Resources & Articles

Fixing Vertical and Horizontal Basement Wall Cracks

Vertical and Horizontal cracks are common in both newly constructed and older homes.

Vertical Wall Cracks

Vertical wall cracks most commonly found around windows, service pipes, corners, and in long spans of open foundation walls. While vertical wall cracks do not often lead to structural issues, they commonly leak water. If not repaired, over time more water enters and the crack can become more substantial. Water and moisture cause mold and mildew to grow on organic materials. Materials like drywall, boxes, cloth and most other standard building materials have some organic composition and are vulnerable to mold, mildew, dust mites, and rot. Additionally, be wary of absorbent basement wall materials that can absorb moisture as they can also hold water.

Waters Basement Services, Inc. provides a guaranteed solution to leaking wall cracks with an innovative Polyurethane wall crack repair. We seal the crack with special flexible sealant on the surface of the crack from top to bottom. This bead of sealant will slow and, in many cases, stop the flow of water through the crack. Waters Basement Services, Inc. then sticks the strip of wicking drain strip material to the sealant and tucks it into the drainage created on the floor. An overcoat of special sealant is applied over the wicking strip, overlapping onto the concrete wall at least 2" on each side. The wicking strip is covered entirely, creating a sealed patch from the top of the crack to the bottom. The wicking strip is a bond breaker between the top coat of sealant and the wall. It serves to wick away any water that gets past the first bead of sealant down into the drainage below. The Polyurethane Wall Crack Repair System will not crack, leak and can flex.

Horizontal Wall Cracks

Horizontal wall cracks can be the most serious of cracks. Typically, foundations are stressed when pressure (hydrostatic, expansive soil or lateral earth movement) is exerted on the outside of the foundation, causing wall(s) to crack and separate beyond their tensile capacity. Horizontal wall crack means that a bowing effect has begun, usually due to hydrostatic pressure against the wall. Bowing wall(s) occur most often due to the force of hydrostatic (water) pressure. Hydrostatic pressure occurs by (negative pitch) soil slopes toward your home causing water to press against the basement walls, causing the weight against the walls to exceed their capacity. Walls can also bow and fail when expansive clays or frost cause expansion of the soils to fatigue and damage the wall. During the winter months, the ground freezes and the expanding water in the soil will press the soil against basement walls. In the spring and summer months, the soil will lose water and shrink. This freezing and thawing causes inward and outward movement on basement walls. If you can fit a dime into the horizontal crack in the wall, get a professional opinion from Waters Basement Services, Inc. If not stopped, or adequately reinforced, foundations could eventually collapse.

Applying the Reinforcer to the foundation, it counteracts further outside pressure on the wall, taking the tension force to tensile load that the concrete or mortar joint cannot. For every increase in pressure, The Reinforcer supplies an equal and opposite resistant force making the wall stronger, helping to eliminate shifting, expanding, cracking or bowing. The Reinforcer is a patented state-of-the-art system developed by professional engineers. A combination of space-age polymers and carbon fibers processed into a material that is virtually impossible to stretch. Less than 1/16" thick, it is a perfect material to use on basement foundation walls to resist outside pressure.