DIY Home Improvement Forum banner

vertical crack on pour foundation, water leaking

5K views 27 replies 6 participants last post by  concretemasonry 
#1 ·
ok guys i couldn't find a good aswer already posted. i can see a crack in the foundation where water is leaking tru, i heard that the best way to fix this is to dig a hole and fix it from the oustside. so after i dig my hole lol, what is the best way and best material to patch this crack and do i have to do something to the inside crack.

thanks in advance.
 
#2 · (Edited)
You are right. The best possible way to fix a leaking crack is from the outside. You want to dig out the area of the crack all the way to the footer. There may be drain tile that runs on top of the footer against the foundation wall. You must be able to expose the wall from the draintile when you do any waterproofing or you will still have leaks as the drain tile fills with water and also has holes in it. Now what i use to waterproof the crack is a product called Miradri. Its like a peel and stick rubberized sheet of membrane. I would dry and clean the foundation wall a foot wide over the crack with a wire brush. Then i would prime the area with Miradri primer let it dry and aply the miradri membrane over the entire crack. I normally only do this to the dirt level and then use urathane caulking from the dirt line up to the siding.

As far as a homeowner being able to buy the products ive mentioned im not sure of. Whatever you use make sure it has elasticity. Ive seen to many homeowners try to use cement to patch a leaking crack only to have there repairs crack two weeks later. If its cracked its gonna move; let it move.

As far as the inside it would be just for looks. you could do a uratheane epoxy injection but by the time you have bought all the equipment and tools to do all of this it would have been cheaper to have it done by a pro. I charge $50 a linear foot to fix cracks. If its an 8 foot crack it would cost you $400 for me to fix. you're going to spend nearly $300 in material and tools.
 
#3 ·
i heard of guys talk about injecting some sort of material which i don't know what it is, into the crack, is that the urathane caulking? or the miradri membrane? now the crack i see from the inside goes right to the bottom of the wall. so i guess it would go to the bottom from the other side right? now i didn't know there were some kind of drain tile on the footing of the foundation, do all the foundations have this. another thing do u apply the urathane caulking like cement or injected and how do u actually injected, do u use a caulking gun or do u have to use an air pump to push it in.
 
#4 ·
if your house was built in the past 30 years it most likely has drain tile. If you want to fix the crack from the inside you would need to by an epoxy injection gun. its kinda like a caulking gun but it has two plungers on it and has more pressure than a regular caulking gun. The urathane epoxy comes in a double tubed cartridge. it has a tip that mixes the two parts as its trigered. you would have to place injection ports on the crack every foot and use an epoxy to seal the crack and the porks in place. once the epoxy is hard you would start at the lowest port and start injecting till you see the material come out of the port above the one your pumping into. then you move to that one and work your way up.
 
#6 ·
if your house was built in the past 30 years it most likely has drain tile. If you want to fix the crack from the inside you would need to by an epoxy injection gun. its kinda like a caulking gun but it has two plungers on it and has more pressure than a regular caulking gun. The urathane epoxy comes in a double tubed cartridge. it has a tip that mixes the two parts as its trigered. you would have to place injection ports on the crack every foot and use an epoxy to seal the crack and the porks in place. once the epoxy is hard you would start at the lowest port and start injecting till you see the material come out of the port above the one your pumping into. then you move to that one and work your way up.
capping the lower port with the supplied cap so the sealer does not leak out.as you travel up the wall.
 
#7 ·
hopefully you can score some hydrophyllic polyurethane injectible mtl in 1 gal unit rather'n 5,,, instead of dragging out injection machine, for small jobs we just buy a grease gun, load it w/poly, inject away,,, 300psi's easy to achieve,,, i like to drill & use bang ports,,, 1st inject wtr to clean crks dust/crap/junk/mud/dead bugs,,, inject mtl from the btm UP,,, screw in next level male grease fitting when you get the right ooze :yes: capping's another way of doing it but male grease fittings're easier + you can reinject if needed.
 
#8 · (Edited)
i know our contractor suplies store only sales 202 urethane grout in 5's. But being that he's a home owner i would just recomend the tubes that mix in the tip. yesitsconcrete, he would have to buy a large hammer drill, bit, tap in ports with zerts, and a grease gun, plus way more material than he would use in a lifetime. not to mention that its nearly $100 a gal. Not really an option for a diy'er. Just use the product in this link http://www.polygem.com/constrct/polyfoam.php
 
#9 ·
well guys that is all good information, the last link from bricklayer says something about just using a regular caulking gun or an air one, but don't have the air one. i went to see how much to rent a jack hammer for a day, since i don't want to buy one not a lot of use for it. it is $32, maybe i'll just rent a slege hammer and go crazy. now i just have to go an check the stores to see if i can find what i need.
 
#12 ·
miradrain's a dimpled pvc sheet/roll if i recall correctly,,, some guys use it outside but we used to direct leaking wtr over the footer into a sub-floor pipe system.

for my house, comparing work ease, i'd be injecting but i've done this work for 30yrs, too,,, makes a difference - not always is exterior the best bang for the buck,,, i do know what a pita it is repairing blacktop driveway's UNLESS you can get your hands on a paver &/OR HOT TOP.

your home - follow whoever's advice you wish.
 
#13 ·
ok i think i like the link that bricklayer posted the steps seem pretty easy to follow and i already have a caulking gun, now for the nails like it says on the "this oldhouse site" (tap 3-in.(1od)finishing nails partway into the crack) are these special nails or just regular nails? another question i my buddy gave me this "waterproof rubber membrane blue seal" stuff it says it is a one-step, liquid foundation waterprofer. and i could just apply it with a trowel, it don't mention anything about injecting it into the crack just apply it over the crack i guess. have u heard of anything like this and how good is it.
 
#16 ·
Grading meaning how the dirt/ground slopes away from the house.

Water source meaning an open area for rain, or located near a gutter downspout.

Fixing leaks is usually a two prong approach.
1) Improve drainage on the outside, and
2) Patch cracks on the inside.

In fact, if you improve the drainage, that may get rid of leaks even with cracks left alone.
 
#17 ·
while the previous is always possible, you've got a better chance of seeing God show up to stop the water than remediating it thru only re-grading in my waterproofing experience,,, it MAY stop for a bit but the underground channels & rivulet passageways'll still be there still directing wtr into your very fine bsmt,,, don't forget wtr has all the time in the world while you are on a different timeline !


i've never seen improvements in grading resolve leaky basements,,, not arguing w/those who have - i just never saw it work permanently.
 
#20 ·
hey guys ok i started digging the hole, and i find it a bit diffucult because i run into this stuff don't know if it's clay, it is really sticky and got this like light green kind of colour, more like the cement power mixture. i got as deep as 3 feet i can see the crack getting thinner. i guess it is better if i dig all the way down to the foundation footer right? or would it be enough if i start patching it now.
 
#27 ·
dirt, that was mostly clay and it has gotten hard, this guy who does this told me that that i shouldn't use it or if i do i should mix it up with dirt or whatever it is u have to use to refill the hole. as u can tell i am really new at this it is my first time doing something of this caliber.
 
#28 ·
Do not make the mistake of using "dirt" (whatever that is) or clay for most if the backfill. - That only increases the pressure against the wall.

You apparently do not have the drain tile that should have been there, so you will have to make sure you keep water away from the backfill since it will never be as dense as the native soil on the site. You can "cap" the backfill with clay IF you have good gutters and long downspout extensions.

By your description, you have a typical shrinkage crack that is very common in poured basements, especially if the contractor used very wet concrete to make the job easier.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top