What do you make of this crack in foundation

Question

Would a diagonal crack in the foundation worry you? House build in 76 in clay soil in st louis, Mo. The basement has cracks in 3 of the 4 walls.  My goal is hold this property for the long term.  Could be a simple fix or major problems for the long run.

Marcus Auerbach · Answer

Most of the time poor exterior water management is the root cause. Clay is an expansive soil and frost amplfies the problem. So making sure your gutter system is working and you are directing water away from the house, ideally 10 feet is always first order.

You can epoxy fill the cracks, but it seem like they are not leaking. If you can try to find out about the history of the cracks. It is not uncommon to have these types of cracks in brand new foundations, I have had that on a new build. They are caused by shrinkage during the curing process. The tracks got epoxy filled and the contractor provided a life time warranty.

I am not so worried about foundation settlement if you are on clay soil, that's the one good thing about clay. Basement walls fail by buckeling to the inside. Bracing is the cure for that, but it seems like these walls are standing straight.

Jared Baker · Answer

I've seen this in Wisconsin, results for poor construction practices.  Foundations should never be backfilled with clay due to the moisture retention.  As a result when the ground freezes, the clay will expand pushing on the wall.  If the wall isn't bowed in you can take a precautionary action and brace the wall.  If it is, you'll need a foundation specialist to come and push the wall back and install the bracing.  Other option of course is if it is not bowed to leave it.

Victor S. · Answer

your best bet is getting a structural engineer in there first, then start calling foundation repair companies. might as well spend $500 for a piece of mind. filling the cracks in is not going to fix the issue (if there is one).

Scott Schultz · Answer

the vertical and diagonal cracks are concerning, OH is ground zero for foundation problems, I have stabilized several with horizontal cracking and bowing walls, but this makes me wonder if you have footing movement, I know of several homes here in WI that were built on unstable soil that has caused similar cracking, the houses often sink over time. there are methods to circumvent with piers or coils, my opinion is, if the deal is VERY good and you can monitor year to year and the cashflow is your play, its rare that houses fall down, consider the base value as static, dont count on appreciation in the future. you could be ok.

Lee Carrell · Answer

Tyler, in your pictures, I see by the grey line with plastic caps that the property has had the epoxy treatment already. You can chip those off now that they're dry. Then caulk and paint to make the wall look much better!

Lee Carrell · Answer

The pros say that diagonal cracks are caused by settlement. If it was horizontal, you would have a bigger problem. Fifteen years ago, I called in the contractors who handle this type of issue by filling the crack with an epoxy mix to seal it. I haven't had a leak since!

Jared Baker · Answer

There's only two options to fix it.  Option 1 is you get a foundation company to come in, jack the house, demo, and pour a new foundation.  Option 2 is put up braces.  I've never heard of anyone doing option 1 in this situation.  Braces will prevent the wall from coming in more (if this happens its going to destroy the rest of the house anyway).  You can always put a sealer in the cracks to keep moisture at a minimum too.

This is a basement after all so its probably not going to be perfect.  If you are trying to do a finished basement you'd be better off getting a contractor in to do some additional drainage as well to keep it as dry as possible.  Just putting up braces is going to provide some insurance from things getting any worse down the road.

Tyler Weiss · Answer

It doesn't appear to bowing. Im worried about fixing it now but still having to deal with ongoing damage

What do you make of this crack in foundation

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