Feb 26, 2012 • By Matthew Stock.
Poured concrete foundations crack for anumber of reasons. We recently published an article explaining why. This post will examine the different types of crack repair options available. Each method has its pros andcons.
Before we get caught up in the details of how to fix acrack, let’s take astep back for amoment. Foundation crack repair should be done by aprofessional basement waterproofing company — no ifs, ands or buts. Handymen and plumbers are not usually qualified for the job. You know what? Waterproofers have no business hanging drywall or installing hot water tanks! It really comes down to the experience and expertise of the company that will stand behind therepair.
Cracks can be sealed from either the interior or exterior of the foundation. If done right, either way is equally effective. If there’s adeck or patio in the way, or your basement is unfinished, it’s more common to seal cracks from the interior. If there’s drywall or paneling up, or an obstruction such as afurnace, an exterior method is oftenpreferred.
Interior Foundation Crack RepairMethods
Before the advent of crack injection, the most common way to seal acrack was to “chip it out and patch it”. What that meant was to take arotary chipping hammer, chisel out the concrete at the crack location in a “V” shape afew inches deep and then patch it with hydraulic cement. This usually didn’t hold up very long because the crack wasn’t filled all the way to the outside soil. To make matters worse, hydraulic cement is not avery strong or durableproduct.
Crack injection is now the preferred method of interior foundation crack repair. You might have heard of “Epoxy Injection” or “Urethane Injection”. The process consists of sealing the crack on its inside face with an Epoxy paste and injecting aresin (Epoxy or Urethane) which fills the entire crack all the way to the outside soil. We typically prefer using Urethanes because they remain flexible and are considered by most to be more effective for waterproofing. We used epoxies years ago, but found they were better suited for structuralproblems.
Exterior Foundation Crack RepairMethods
Some homeowners still believe the best way to fix afoundation wall crack is from the exterior. I’ve found many are from an older generation, before crack injection was brought to the market. Repairing cracks from the exterior is still agreat way to go, especially when compared to ahydraulic cement patch on theexterior.
In order to properly seal acrack, the earth must be removed along the wall to expose the crack from the top of the wall all the way down to the footing. Some companies will take out ashovel, and dig ahole big enough to get aman inside it. We prefer using apost hole digger – which is atool most commonly used to dig fence posts. The hole we core is typically about 8to 12inches in diameter. It is amuch less disruptive process to your landscaping. We never saw the point in making athree foot wide hole to seal acrack which is typically not much wider than aquarter inch. Once the crack is fully exposed from top to bottom, the hole is filled with granular clay which forms an impermeable waterbarrier.
Again, we really like to stress that both interior and exterior crack repair solutions are viable options. It really comes down to the obstructions.
We speak from experience; we’ve probably repaired more foundation cracks than anyone in the country. If you have acrack that is leaking, give us acall, or better yet schedule your consultation online and save 10%. Or pose your question below. We love chatting aboutcracks.
Tags: basem*nt crack, cracks in basem*nt walls, interior foundation crack repair, exterior foundation crack repair, epoxy injection
