I have a problem in my basement – one that I think I should address before the Freeze-Thaw cycle starts up here in Michigan.
A couple of my basement walls have what appear to be cracks running diagonally down the interior of the wall with rusty water stains.
The basement is a poured basement with some sort of sprayed-on texture.
Is this going to be as simple as grinding out the crack and filling it with hydraulic cement? That’s what a fella at the office suggested.
Your thoughts?
Replies
We've tried that approach several times with mixed results. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. When the ground freezes, it can push against that wall and open the crack again. On those that our efforts failed, we advised the owners to call in a company that seals these cracks with a warranty. In our area, that was US Waterproofing. They dug a hole with a post hole digger along side the crack, poured in their compound and guaranteed the fix for as long as they owned the home. Not one has leaked again.
Scott;
I have not had much luck with hydrulic cement fixes, and I have tried it from both side of the walls on many occassions. I ended up using a company that injects a two part epoxy from inside the wall. I think the epoxy is pumped in at around 500 psi, so it can go all the way through the wall, instead of just a surface fix that the hydrulic cement gives you. The warrenty was a lifetime and transferrable to future home owners. Cost about $300.00 for a 7 ft. crack. The outfit I used was called Structural Bonding, and I believe it is a franchise operation. Look for something similar in your area.
By the way this is the same process that they use to repair/stabilize cracks in runways at airports.
Dave
To me, the hydraulic cement could make things worse. For starters, it's treating the symptom and not the problem. And if it still allows water into the crack, and then it freezes, it will open the gap up wider. (As GOLDHILLER said)
I think any basement water problem should be addressed from the outside first. Get the ground water away, etc. You've probably heard the drill before if you've hung around here much. If not, do a search on "wet basement" and you should get all kinds of stuff.
The epoxy Dave mentioned sounds interesting. If it really bonds the concrete back together, It should help.
You are my heart's desire.
But my kidneys and spleen have also expressed an interest.
Boss,
We had 2 plus inches of rain last weekend and I didn't get a drop through the epoxy patch. I thought I had that leak fixed years ago, before I built the deck and patio cover over it.... wrong! I had pathched from the outside after digging the whole thing out, and regraded to get water away from the foundation, but apparently not good enough in either case. Only good thing was it was only four feet from the floor drain and in an unfinished area. Putting this place up for sale meant I had to fix it. $300.00 was a lot cheaper than taking part of the deck apart an attacking from the outside agian.
The epoxy system injects through ports every eight or nine inches inserted into the crack. The dirt on the outside of the foundation acts as the other side of a form. Starting at the bottom, the epoxy is injected into each port untill it starts to weep out of the port above it. The nozzle is then moved up to that port and the process repeated untill the top of the crak is reached. The mixture that is injected into to the crack is very thin (like real maple syrup)and easily penitrates through to the outside at the pressure it is pumped at. Intial set time is about 30 minuets, and then the whole crack is sealed with a ticker trowel on epoxy the also covers the injection ports. Complete set time for both mixtures is betweeen 12 and 24 hours.
I am sure the new owners of this house are pleased with the liftime warrenty that they are recieving. If I remember, I'll contact them next spring and see how the fix survived this winter.
Dave