Author	[Modern View]
Jay87T 02-19-2013 19:11:17 108.170.157.254 Report to Moderator	hey guys, im looking to buy a house, the issue I see is that there is a foundation crack in the concrete wall, its vertical about 3-4 feet, water weeps very slowly. how much would I be looking at to have it repaired properly? anyone deal with this? Thanks. [Reply]   [No Email]
Mashbox 02-22-2013 04:51:31 98.190.207.35 Report to Moderator	Re: OT foundation crack in reply to Jay87T, 02-19-2013 19:11:17   I had a vertical crack in my basement wall that I repaired with an epoxy injection kit. Kit was less than $200 and it worked great, no leaks yet from the repaired crack. You clean the crack, epoxy cones to the crack every so many inches and epoxy over the crack. After the epoxy dries you inject water through the cones to flush out the crack and then starting from the bottom inject the epoxy in the first cone until it starts out the next cone up. Cap this cone and move up to the next one. Once cured knock the cones off and you are done. Below is a link for a youtube video showing the process. You can buy the kit online or from a local building material dealer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jS-TKh3TDk[/url] [Reply]  [No Email]
Outback Rider 02-20-2013 12:05:44 173.162.166.98 Report to Moderator	Re: OT foundation crack in reply to Jay87T, 02-19-2013 19:11:17   Again, how old is the house? Hydraulic cement will stop leaks within 3 minutes of putting it in. I have an older home, I have had a few cracks that weeped and leaked water, mixed up some hydraulic cement (also called Fast Plug) drilled out the area and pushed the stuff in... leaking/weeping always stopped immediately..even if water was leaking in Buy it at hardware store or Lowe's/Home Deep... [Reply]  [No Email]
George Marsh 02-20-2013 12:05:11 50.104.195.160 Report to Moderator	Re: OT foundation crack in reply to Jay87T, 02-19-2013 19:11:17   The house in the pic was built in 1968. I was digging a footer for a room addition when I discovered a crack in the block going all the way down. I'm guessing the crack developed when the basement was backfilled. The basement is finished and can't see what the inside looks like. Going to guess when the south wall cracked because the trusses put all the weight of the house on the outside walls and there was no weight on the wall that moved. Also bet there is a has to be more than one crack. I used a pressure washer to clean out the crack and then fill the crack with motar. The best way to stop a basement from leaking is to prevent the water from getting there in the first place, gutters and angle the ground so the water runs away from the house. If all else fails, remove the dirt from the side of the house, fill the other cracks, seal the wall, put in a drain and then back fill by hand. George [Reply]  [No Email]
MSD 02-20-2013 16:11:38 71.209.114.142 Report to Moderator	Re: OT foundation crack in reply to George Marsh, 02-20-2013 12:05:11   Back filling would have pushed the wall in not out unless I am not looking at the picture right.. Also, it doesn't happen in a corner like that. Usually you see a crack start in the middle of the wall if it is from backfilling. [Reply]  [No Email]
George Marsh 02-20-2013 17:09:35 50.104.195.160 Report to Moderator	Re: OT foundation crack in reply to MSD, 02-20-2013 16:11:38   MSD, You are looking at it wrong. The first pic is the south wall which was pushed in. The second pic is the west wall, load bearing wall. The top block didn"t move. The corner cracked open, hinging off the inside of the west wall blocks. Yes, there has to be at least one or more cracks on the south wall, but not visiable because the basement was finished. Because the ground is clay, and the dirt is angled away from the house, the only time water gets in the basement is if someone watering her flowers leaves the hose running and forgets. If the basement was wet all the time, you can rest assured I would dig it out with the backhoe, fix the problem, back fill with sand, put heavy plastic down to act as a roof to deflect water away from house. I fixed the crack 3 years, so far, no problem. George [Reply]  [No Email]
MSD 02-20-2013 18:04:42 71.209.114.142 Report to Moderator	Re: OT foundation crack in reply to George Marsh, 02-20-2013 17:09:35   I see what your saying now. Top block probably has an anchor bolt holding it. Still odd to see it take a corner out like that. Any I have ever seen that pushed in just cracked in the middle and the fact it went all the way to the bottom makes me still wonder if something else happened. Was the footing cracked also? [Reply]  [No Email]
George Marsh 02-20-2013 18:14:39 50.104.195.160 Report to Moderator	Re: OT foundation crack in reply to MSD, 02-20-2013 18:04:42   NO crack in footer, it was caused by the south wall getting pushed in. [Reply]  [No Email]
don t-9n180179 02-20-2013 10:05:52 63.73.199.69 Report to Moderator	Re: OT foundation crack in reply to Jay87T, 02-19-2013 19:11:17   I ditto what others have said related to outside landscaping. Redirect it before it gets in. We had 2 vertical cracks, which did leak, that we never saw prior to buying our current house. All the outside landscaping, add gutters and appropriate downspouts did not fix completly. We had some guy come out. He drilled a series of holes completly through the foundation, along the crack. Starting at the bottom, he pumped in some kind of epoxy. Once the mix got to the next hole, up he moved. Its been 10+ years since its been fixed. Knock wood...no leaks. IIRC...was $150.00 for both cracks. HTH..good luck...don t. .... [Reply]  [No Email]
Dick2 02-20-2013 05:56:02 174.19.205.113 Report to Moderator	Re: OT foundation crack in reply to Jay87T, 02-19-2013 19:11:17   Watched Tommy on Ask This Old House repair a crack in a basement wall with a specially formulated cement that would set up even though the crack was wet. Don't know if it held the water out after that, but it looked good on TV. [Reply]  [No Email]
Billy NY 02-20-2013 07:18:38 72.226.79.200 Report to Moderator	Re: OT foundation crack in reply to Dick2, 02-20-2013 05:56:02   Hydraulic cement, dries (hydrates) rapidly, little time to place and finish, I've used it many times on manhole sections that had groundwater leaks, as the water was dripping in, using the incoming water to make the material. [Reply]  [No Email]
Oliver power 02-20-2013 05:31:35 65.37.24.74 Report to Moderator	Re: OT foundation crack in reply to Jay87T, 02-19-2013 19:11:17   Could be worse..........a horizontal crack. [Reply]  [No Email]
nys 02-20-2013 02:39:59 98.15.254.212 Report to Moderator	Re: OT foundation crack in reply to Jay87T, 02-19-2013 19:11:17   oK most have given good ideas and advice my 2 cents. Probably best to figure on installing a drain, widen crack and patch then seal/waterproof outside of foundation with a product like Grace Bituthane this is like ice and watershield used on your roof but made to waterproof foundations. The Bituthane should be protected from stones ect when backfilling so a foam insulation should be used. Also foundation will have to be CLEAN for Bituthane to stick. That said in this day and age everyone has house inspectors before purchase if you ever try to sell a house with a crack it will definitely be on the report. Good luck either way [Reply]  [No Email]
dhermesc 02-20-2013 11:35:59 24.248.193.103 Report to Moderator	Re: OT foundation crack in reply to nys, 02-20-2013 02:39:59   That's making the wild assumption that the house inspector has clue what he's looking at. Holmes on Homes has a whole series doing nothing but following up home inspectors fixing the stuff the "licensed" home inspector missed. [Reply]  [No Email]
MarkB_MI 02-20-2013 01:55:50 75.219.46.79 Report to Moderator	Re: OT foundation crack in reply to Jay87T, 02-19-2013 19:11:17   Kinda depends, doesn't it? Is the leak coming from a leaking gutter, or a high water table? It's possible you could eliminate the problem just by redirecting a downspout. On the other hand, it might require excavating around the entire perimeter of the house and installing a drain tile. Most likely it's somewhere in-between. [Reply]  [No Email]
ss55 02-19-2013 23:05:42 173.31.19.80 Report to Moderator	Re: OT foundation crack in reply to Jay87T, 02-19-2013 19:11:17   If you are in a drought area and have water seeping in now it could get a lot worse when it gets wetter again. I agree with create drainage to take the water away from the house first before starting a repair. Does the house have good drainage away from the foundation, a sump pump and drain tiles around both the outside and the inside of the foundation footings? Does the sump pump move the water far away from the house or does it just recirculate the water through the basement over and over? Include a mold test in the basement as part of your inspection and make sure you can cancell the sale if mold is found. My expereince is a wet basement never really gets completely fixed. [Reply]  [No Email]
Retired Farmer 02-19-2013 21:27:37 207.200.116.12 Report to Moderator	Re: OT foundation crack in reply to Jay87T, 02-19-2013 19:11:17   Might want to save yourself a lot of headaches and find a house that doesn't leak in the basement unless you like basement swimming pools. They built a small subdivision across the fence from us a couple of years ago in a hay field we used to cut. One lot that hadn't sold till last summer was up next to the irrigation canal. The ditch leaks bad enough during the summer that the corner was always too wet to cut. Guess the realtor who sold the snobby people the lot didn't know about it. Last summer a crew comes in and digs the basement right over the wet area and builds a three hundred thousand dollar house right on top of it. We didn't feel it was our duty to tell the people. Won't be long before they have a few leaks and setteling problems. [Reply]  [No Email]
Tom-NoCenTX 02-19-2013 19:54:32 70.196.1.47 Report to Moderator	Re: OT foundation crack in reply to Jay87T, 02-19-2013 19:11:17   Tell the realator to get it fixed by experts with a lifetime transferable warranty. Why risk buying a money pit? Tom [Reply]  [No Email]
MSD 02-19-2013 19:33:57 71.209.114.142 Report to Moderator	Re: OT foundation crack in reply to Jay87T, 02-19-2013 19:11:17   I've did it where I dug down along the outside. Cleaned the crack and widened it some. There are different epoxies you can put in the crack. I then put a drainage tube-the 4 inch slotted stuff-along side the wall. The tube went to the drain tile around the house. It took the pressure off the wall area so no more water seeped in. Used the same epoxy for the inside and it seemed to dry it up. Is it block or poured. Block is tougher to seal and then you have to find out if it is structural or naturally occurring. All concrete will crack. [Reply]  [No Email]
David G 02-19-2013 19:33:12 205.215.206.18 Report to Moderator	Re: OT foundation crack in reply to Jay87T, 02-19-2013 19:11:17   I have never had good lucks keeping cracks from leaking, better luck draining the water away before it leaks in. [Reply]  [No Email]
GeneMO 02-19-2013 19:31:45 71.1.106.8 Report to Moderator	Re: OT foundation crack in reply to Jay87T, 02-19-2013 19:11:17   How old is the house? If it is just a few years old, then more cracks can be expected. If it is 50 years old, and one crack is it, then you may not have too much of a problem. The dry weather this year was really hard on foundations. To fix it right, you would need to dig down, reinforce the area, bolt steel to stabilize the crack, or pour another wall beside the crack. Not cheap. I would also want to run a drain tile to the crack area so no water pressure would ever be against that area. Good luck, Gene [Reply]  [No Email]