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Discussion Forum

Foundation crack – how would you fix it

woodturner9 | Posted in Construction Techniques on August 24, 2009 08:35am

I’d like to get other opinions on how to repair the foundation crack in the attached pictures, and how to find a competent contractor to do this kind of work.  This is outside the scope of our work and experience.

 

The inside crack extends from the middle of basement window to the floor and is wider at the top.  The window is about 4′ from the corner, and a downspot and tile at the corner was clogged.  We placed new drain tile to fix the downspout, but the water from the downspout was apparently hydrating the clay soil, as the crack worsened over time as the soil dried.  Currently the crack is around 1/2″,  but is still moving maybe 1/4″ as the seasons vary.

 

Client has talked to the basement waterproofing/pier folks and was not happy.  Estimates ranged from $2,000 to $25,000 for essentially the same work, with no guarantee it would fix the problem.

 

Brown recommends drilling concrete piers, lifting off that, then dry pack the gap.  Seems feasible, but can’t find anyone to do the work.

 

It does appear that the downspout water undermined the corner and that the corner dropped, probably breaking the footer.  Construction is brick veneer over balloon-framed studs.

 

How would you fix this to make sure it stays fixed?

Reply

Replies

  1. User avater
    Dam_inspector | Aug 24, 2009 09:00pm | #1

    Mudjacking anyone?

    1. woodturner9 | Aug 24, 2009 09:08pm | #2

      I think of mudjacking for filling voids under a slab, never really thought about it for lifting footers.  Would it be effective for that application?

      This house is located in Western Pennsylvania, 36" frost line - so it's a full basement.  The concrete slab in the picture is the basement floor, approximately 6' below grade.

      1. User avater
        Dam_inspector | Aug 24, 2009 09:41pm | #6

        I can't say for sure, find a mudjacking company and discuss the problem with them. I suspect it is possible to jack the foundation.

  2. User avater
    SamT | Aug 24, 2009 09:13pm | #3

    His house is falling and he doesn't want to brace it up.

    Ya gotta fix the foundation issues first. Anything else is like giving a guy with a compound fracture just a bandage.

    Upper story symptoms of the foundation issue will be showing up soon.

    Any crack work done before the foundation is fixed will just crack again because that section is not yet stopped moving.

    SamT
    A Pragmatic Classical Liberal, aka Libertarian.

    I'm always right!
    Except when I'm not.

  3. Piffin | Aug 24, 2009 09:24pm | #4

    From what I see and read, in this, what you have is defintely NOT a patch job. If the ustomer wanted any kind of warrantee I would be replacing the foundtion there

     

     

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  4. jimjimjim | Aug 24, 2009 09:32pm | #5

    Turner,

    1. Squirt glue into the crack.  Don't use white glue, the yellow is stronger.

    2. Get your longest Bessey clamp and place it horizontally across the outside of the house from corner to corner.  Use 2x4's under the clamp jaws so you don't mar the exterior finish.  Screw in tight to close the crack.  You might need more than 1 clamp.

    Done.

    You're welcome.

    Jim x 3

  5. User avater
    rjw | Aug 24, 2009 09:56pm | #7

    How far from the closest corner?

    Is there a similar "companion" crack around the corner about the same distance from the corner.

    IOW, is the crack from settling of a portion of the footer/foundation, or from a upward force at the one point?

    If it's settling, one approach is to excavate the corner, install earth anchor type screws and lift that corner on the screw shaft.

    I've never heard of mud jacking being used for this sort of fix of a basement foundation, but maybe it's done in some regions


    "Ask not what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive... then go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."

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    1. woodturner9 | Aug 24, 2009 10:44pm | #8

      How far from the closest corner?

      Is there a similar "companion" crack around the corner about the same distance from the corner.

      IOW, is the crack from settling of a portion of the footer/foundation, or from a upward force at the one point?

      The window (and crack) are about 4' from the corner.  There is a (smaller) vertical crack extending through the brick veneer to the second story window.

      It appears the brick veneer "slid" as the footer moved - the horizontal mortar joint between the bottom course of brick and the foundation is cracked horizontally. 

      The crack is on the right side of the house as you face the house.  The front porch is in the middle front of the house and is a 4 x 10 slab poured as the ceiling of a small cellar room.  In other words, the foundation bumps out to form the perimeter of the porch.  The porch has a diagonal crack across the right half.

      So it appears to me that the brick veneer in the front slid on the foundation as the crack moved and that the corresponding crack is the one in porch slab and wall under the porch slab.

      The building is 22' x 33', so the distance from the porch crack to the corner is around 13' or so.

      As to cause, I would guess that the broken drain tile eroded dirt under the corner and that the footer dropped.  While the damage appears to be fairly local to the crack, it's possible that the porch crack is related - or it could be due to the porch drain tile failure (there is a downspout in the corner between the main wall and the bump out - and that tile had standing water in it when we fixed the downspout issues).

      1. peteshlagor | Aug 24, 2009 11:06pm | #9

        I'm agreeing with Bob's helical piers.  But they're gonna have to excavate a hole to get to the footings affected.

        The brick is another problem after the footing is fixed...

  6. brad805 | Aug 25, 2009 12:38am | #10

    I agree with Piffin and SamT.  You have a fundamental foundation problem.   I beleive you may need an engineer to investigate the problem and provide a solution if the owners want some form of guarantee.  A part of the solution will definetely be removing the problem drainspout.

    Brad

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