Crack Sealed In Partially Finished South Bend, IN Basement

Tuesday, March 14th, 2017 by Brian Bigger

Challenge

Michael called us when he noticed a crack in the poured foundation wall of his basement. Because the basement was paritally finished and this crack was behind paneling, Michael wanted to know how we might be able to fix this from the outside of the home. Waterproofing on the outside of the home can be very difficult, costly, and inefficient. When new homes are built, often times the basement walls are coated with a dampproofing layer. These coatings don't last forever and at best, certain coatings could span some small cracks but many coatings won't protect against cracks at all. Coatings on the outside of the wall can be an inefficient fix, not to mention the large hole that must be dug and placed in your yard and any complications that may arise from disturbing that soil.

Solution

The best case scenario for Michael was to fix the crack from the inside and Michael agreed when he understood the process. By removing a small portion of the wall only where the crack was, we could repair the crack in a much easier and much less intrusive fashion and the paneling could be easily replaced. Once the wall paneling was removed, we also removed a small amount of concrete at the base of the crack to dig out a dry well for water to go into as it comes in and flows to the base of the wall. We then filled the well with crushed stone and replaced the concrete with the exception of a small gap. The crack was injected with a sealant and then covered by a mold and mildew resistant layer and a foam layer between it and the wall. The foam layer creates a space for water to flow down the wall and into the dry well where it enters back into the soil. Water from the crack could now seep in and be removed from the home without ever been seen or heard. This solution is called FlexiSpan. If the wall crack expands or moves, the home will continue to be protected. While a small portion of paneling had to be removed to fix the crack, it's much more reliable and perferable to an exterior fix.