vertical crack in foundation wall-need advice!

[ryanlake]

I have a property in Regina SK that has a vertical crack near the middle of the basement. Tenant explained to me that it tends to leak when there is heavy rain (water marks were noted). The crack is not that big yet, but since it is leaking water that scares me a little bit. I know water is a houses worst enemy so I want to take the appropriate measures as possible.



It is downtown regina, so houses are very close together. On the outside of the property the fence line goes right to the edge of the house, leaving the neighbours property line literally touching my house. If I had to excavate from the outside it would prove quite challenging and would most likely involve tearing up the neighbours sidewalk/fence to get at the outside.



I was hoping there were other not-so-invasive techniques someone could swing my way.

 

[JordanJ]

You can pressure inject the crack form the inside and then seal it with a crystallizing compound afterwards. I just did 3 cracks myself last year in my basement and it worked great! Obviously this is only a temporary fix and to get someone in to inject them will be about $1000/crack. Best solution is to have someone dig down on the exterior where the crack is and fix it from the outside. Doesn't have to be super invasive. Ends up being only 4-6 feet in width and down to the footing. I would check both options and figure out what is best long term.

Hope that Helps



Jordan

 

[dplummer]

Polyurathane foam injection on the interior into the crack followed by hydralic cement. About $500.00 per crack here in Ontario. If you want to try it yourself use just the hydralic cement or" plug tight" as it's called & fill/cover the crack. Under $25.00. Big box stores, hardware stores sell it.

Doug

 

[Sherilynn]

One of our properties has less than 3 feet between our house and the fence, and the foundation repair company had no trouble with the excavation. The trench was barely big enough for the guys to walk through. (We had no choice but to excavate because the problem was seepage under the walls rather than cracks that we could seal.)

 

[mplut]

We filled two vertical cracks last year from the inside - We purchased the filler and equipment here:









http://nextstar.ca/shop/category.aspx/epoxy-crack-repair-kits-structural/13/









They provide video instruction in their kit. My husband was a newbie but didn't find it difficult to do. Cost effective - especially since cracks were both in an unfinished area in the basement and if we ever have the same problem elsewhere we only have to buy the injection material refills. It is meant to be a more permanent fix...

 

[SBCSI]

The question to ask is what caused the crack? The advice offered by members to repair the crack are all good solutions, but in my experience, it has always been best to find out the source of the problem first before attempting any repairs.



Is this a retaining wall? If so, how high is the concrete wall and what is the difference in elevation from the top of the floor inside and the top of grade outside? This will determine how much load or force is existing on the exterior face.



Have you had any problems with your draintiles recently? You could have a breach in your draintiles and the water has made its way through the wall.



Where you live will determine how deep the footings for the wall are built; the colder the climate, the further down the footings will be for frost depth. If the footings were not installed below the frost depth and you experienced a cold spell, ice could have formed under your footings and caused upheavel forces on the wall and the crack may be the first sign of this.



Does this wall support additional floors? If so, was there any load added on the floor above; something heavy like a piano or closet etc.?



Once you have determined the source of the problem, you will then be able to make the appropriate repairs.

The repairs can vary from a simple interior patch up to potential structural upgrades or exterior water removal issues.



Finally, you should look at how far you want to go with the repair; if it's your residence or you intend on keeping the place for a long time, then a long time fix should be considered.



I'm interested to know what happened with your repair.



Stephen