls will show some cracking during the first couple of years, note that the cracks may not be visible as they are internal working their way out and don't show for a while.

If it is a small crack that is leaking it can be repaired from the inside by injecting epoxy sealant into the crack. I would not use the PL Premium personally because the cured adhesive is actually harder thabn the concrete and it can cause further damage if the foundation continues to move.

The better way is to excavate below the crack inject it from the outside and cover the repair ( i have found that marine fiberglass repair kits from Candian tire work well, clean the concrete and follow the box instructions.) Replace the water shield ( hard plastic covering that should be around your foundation although it is not code and may be omitted.) seal the water shield and regrade.

If the damage is moderate to severe you should get proffesional help. One quick check is to see if the crack in the wall lines up or is a part of a crack in the floor. This is BAD news it indicates a footing failure. Likewise if pieces of the foundation larger than a quarter are comeing out call for help. These are problems that require a plan and inspection to repair
 
Actually just thinking outloud, and a check at the Terion site would answer this, but if the house is relatively new, wouldn't this be covered under the terion new home owner's warranty?

If I had a house with moderate to severe foundation cracks I'd be going after the builder even if they "say" it is out of warranty by a year. 3 yrs is nothing in the life of a house. The fricken thing should last a hundred or more years easily. (with repairs and upkeep that is).

Here's the link to the terion site for those interested:

http://www.tarion.com/home/

and specifically for the topic at hand:

http://www.tarion.com/HOME/Warranty+Protection/Warranty+Coverage/Seven+Year+Warranty.htm

Check out the bullet points about halfway down.
 
tboy said:
Actually just thinking outloud, and a check at the Terion site would answer this, but if the house is relatively new, wouldn't this be covered under the terion new home owner's warranty?

If I had a house with moderate to severe foundation cracks I'd be going after the builder even if they "say" it is out of warranty by a year. 3 yrs is nothing in the life of a house. The fricken thing should last a hundred or more years easily. (with repairs and upkeep that is).

Here's the link to the terion site for those interested:

http://www.tarion.com/home/

and specifically for the topic at hand:

http://www.tarion.com/HOME/Warranty+Protection/Warranty+Coverage/Seven+Year+Warranty.htm

Check out the bullet points about halfway down.
Click to expand...


There is a 2 year unlimited warranty by the builder, Tarion has a 7 year structural warranty, the problem is what is structural? Minor cracks no, leaks maybe, failure yes but at what point is it a failure?
 
Yes- that is exactly the issue I ran into... TARION said small cracks like mine are not covered... They suggested I call a crack specialist. Turns out the guy I called and ended up using ALSO does crack injection as well as full excavation contract work for TARION so I felt very comfortable using him. Like I said- he does great work. I would be more than happy to advise his company name, his name and the phone # via PM. I will not advise his info via open forum...

Hey Stymie... I am trying to answer your PM, but your box is full....
 
tboy said:
Crack Specialist? There's a whole bunch of them down at Sherbourne and Queen lol
Click to expand...

LMFAO! When I was typing that, I thought to myself, "hmmm, how long will it take someone on terb to jump all over THAT one!" LOL!:D

I can assure you the "crack guy" is something ENTIRELY different! (And there's another one for you guys to jump all over! LOL!)
 
Injection is a scam. Only to be used as a last resort when you can't dig.

As previously mentioned by antlerman, all concrete cracks and he is absolutely correct about that.

If your basement waterproofing was worth a damn you could have a hundred cracks in your foundation wall and it should not leak.

The problem is that your waterproofing has failed, not that your foundation wall has cracked. Concrete absorbs moisture as tboy correctly stated. The moisture wicks into the concrete, then it freezes, then the concrete blows apart and begins to scale. (Especially if the concrete is not air entrained.) The trick is to keep the moisture OUT of the concrete.

I've seen a lot of residential sites and the waterproofing is a joke. It's usually some kid with a pail of black goo from Home Depot putting it on with a brush. Totally incorrectly and totally crap product. How the fuck they get away with it is beyond me.

If you want to properly waterproof your basement wall, I would recommend Hot Rubberized Aspalt by Bakor as per OPSS 914, complete with mesh reinforcement and then the drainage membrane down to a 4" perforated PVC subdrain with 6" of clear stone, surrounded by Geotextile weave. (Holes down!!!)

Here:

http://www.bakor.com/roofing_hotrubber.asp

It's about as tried and true as you get.

OR, I saw this stuff on Holmes, as well as the Home Show and thought it was pretty impressive, though I have no experience with it.

http://www.advancedcoatings.on.ca/rub-r-wall-airtight.html

If you want the Cadilac of Waterproofing, I would suggest "The Eliminator" as distributed in Ontario by Multiseal. Very expensive stuff, but they use it waterproof the heaviest structures going.

http://www.stirlinglloyd.com/uk_worldwide/products/bridges/seamless/eliminator/eliminator-1-of-3.htm

Concrete should not be acting like a boat to keep moisture out. Sorry to poo in your cherios. Anyone who tells you otherwise is ignorant on the issue.
 
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