Basement Waterproofing Photo Album: Cracks In Poured Concrete Wall Addressed In East Lansing, MI

This couple called after having an engineer take a look at some wall cracks in the poured concrete walls of their basement. One crack in particular was of concern at about 1/16" in width. The homes are close together in the neighborhood so they wanted to make sure that the wall would be supported in a way that didn't require excavation on the exterior of the home. When we inspected the space, we did find that one crack in the wall was allowing water in. Our solution was to us a series of Carbon Armor straps on the interior of the home to support the wall and prevent bowing. To waterproof the crack, we put FlexiSpan over the crack. This process involves creating a drywell under the slab below the crack and directing any moisture into the drywell so that it doesn't ever puddle in the basement.

Cracks Extend From Window Corners

Around many of the corners of windows along this basement walls there are wall cracks extending outward.

Some Wall Cracks Were Sealed Previously

This crack seems to have been addressed previously in a diy attempt to fix the problem.

Crack Beginning To Allow Water In

This crack is clearly allowing water to seep into the basement as seen in the puddle below it. As part of our wall repair, this crack will need to be waterproofed.

FlexiSpan Applied To Wet Wall Crack

Below the wall crack, a portion of the slab was removed and a dry well a few gallons deep. The well is filled with clean crushed stone and the concrete is replaced later with the exception of a small gap along the base of the crack.

Crack Covered With CleanSpace Material

The leaking wall crack is covered with our durable mold-proof CleanSpace material. Water flows down the wall behind the material and into the dry well that was created at the base of the crack.

CarbonArmor Straps Support The Wall

CarbonArmor straps installed are super strong, 10 times stronger than steel even. The epoxy used seeps deep into the concrete to hold tight to the wall. The straps can be painted over to make them look more attractive. Each strap is extremely low-profile and only 7 inches wide.

ArmorLock Systems Restrict Tipping

Bowing walls have a tendency to slide at the base or tip at the top. These ArmorLock straps are installed along with CarbonArmor at the top of the wall to help prevent tipping.