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Foundation crack repair


Wish-I-Were-Fishn

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I have experience in this as I have done it both on my own home by myself as well as others homes.

First, it is generally caused by not having enough grade in your yard to take the water away that is shed by the roof during a rain. If you do everything else and don't fix this then problems will still occur. 

Is the basement finished?

Can you see where the water is coming in?

is any water coming through cracks in the floor or only the sidewall?

Is the wall bowed in towards the interior where the cracks are? This is usually the case.

Do you have gutters on the house and are they kept clean with enough extension away from the house to get the rain water clear from the foundation?

Is the wall block, stone or poured concrete (Most likely block)

 

Here is my recommendation if the wall is bowed in towards the interior.

I would have the utilities located and have someone dig around the foundation down to the footings and install a drain tile around the perimeter of the house below the footing level. Then punch through and add a tile around the inside of the footing which requires cutting a trench in the basement floor and tie the two together. At some location drop in a sump basket and sump pump and drop the tiles into that. If this part is done already the job becomes much simpler. Add pea rock over the tile and then pour new concrete in the basement.

To fix the bowed walls in the basement if you have them you will want to add treated or steel posts that are notched into the concrete floor and attached to the floor joists and jack them back to straight. This will prevent them from buckling in the future. On the outside I would clean and seal the cracks and add a heavy poly barrier on the outside that goes from above ground level to the foundation and then add pea rock over the tile and backfill. Regrade the area and you will be fixed.

 

There are companies that use plates outside and inside with threaded rod to brace the foundation without excavation and it is cheaper but doesn't fix the issues that cause it. 

In the end you need to get water off your roof and away from the foundation and make sure any that does get to the foundation has somewhere to go. 

 

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Aaaah below grade...silly me. Pf has a lot of great ideas there. My old house leaked a we ended up putting a sump pump and tile in. It all comes down how bad the rest of the foundation is like Pf stated. I do know a lot of different stucco crews in the metro, if I recall I remember one guy telling me that they were putting foam on a foundation under grade for the same reason. Kind of a cheaper way out if your foundation isn't all that bad. I guess start calling and getting quotes and ideas. I can also ask around if you like.

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