MORE LOCATIONSFoundation Wall Crack Repair
Are Cracks In Foundation Walls Normal?
There are many issues that can lead to cracks in concrete walls and floors. While poured concrete is considered to be the best foundation material, over time it can experience cracking due to shrinkage, frost heaves, heavy equipment traffic, settlement, and a host of other issues.
The Crack-X® process usually involves repairing the crack from the inside, although repairs from outside are also possible. Cracks and other defects can often be repaired even if the crack is wet. Crack-X® repairs include a 10 year, transferrable warranty on most wall cracks.
How are Foundation Cracks Repaired
If the crack is “open” (no previous repair materials applied over the crack) and is accessible to our technicians, we adhere injection ports every 6 to 10 inches from the bottom of the crack to the top. Epoxy paste is then applied around the ports and over the length of the crack. This creates a “face dam” so that the injection material can be injected into the crack under pressure. (If the crack is exposed on the exterior and accessible, hydraulic cement is applied to dam the crack outside as well.) The injection material can be either a two-part epoxy or a urethane resin. Depending on the specific conditions of the crack, our technician will choose which material is most appropriate.
If the crack is not open and accessible, metal ports are inserted diagonally on each side of the crack, and high pressure is used to inject, usually with urethane resin.
This injected urethane resin expands up to 20x its original volume. This results in the crack being totally sealed from top to bottom and from front to back.
If the crack is of a structural nature, an epoxy resin is used, sometimes along with metal “pins” inserted into the concrete across the crack to further stabilize the wall.
This, in effect, “welds” the concrete together, making it monolithic once again. The “weld” is actually stronger than the original concrete. It also includes a 10 year, transferrable warranty on most wall cracks.