How To Fix a Concrete Foundation Crack | This Old House

I have a foundation Crack in a basement wall that is fairly large at the top. We had a structural engineer already pass the wall for repair but I'm wondering how a very large Crack repair would be completed.

How do we know what materials he is using?

so that neet but you fix drainage patch the creak and the fill that into the creak will stringer than the concrete but there got be some distance from bottom to concrete right and fill the top you not do the bottom then later it’s start busting around fix or in same spot even fix the water drainage there still void at the bottom and move on hot or cold or weight i just thinking

if you dont seal the crack on the outside of the concrete wall water will enter the outside crack and freeze and will open the crack inside in time.

😊

It's strong, but will it hold it in place?

Foundation Crack Repair epoxy

What is the name of the epoxy being used if anyone knows by chance, or is there one just az good. Thanks

Could u imagine how good it would be if the preheated the concrete for a day or more, you could see the guys breathe , rule one with and concrete bonding , get it warm, hacks

Its expanding foam not epoxy. It doesn't have a PSI rating...

For anyone who’s interested I’ve replaced many dozens of these epoxy repairs that often lasted only a few months. Epoxy repairs are completely inflexible so they frequently fail as soon as the weather changes. I did hundreds of flexible foundation crack repairs and replacements over a period of about 2 years using a urethane system without a single failure.

Where can this product be purchased? Tnx

I've had to do this several times on my house as well, over 100 years old, no footing. In my case it isn't drainage related. I have a couple of techniques I developed. At or below grade, I excavate and face drill into the block on either side of the crack for rebar pins. They are left protruding, and then I use stainless wire to stitch the crack and preload the rebar pins. I make a form and fill it with high strength grout to a fluid consistency. This encases everything, including the rebar stickout and the block core. For above grade, I use stainless stitch ties in the grout lines with epoxy. Again, it is sealed, and then I core fill the block the rest of the way. Some backfill, and some stucco, and you don't know it's there. Plus, unlike epoxy which can bond to dirt and dust, this is a mechanical repair. Very expensive and very time consuming, but that's my habit of overdoing things. My goal was use to use products locally available.

For cracks at a corner, you can pin the rebar in from the side, all the way to do the top, which makes a really nice fix.

It doesn't look like a crack caused by lateral soil pressures from the outside. The wall would likely tilt inwards if there was high enough pressure from the outside. The wall is flat across the crack. One side of the crack is not tilted in more than the other side of the crack. The crack is wider at the top than the bottom. It is more likely due to differential settlement. It could be a shrinkage crack but in that case, the crack is usually the same width top to bottom. The crack itself is usually not an issue that has to be repaired. All houses with concrete foundations have shrinkage cracks unless it is a prestressed foundation which is pretty rare.

I would look for signs of differential settlement before fixing the crack. You actually don't need to fix the crack itself. If there is an issue with the crack it would be letting water in. Waterproofing and drainage from the outside is more critical to fix.

Fixing the differential settlement is more of an issue but the shape of the crack would indicate that more investigation is required.

That red and yellow sure does look like Sika.

So wholesome

Very informative!

One word: duct tape.

I'd like to see the effectiveness of epoxy injection on this job 5 years later.
It may still be OK but that's because a reinforced footing was installed, outside waterproofing and proper drainage. That fix would be rubbish without the other fixes.😂😂😂

I thought this was gonna be a job my husband and I could do, lol. Basically, call a professional. I love This Old House. I've learned so many things from you all. You are appreciated.

Thx for sharing, what's the name of the products?

Troy Mclure had an excellent video on this same topic.

The house I grew up in back in Minnesota had a foundation that was like a colander - every spring thaw we had several inches of water in our basement that we would constantly have to Shop-Vac up. Fun…….🫤

Why is the compression load (9,000 psi) of the epoxy important? Foundations and wall crack under tensile load, not compression load.

I really liked this,, I have several cracks in a solid porded foundation wall as weel as a leak around mu main Copper water supply line. The only leaks that is troublesome in the house is the leak around water supply. Had a plumbing try and fix it from the outside and they said it would never leak but it did anyway. Had a foundation leak company come take a look and they wanted tear up our entire basement around the foundation wall on the inside of the house and just deal with the water as it came in and not prevent it from coming in the first place. We finally just added our knew roof, we have new properly sized gutters coming next, they are 6", we have 4" now, and we will be able to keep the water from running down the face of the fondation and the gutters from getting clogged. This will be a perfect solution to seal up the cracks on the inside of the house for the water line and the garage. Thank you for showing this

OH Cool, let's fix it from the inside...🙄
Like sticking duct tape on your ceiling when your roof leaks.
Also, there's a reason why the foundation cracked. And it will crack again unless you fix the reason why it cracked.

Hi I have a cracked foundation can you please tell me what is the name of the epoxy that was used on this show

Any one know that type or brand of epoxy he was using in the video?

I think the first thing you need to do is identify the building products properly.... cement and concrete.... NOT the samething and they use cement to pour foundation, not concrete....

How does that work on mud that leaks through with the water! 😂

The crack will come back in the winter when the ground freezes and heaves the foundation.

I have this problem in my basement the crack goes from the window to almost the floor of the wall. And last week we had heavy rain and water was coming out from there.

What is this product called

Where can I purchase this kit and the epoxy?

They're talking about the compressive strength right? Doesn't that not apply here though? It's tensional forces that open up a crack. I have no doubt the epoxy is very strong. But isn't the question more about the adhesive strength of epoxy bond to the concrete on either side of the crack?

I thought you always fix a crack from the outside. That's what the pros tell me. Avalon here in Edmonton did that for me. No water inside for 10 years and going.

Pretty smart repair!

i luv houses

If the crack goes all the way through to the exterior should we do the same process outside?

That repair is stonger than the original wall.

Im not making a forth trip to grind that epoxy off though. Experiemce says to clean it up in application.

Only two guarantees in the future of your concrete is 1 no one will steal it and 2 it will crack

Great video! My foundation is made of cinder blocks. So if I have a crack in my foundation and inject it with epoxy, should I worry about all of the epoxy going into the large hollow spaces of the cinder blocks?

Thank you!

What is the product used to fix these cracks? Would have been nice if they would have included the product name for thos eof us interested in using it.

Just a widdle weak link

Can somebody tell me what epoxy he is using?

I'd be more concerned with the bonding strength and elasticity of the epoxy than with its compressive strength.

i need to buy this epoxy kit. Where do i get one ?

Is there a supplylist somewhere? what the things are called the using? What kind of epoxy And what are those little discs called?

Looks good, BUt Im concerned with the product coming out the back side or outside wall. Wouldn't the epoxy just push through to the outside ? Or would the dirt hold it ? I dont want to dig up my driveway and patio. Thanks for any help