One of the services we provide is repairing and waterproofing cracked foundation walls. We often hear our customers say, “we have lived in this house for 10 years and never had a problem. Why did it start leaking now“? This article will explain what makes a concrete foundation leak and what can be done to fix it.
Concrete is a combination of cement powder, water, fine and course sand, small and larger pebbles, and small and larger rocks. The cement powder and water forms a glue like paste. The amount of cement powder mixed with a specific amount of water is what determines the strength of concrete. The mixing of the water and cement causes a chemical reaction and over a short time the cement cures and hardens. The sand, pebbles, and rocks is just filler, and the cured cement glues all of the sand, pebbles, and rocks pieces together.
Concrete is very strong compressively but does not have a lot of tensile strength. By this I mean it can take a lot of weight pressing down on it, but not a lot of pressure pulling it apart.
Concrete performs best in square panels with no irregularities. However, a foundation wall is long and narrow. For example, 40 to 50 feet long and only 8 or 9 feet tall. When the foundation forms are filled with concrete, the concrete is in a plastic state, and as the concrete cures, it shrinks ever so slightly, causing the foundation wall to be in tension. If there are irregularities in the shape of the foundation wall, like a step down, or a window opening in the concrete wall, or a beam pocket, the tension in the concrete will eventually cause a crack. It is not a sign that there is something wrong with the concrete, but it is just one of the characteristics of concrete.
Concrete is not waterproof. You need to think of concrete as a hard sponge, and for a concrete foundation wall to keep water out of your basement, it needs to have a waterproofing coating applied to the outside face. Most builders use only a spray on application of an asphalt-based foundation coating. This is called damproofing and will not bridge the gap of a crack in the concrete foundation wall if and when it happens.
Over time, with freeze thaw cycles during winter, the freezing ground puts pressure on foundation walls causing them to move ever so slightly. Because of this movement, a crack in the foundation can begin to leak water.
If a leaking crack does develop in the foundation wall, there are two ways to stop the leaking. One is to excavate the exterior, apply a waterproof membrane and backfill. This is very expensive.
Building Works has a system of injecting a urethane grout into the crack using a high-pressure pump. This urethane grout will then cure and expand to 50 times its original volume and form a gasket in the foundation crack, making it watertight. BWL provides a lifetime leakproof warranty for this work.
If you find a leak or crack in your foundation, call us right away. We can fix it before it becomes a big problem.