Can a Cracked House Foundation be Fixed?

Cracked Foundation Walls are usually caused by soil pressure around the basement or foundation. This is common when there is an unusually high amount of water in the soil around your home. As the soil absorbs more water, it will expand, increasing the hydrostatic pressure in the ground and pushing against the foundation walls. This can cause the foundation walls to bow and crack. To fix this cracks in basement walls, we use plate anchors or helical tiebacks. Both of these devices use different methods to anchor into the soil adjacent to the cracked basement wall and pull the wall straight to stabilize the foundation and close cracks in the foundation wall.

Vertical Exterior Foundation Cracks are usually of less concern than some other kinds of foundation cracks. Some vertical foundation cracks, especially thinner ones, appear a few years after construction due to normal pressures and tension on the concrete. These kinds of vertical cracks can be sealed using epoxy injection. If these foundation cracks are larger than 1/4 inch, they may be a sign of foundation failure. In addition, vertical foundation cracks may allow water to seep into the home, resulting in moisture issues. For more severe foundation cracks, our team can use underpinning or polyjacking to fix underlying foundation issues and can then install appropriate waterproofing and drainage systems such as surface drainage and exterior waterproofing or crawlspace vapor barriers to prevent water from leaking through cracks.

Horizontal Exterior Foundation Cracks are a more serious problem. If you see horizontal or diagonal foundation cracks in your home, your foundation is likely suffering from significantly uneven settlement or shifting. This can happen due to increased hydrostatic pressure pushing on the foundation. Other causes include erosion and soil shrinkage, which create voids underneath the home that lead to foundation sinking, and poor compaction under the foundation when it was built. The most common repair solution we use to fix these issues is underpinning. In this method, we install steel push piers or helical piers (based on the type of foundation and the severity of the issue) under the foundation. These devices drive into the ground beneath the home until they anchor into stable soils far underground. They are then attached to the foundation and hydraulically lifted to raise and stabilize the sinking foundation and close and cracks. We also offer polyjacking, which utilizes the injection of expansive polyurethane grout under the home to fill voids, lift the concrete, and close cracks.