Basement wall crack repairs

[El Carnicero]

Hi All.

Came home form work to find a small pool of water in my storage room. I can see the crack in the basement concrete wall where it seeped in, and I can see the wet spot along the crack, which goes from floor to top of basement wall. I am looking for advice on repairs.

I'm going to be hiring out, as this is above me skill set, and I want it done right. I have a few quotes coming but don't know enough about this type of repair to ask the right questions.

Can you guys give me some info on what the best ways are to be repairing this type of issue and what I may want to ask about the job so I know it will be done right??

As a side note, I wiped up the water last night with 2 towels and there has been none return over night so far.

I live in Sundance in South Calgary.

[fishtank]

Raise the grade outside and drain away from the walls .

[El Carnicero]

Raise the grade outside and drain away from the walls .

Last night I removed the source ( I believe it is anyway) of the water. (damned rain barrels. (Why did it get put next to the house:sign0176:)

Now for the crack repair itself.

[Off in the Bushes]

When that happened to me, I dug down and exposed the crack, cleaned it out and re-tarred the outside wall.
But it can be done from the inside with by injecting epoxy in the crack.
I simply chose to seal it, as to dam it.

[El Carnicero]

When that happened to me, I dug down and exposed the crack, cleaned it out and re-tarred the outside wall.
But it can be done from the inside with by injecting epoxy in the crack.
I simply chose to seal it, as to dam it.

I was looking at that injection stuff and wondering about the quality of it.
the reviews on Home depot looked good and it seems straight forward...ish.

But is it long lasting? and how similar or different is it from what someone like Abalon Canada would use to repair professionally?

[Cross Eyed Cowboy]

I was looking at that injection stuff and wondering about the quality of it.
the reviews on Home depot looked good and it seems straight forward...ish.

But is it long lasting? and how similar or different is it from what someone like Abalon Canada would use to repair professionally?

Most important is to ensure you eliminate the source of the water, secondly the areas within the crack have to be moisture free and as dry as possible so that any type of crack filler you choose will properly bond and cure to the substrate.

Normally the warmer the area surrounding the crack the better the chance the filler wll bond and cure as intended, so that may mean waiting for warmer weather.

I've know a few people who have had pro's come to do and interior inject with limited success.

Seem's fixing the crack from the outside first works best, there is lots of info out there about foundation crack repair and what works best and why.

[fishtank]

Sitka has a injection kit , required some drilling. I think some outfit are doing the same but they would used a pressurized injections system( basically a modified paint sprayer ) YouTube it

[bobtodrick]

I was looking at that injection stuff and wondering about the quality of it.
the reviews on Home depot looked good and it seems straight forward...ish.

But is it long lasting? and how similar or different is it from what someone like Abalon Canada would use to repair professionally?

Had minor crack in our foundation wall the, when it rained heavily would end up with a pretty wet area of the floor (though never enough to be standing water).
Filled the crack with the injection stuff and brought in some soil to get a gentle downward slope around the outside. That was 20 years ago now and have been high and dry ever since.

[ghostguy6]

I just went through this with Abalon. What they do is dig down passed the footing, clean the wall with a wire brush, grind a v shape into the cracks to ensure a good fill of hydraulic cement, a coat of tar and apply a membrane. They waited a day then applied a second coat of tar. They waited another day before filling in the hole. They are coming back once the ground thaws to tamp the dirt down. They were very professional in my mind. For the amount of work and what they charged I thought the quote was quite reasonable.

When I got the quote I asked about fixing the crack from the inside and they advised against it because water could still enter the crack from the outside and either freeze reopening the crack or the water could find an alternative route in. Im glad they did the dig from the outside as they found a second crack that was not yet visible from the outside. They also found the grounding rod was corroded away to nothing. It turned out the utility company had caused the problem when they installed the power to my house. TransAlta had only patched down 2 feet rather than the whole foundation when the wall cracked at the inlet.

[El Carnicero]

I just went through this with Abalon. What they do is dig down passed the footing, clean the wall with a wire brush, grind a v shape into the cracks to ensure a good fill of hydraulic cement, a coat of tar and apply a membrane. They waited a day then applied a second coat of tar. They waited another day before filling in the hole. They are coming back once the ground thaws to tamp the dirt down. They were very professional in my mind. For the amount of work and what they charged I thought the quote was quite reasonable.

When I got the quote I asked about fixing the crack from the inside and they advised against it because water could still enter the crack from the outside and either freeze reopening the crack or the water could find an alternative route in. Im glad they did the dig from the outside as they found a second crack that was not yet visible from the outside. They also found the grounding rod was corroded away to nothing. It turned out the utility company had caused the problem when they installed the power to my house. TransAlta had only patched down 2 feet rather than the whole foundation when the wall cracked at the inlet.

I have Abalon coming this Friday for a quote. I hear their commercials and they were the first company I thought of. I liked their reviews and their website pictures of previous jobs done.
Would you mind sharing what it cost you? (PM me if you are more comfortable than posting directly to the thread)

[big zeke]

I used the Sika kit recently to repair a 6' long crack in a friends basement, the crack varied from 1/8" at the floor to maybe 1/2" at the top although it had to be chipped out to about 3/4" all the way up. The kit was easy to use and gave an excellent seal. I would use it again.

The key repair is to stop any water from pooling near the foundation (any foundation). Cement is porous and water will find a way in if allowed to pool. Many homes never have the backfill repaired, in my case there was about 6" of negative slope that extended to 5' from the house.

The expanding foam in the Sika kit tends to get everywhere, we had it gush out of the crack on the earth side of the foundation so there were no gaps or open pathways to let water in. It can be done any time so if it doesn't work you can always dig down from the outside in the spring and place a tar patch if needed.

I live in SW Calgary, let me know if you'd like me to have a look.

[Sundancefisher]

You need a concrete chisel, small hand held sledgehammer, wire brush, black foundation sealer tar paint, heavy gauge cement trowel and https://www.lowes.ca/product/patching-spackling-compound/dap-quick-plug-hydraulic-cement-5kg-572685.

You can start inside but I recommend doing both inside and outside at the same time in the spring since the ground outside will be frozen.

Steps are.

Dig ground outside around crack, exposing it as far down as you possibly can. I just threw a tarp down and kept digging till I hit a Boulder. Probably went down 5 feet.

Using the chisel, V notch out the crack. Bigger crack...bigger notch.

Once you have chiseled it out, brush it out well with your heavy wire brush.

Mix up the quick plug hydraulic cement and force in the cement allowing for a slight bulge over the length of the notch. Let fully dry. Apply tar paint. Letting dry between coats, it doesn’t hurt to really multi coat the area right up to ground level. Above ground you can paint to match the foundation color...multiple thick coats.

Fill back in hole, contour/slope ground away from house, making it higher that you want as settling will occur unless you rent a tamper and pack the hole down as you fill.

On the inside, V notch out the fully length of the crack. Wire Brush out any loose bits. Mix and apply quick plug hydraulic cement just like you did on the outside. Use trowel to force it in and smooth to look nice however a slight bulge is good. Any basement Reno will cover it up.

Should be good to last.

I was quoted a few thousand to fix a crack on one wall. I did four cracks on my own for less than $150

[El Carnicero]

A couple of you great guys have mentioned removing any water source.

In the area of the crack there was a rain collection barrel sitting against the house connected to the gutter system. I noticed yesterday that wit h the warmer weather it was overflowing and running down the wall. I suspected this is where my water problem was coming from.
The previous owner had this system set up before we purchased the house back in November. I had intended to move it and redirect drainage in the spring but when I saw the small pool last evening and the dripping barrel I put 2 and 2 together.
(Still wondering if the previous owner knew of the crack and drip and did not disclose, but that's a matter for another rant post)

Last night I drained the barrel away from the house, removed it altogether and rerouted our gutter system away form the house completely.

once that was done and the water was wiped up with a couple towel I let it sit over night and checked this morning and no further water has leaked in.
I suspect the barrel was my cuplrit.
Now to fix the Crack.

[El Carnicero]

You need a concrete chisel, small hand held sledgehammer, wire brush, black foundation sealer tar paint, heavy gauge cement trowel and https://www.lowes.ca/product/patching-spackling-compound/dap-quick-plug-hydraulic-cement-5kg-572685.

You can start inside but I recommend doing both inside and outside at the same time in the spring since the ground outside will be frozen.

Steps are.

Dig ground outside around crack, exposing it as far down as you possibly can. I just threw a tarp down and kept digging till I hit a Boulder. Probably went down 5 feet.

Using the chisel, V notch out the crack. Bigger crack...bigger notch.

Once you have chiseled it out, brush it out well with your heavy wire brush.

Mix up the quick plug hydraulic cement and force in the cement allowing for a slight bulge over the length of the notch. Let fully dry. Apply tar paint. Letting dry between coats, it doesn’t hurt to really multi coat the area right up to ground level. Above ground you can paint to match the foundation color...multiple thick coats.

Fill back in hole, contour/slope ground away from house, making it higher that you want as settling will occur unless you rent a tamper and pack the hole down as you fill.

On the inside, V notch out the fully length of the crack. Wire Brush out any loose bits. Mix and apply quick plug hydraulic cement just like you did on the outside. Use trowel to force it in and smooth to look nice however a slight bulge is good. Any basement Reno will cover it up.

Should be good to last.

I was quoted a few thousand to fix a crack on one wall. I did four cracks on my own for less than $150


How is the ground in Sundance for hand digging?
We Moved From Midnapore to Sundance and the Midnapore ground was great to hand dig. I have contemplated doing the hand dig, and am willing if soft enough, but the big boy in me wants to justify a small backyard excavator to play with

[Sundancefisher]

How is the ground in Sundance for hand digging?
We Moved From Midnapore to Sundance and the Midnapore ground was great to hand dig. I have contemplated doing the hand dig, and am willing if soft enough, but the big boy in me wants to justify a small backyard excavator to play with

I dug my crack holes in Braeside. Horrible gravel, cobbles and boulders.

In Sundance I dug out two deep holes for egress windows. It was luckily clay. I forgot I agreed to dig the holes. At 5 am I woke up, remembered and ran out and started digging. By the time the cutting crew arrived the first hole was dug. By the time the finished the first the second hole was finished. These were 6 foot X 5 foot by 5 foot holes. I was tired and sore but it wasn’t technical digging.

You also wouldn’t need as big a hole.

After I had tar painted up the crack...I filled the hole will water for 5 minutes. No water came in. Don’t think you need to do that.

[fishtank]

If it you don’t need to fix ASAP. I would wait til summer The soil are probably wet and frozen , you should be ok once removed the water source I would buy a flexible mole pipe from Home Depot and run the gutter water away from the house

[El Carnicero]

I dug my crack holes in Braeside. Horrible gravel, cobbles and boulders.

In Sundance I dug out two deep holes for egress windows. It was luckily clay. I forgot I agreed to dig the holes. At 5 am I woke up, remembered and ran out and started digging. By the time the cutting crew arrived the first hole was dug. By the time the finished the first the second hole was finished. These were 6 foot X 5 foot by 5 foot holes. I was tired and sore but it wasn’t technical digging.

You also wouldn’t need as big a hole.

After I had tar painted up the crack...I filled the hole will water for 5 minutes. No water came in. Don’t think you need to do that.

bahaha.! I have had that exact same experience with my previous place. K= I know the feeling. Thank goodness for soft clay and strong shovels.

[El Carnicero]

If it you don’t need to fix ASAP. I would wait til summer The soil are probably wet and frozen , you should be ok once removed the water source I would buy a flexible mole pipe from Home Depot and run the gutter water away from the house

Got the gutter away form the house last night. redirected the entire thing form roof to ground to a completely different location and with a good slope away form the house.

[wannabe]

I had a house in Lethbridge do this to me. I couldn't go outside and dig down due to a cement pad in the way. I sealed the pad against my house and then filled the crack in with dap quick plug.

If i was in your situation, in the spring i would dig down, expose the crack, pressure wash and let dry, fill crack with something like the dap quick plug then cover the side of that foundation with blueskin about an inch above grade, or all the way if you want.

[Stinky Buffalo]

Most important is to ensure you eliminate the source of the water, secondly the areas within the crack have to be moisture free and as dry as possible so that any type of crack filler you choose will properly bond and cure to the substrate.

The Sika kit actually requires the surfaces to be wet in order to work properly. The injection grout reacts with water in order to expand. Kind of like Gorilla Glue in that respect.

[Mayhem]

See posts #5, #8 and #15. That's how I have fixed them, from the outside.

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showthread.php?t=375600

[El Carnicero]

See posts #5, #8 and #15. That's how I have fixed them, from the outside.

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showthread.php?t=375600

Thanks. Read through the whole thread.

You guys are all amazing. The wealth of knowledge and advice on this sight is awesome. After reading everyone's posts and private messages, and with what Youtube has shown me today, I do feel this is a job that I can actually do.

I will get the quotes and see what the pro's say about my situation. If there is no hidden issues that my non-professional eye is not seeing, I may try and do this project myself.

[oilngas]

Lake Sundance soils vary quite a bit, we are on the FCPP ridge and are mostly fine beach sand, with a few (just enuff to be a PITA) cobbles. As per an old geological report on Calgary and area, we are likely on an old lake bed or post glaciation sand deposit. So sorta a crap shoot. Not much help I know, but it's what we found putting in fence, many years ago.

[El Carnicero]

Lake Sundance soils vary quite a bit, we are on the FCPP ridge and are mostly fine beach sand, with a few (just enuff to be a PITA) cobbles. As per an old geological report on Calgary and area, we are likely on an old lake bed or post glaciation sand deposit. So sorta a crap shoot. Not much help I know, but it's what we found putting in fence, many years ago.

That actually is helpful. We are in Sunhaven, so your post does help.

[Gboe8]

Xypex is a product I’ve used with great success on a few jobs. It’s a repair where you chisel out the crack from the inside and fill the crack in. You can do on both inside and out. But if it’s just small I would try it from the inside to save on work.

[Okotok]

We used to use this stuff for industrial sumps etc. Holes were drilled into the crack with a hammer drill at an angle and temporary nozzles installed. It was then injected into the crack. It is catalyzed by water as in the case of a sump full of water leaking as the work was done. Worked great in those cases and is permanently flexible unlike epoxy which has a much higher failure rate.

Probably cheaper and just as effective solutions for your problem, but if you have an old concrete cistern or swimming pool that's leaking, Bob could be your uncle!

You obviously need to correct drainage as well to avoid the leaks in the future.

https://www.48ws.com/pd118759/avanti-av-220-hydracure

[El Carnicero]

Update-

I got 2 quotes, one form Abalon Canada, and the second from Doug Laceys basement systems.

Abalon will do a dig, fix the crack from the outside using injection epoxy or polyurethane. Thus penetrating the entire crack, tar the area and put blueskin over it and then backfill the area. Cost $1800

Doug Lacey's basement system doesn't do any repair on the crack outside. They will come in, clean up the crack from the inside, place a carbon fiber patch over the crack, (apparently this strengthens the concrete) and then coat the patch in something (I can't remember what) Cost $1200-$1500.

Though Doug Lacey's basement systems is cheaper, their procedure doesn't make much sense to me as they don't stop the problem, they just slow it down with a patch job.

Anyone have thoughts or experience with the Doug lacey basement system version of repair? It seems pretty iffy.

[EZM]

Update-

I got 2 quotes, one form Abalon Canada, and the second from Doug Laceys basement systems.

Abalon will do a dig, fix the crack from the outside using injection epoxy or polyurethane. Thus penetrating the entire crack, tar the area and put blueskin over it and then backfill the area. Cost $1800

Doug Lacey's basement system doesn't do any repair on the crack outside. They will come in, clean up the crack from the inside, place a carbon fiber patch over the crack, (apparently this strengthens the concrete) and then coat the patch in something (I can't remember what) Cost $1200-$1500.

Though Doug Lacey's basement systems is cheaper, their procedure doesn't make much sense to me as they don't stop the problem, they just slow it down with a patch job.

Anyone have thoughts or experience with the Doug lacey basement system version of repair? It seems pretty iffy.

Fix it from the outside to PREVENT the problem and rectify it.

The "inside job" still allows water to penetrate in and continue to expand/contract the joint and will only be temporary.

And, to be honest, any homeowner can "half-ass" it by doing this from the inside for a hundred bucks themselves.

[The Cook]

When that happened to me, I dug down and exposed the crack, cleaned it out and re-tarred the outside wall.
But it can be done from the inside with by injecting epoxy in the crack.
I simply chose to seal it, as to dam it.

I chiseled both sides of the crack in my basement wall (inside) and filled it with PL Supreme, let it dry and did it again. That was 12 years ago and still holding, Super cheap fix.

[big zeke]

It looks like Abalon is doing more work, I'm sure their repair will last as long as the foundation remains dry, the same would apply for the other quote as well.

Concrete is naturally porous (like 12% void space or more), the tar spray is a good way to keep any pooled water from ingressing but the real trick is keeping the water from pooling in the first place. Fix the grading first, most of the issues will be gone.

The Sika kit is like $80, easily done in a morning, if you can run a caulking gun you can do it. If for some reason it doesn't work you can always call Abalon, if you dig the hole yourself, they might drop the price.

You can put the money you save towards a new toy...or beer
Zeke

[fishtank]

It looks like Abalon is doing more work, I'm sure their repair will last as long as the foundation remains dry, the same would apply for the other quote as well.

Concrete is naturally porous (like 12% void space or more), the tar spray is a good way to keep any pooled water from ingressing but the real trick is keeping the water from pooling in the first place. Fix the grading first, most of the issues will be gone.

The Sika kit is like $80, easily done in a morning, if you can run a caulking gun you can do it. If for some reason it doesn't work you can always call Abalon, if you dig the hole yourself, they might drop the price.

You can put the money you save towards a new toy...or beer
Zeke
And a hammer drill :)

[El Carnicero]

And a hammer drill :)

Well I do need one of those!!

[El Carnicero]

Fix it from the outside to PREVENT the problem and rectify it.

The "inside job" still allows water to penetrate in and continue to expand/contract the joint and will only be temporary.

And, to be honest, any homeowner can "half-ass" it by doing this from the inside for a hundred bucks themselves.


Yeah, I asked why they wouldn't do outside work and all the guy told me was "We don't need to".
Oh, Okay, can you tell me the science behind, "we don't need to", because it sounds like water would still get through.

Nothing.

I liked the idea of fixing it from the outside because, well, that's just the smarter thing to do.

[ghostguy6]

Another thing to consider is will your insurance company allow the repair to be done from the inside? I just found out I will be receiving a $20 a month discount because there is now a complete foundation report for the unit I live in that documents the repair was done by a bonded professional and the repair was done from the outside. It wont kick in until Abalone can come back to finish the grading though.

[El Carnicero]

Another thing to consider is will your insurance company allow the repair to be done from the inside? I just found out I will be receiving a $20 a month discount because there is now a complete foundation report for the unit I live in that documents the repair was done by a bonded professional and the repair was done from the outside. It wont kick in until Abalone can come back to finish the grading though.

Interesting thought.
We never even contacted insurance over the issue as it costs about the same as our deductible.

[ren008]

Used this product on my brother's house a few years back and holding good. Have a few hairline cracks in my basement that seep every spring and going to order a kit again this summer along with re-grading around the house where I can. Cheaper than other kits, and you can buy direct or through amazon and a two part solution is what you want based on my research.

https://www.flexomeric.com/contractor-dual-component-crack-repair-kits.html