My basment block wall has a vertical crack about 1″ wide and pushing out about 5/8″.
The crack is 1 foot from a corner of a basment door that leads up some stairs and into my garage. The two walls that form the this corner are obviously being shoved in. It looks like this crack has been there for a few years hidden behind styrofoam insulation.
The only reason I noticed was because the door started sticking from being shoved over and tightened up to the point it barely closes. I found it few weeks ago…there has never been water leaking from this crack into the basment. The crack goes from the floor all the way to the sill plate.
Saw some reinforcment stuff online…but I would rather have it dug out and replaced I think…is this a $5,000.00 fix or 10 or 15?..Curious. Because of obsticles in the way there would be much shovel work I believe.
I was also wondering if I could pour a concrete wall infront of the cracked wall say 8″ thick and cover/reinforce it that way? Or is that not a good way to fix it?
Thanks for any advice
Steve
Replies
Where do you live? You have no info. in your profile. Could this this be frost related heaving?
My guess is the same...frost heaving...especially since no water leaks through the crack...the 8" thick wall I am talking about would run from the floor clear up to the sill plate and completely covering the wall...I live in N. Central Ohio...not on a hillside
This is an engineering situation. Something is pushing hard against the wall. "Fortunately" it is a vertical crack. With a horizontal crack you would be in real trouble.
I think you might have to excavate to examine what causes the pressure. Is this home on a hillside? Was soilpressure applied to the wall? (eg. was it backfilled on the "flat" side first rather from the corners) Heavy machinery driving between houses during backfill.? With what was it backfilled? Claymaterial, which can expand under freezing conditions?
If it was my house I would attend to this problem as soon as possible. The longer you wait the more it could cost
Without actually seeing the problem I'll give you a couple of my thoughts.Water pressure in clay soils may have started the cracking. Dig around the outside down to the bottom of the footing.A footing and block or concrete pilaster may do the trick.
Naturally you would remove the bowed block and redo it. You may have to temporairly shore the joists. It would be a good idea to reinforce the block and pilasters with #4 rebar vertically and fill the cells.
mike