Crack In Basement Wall

Jeffery · #1 04/28/14, 03:04 PM

When it rains, I get water comming through a big crack in my cement block basement wall. Even some dirt washes in. How do you suggest I fix it? I was thinking of filling the crack with expansion foam or cauking. Would that seal it up tight?

wharton · #2 04/28/14, 04:20 PM

If it's that big, try to get the whole crack as clean and dirt free as possible, then plug it with hydraulic cement. This is a fast drying product that is made for this app. The best tool to apply this would be a margin trowel. It's actually an easy fix, and it will take more time to prep the wall, than to actually fix it.

buffalocreek · #3 04/28/14, 04:22 PM

I would think that if it is leaking badly, the surest way to fix it would be to dig down and expose the crack on the outside and seal it there. Sealing it from the inside might still allow water to infiltrate partway into the wall. Anybody have a better idea?

buffalocreek

Kasota · #4 04/28/14, 06:04 PM

Digging down and sealing from the outside is the way to go, especially in Minnesota. If you only seal the outside that water is still getting in to the block and it will freeze and that will cause greater expansion of the crack.

You might also check and make sure that the area outside where the water is coming in doesn't need to be re-graded.

The hydraulic cement is great stuff, but to do it right you need to stop the water getting into those blocks.

littlebitfarm · #5 04/28/14, 07:06 PM

I tried the hydronic cement. Thought I did a pretty good job. 2 years later it flaked out and leaked again. I found a YouTube about using the expanding foam. Did it in about 2 minutes and it is holding well!

MO_cows · #6 04/28/14, 07:51 PM

First thing, check your grading. If the land is sloping towards the house it needs to be corrected. 2nd thing, check gutters. Do they need extensions to take the water farther away? Then seal up the crack and it should hold once the excess water problem has been corrected.

We had a dry basement for years and years, then took the gutters down when putting on a new roof and it rained good and hard before we got them back up, had water all over the basement.

ErinP · #7 04/28/14, 08:21 PM

MO cows' suggestion to check drainage is a good first step.
But if you have that significant of a leak, you need to get it fixed from the outside.

Not only is it leaking, but it has the potential to freeze and make cracks bigger, too. You really need to get this taken care of. Dig down the outside of the wall, patch the concrete, put some waterproofing up on the wall, pile gravel against it for a drainage layer and THEN refill with dirt.

Darren · #8 04/28/14, 08:25 PM

What kind of soil do you have? How much of the basement wall is back filled? Is the crack a stair step, horizontal along a masonry joint, vertical with cracked blocks or a combination?

Have you checked the wall to see if it's plumb from corner to corner?

Muleman · #9 04/28/14, 09:42 PM

Ok, I looked at the tittle and took it a whole different way. I thought you had done bought one of those repossessed homes and found a bunch of drugs hidden in the basement wall. Your problem may actually be easier to deal with. I would agree with digging it up outside and sealing it there first. just make sure you do not accidentally dig up any utilities that may be buried?

Jeffery · #10 04/29/14, 01:55 AM

An additional room was added about 40 years ago to our 60 year old house. The crack is forming where the added room is separating slightly from the original house. I tried digging outside but could only get about 4 feet down because the ground is hard clay. I cauked it four feet down but it did not help much. I would have to dig about 7 feet deep to completely seal it up from the outside.

Darren · #11 04/29/14, 06:45 AM

Do you have a basement under the older section? Is there a floor drain in that section? How was the new wall tied into the original wall? Is there a floor drain in the basement under the addition? Is the crack the same width from top to bottom? Do you have a sump pump?

Darren · #12 04/29/14, 07:17 AM

Clay is the worse backfill dies to the pressure it places on walls. Had a friend who bought a new townhouse with gutters. Neighbor watered the new grass in the backyard. Friend had water in the basement. Contractor dug out area along back wall where leak occurred and filled with stone, then added soil on top. Basement still leaked. Friend got transferrred and company arranged for sale of house. Problem solved ... for friend. Original crap construction was passed on to a new victim.

Jeffery · #13 04/29/14, 11:46 AM

Darren,

The crack looks fairly even and minimal, but a lot of water gets through when there is heavy rain... 5 to 10 gallons a day. I have a wet vac to clean it up. There is a floor drain in the original basement, but no drain or subpump in the leaky addition. As a temporary solution, I put a tarp over the ground in that corner. There is a slight downward grade away from the house, but due to a basement window, outdoor central air conditioner, and electrical boxes located in that corner, I can not build up the grade any further.

Jeff

Ozarks Tom · #14 04/29/14, 01:14 PM

Sorry to say it, but it's pickaxe time. You'll have to dig down to the very bottom where the two walls come together, and use rubber flashing at the joint, then seal the edges of the flashing.

wharton · #15 04/30/14, 05:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darren

Clay is the worse backfill dies to the pressure it places on walls. Had a friend who bought a new townhouse with gutters. Neighbor watered the new grass in the backyard. Friend had water in the basement. Contractor dug out area along back wall where leak occurred and filled with stone, then added soil on top. Basement still leaked. Friend got transferrred and company arranged for sale of house. Problem solved ... for friend. Original crap construction was passed on to a new victim.

The problem with your claim regarding "original crap construction" is that, as a builder I can assure you that the general public is not only willing to tolerate that, but in reality they demand it. I spent my entire career building homes that were clearly superior to the competition, made a lot less on each one, and can assure you that 95% of the buyers out there really couldn't give a rat's butt hair about the difference. There are dozens of ways to build tighter, more water resistant foundations. In the OP's case, one way I handled it was a solid rule of NEVER using block. That decision alone cost me several thousand a home, and most didn't know or care about the difference. Taking the next step of using elastomeric coatings, pressure relief matrix coverings, washed, crushed stone backfill etc.... can add additional thousands or tens of thousands in cost. If I did any of these things I simply wasn't going to get paid to do so, unless it was a totally custom house that was financed with cash, and typically a high end custom home customer is focused on flash and finish and doesn't want to spent it on the bones. I literally lost a customer, building a trophy house, who gave me the specs. of my competitor, and wanted me to beat his price. I read his proposal and told the customer that she was ending up with a big piece of trash ( 1/2 foam sheathing, cheapest windows on the market, etc....) she told me that she didn't care, it's not how it's built, it how it looks. That is how it works in our society, so hammering the builder since he didn't take five grand out of his pocket to do a better job, really doesn't reflect the real world.

Darren · #16 04/30/14, 06:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wharton

The problem with your claim regarding "original crap construction" is that, as a builder I can assure you that the general public is not only willing to tolerate that, but in reality they demand it. I spent my entire career building homes that were clearly superior to the competition, made a lot less on each one, and can assure you that 95% of the buyers out there really couldn't give a rat's butt hair about the difference. There are dozens of ways to build tighter, more water resistant foundations. In the OP's case, one way I handled it was a solid rule of NEVER using block. That decision alone cost me several thousand a home, and most didn't know or care about the difference. Taking the next step of using elastomeric coatings, pressure relief matrix coverings, washed, crushed stone backfill etc.... can add additional thousands or tens of thousands in cost. If I did any of these things I simply wasn't going to get paid to do so, unless it was a totally custom house that was financed with cash, and typically a high end custom home customer is focused on flash and finish and doesn't want to spent it on the bones. I literally lost a customer, building a trophy house, who gave me the specs. of my competitor, and wanted me to beat his price. I read his proposal and told the customer that she was ending up with a big piece of trash ( 1/2 foam sheathing, cheapest windows on the market, etc....) she told me that she didn't care, it's not how it's built, it how it looks. That is how it works in our society, so hammering the builder since he didn't take five grand out of his pocket to do a better job, really doesn't reflect the real world.

I'm aware of what you speak. The townhouse had a lot of flash. I'm not a builder but I've worked in heavy and institutional construction where quality is essential. Much of it is eventually covered up. I've had more than one conversation with a superintendent or foreman that wanted to argue. That's a waste of time. There's a spec that references a code or standard for a reason for most aspects of the work. They had a copy when they bid and signed the contract.

I look at homes as they're being built. I see the shortcuts that could make a difference for the owner. The basement is one of the most shortchanged items. As you said most of the future homeowners are drawn to the flash just like people were drawn to chrome on cars years ago.

Darren · #17 04/30/14, 06:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeffery

Darren,

The crack looks fairly even and minimal, but a lot of water gets through when there is heavy rain... 5 to 10 gallons a day. I have a wet vac to clean it up. There is a floor drain in the original basement, but no drain or subpump in the leaky addition. As a temporary solution, I put a tarp over the ground in that corner. There is a slight downward grade away from the house, but due to a basement window, outdoor central air conditioner, and electrical boxes located in that corner, I can not build up the grade any further.

Jeff

If you're confident the water is surface water from rain and not from ground water, you could seal the crack and install an interceptor drain underground to remove the water.