HOME ADDITION PLUS

Helping Homeowners Every Day


Home	How-To	Store	Ebooks	Bid Sheets	Add House	About	Contact	Search	Subscribe to Newsletter

A must have if

hiring a contractor!

DIY Foundation Crack Repair

Stopping Water Leaks in a Basement Crack

By: Aaron Kuertz

Many owners of homes wish to finish their basements. This allows them to increase the home’s living space and increase resale value. Unfortunately, many basements have cracks that allow water to enter the living space. Before you remodel your home’s basement, you must ensure that no water gets through a foundation crack and gets the insulation, studs and carpet wet.

Why Cracks Happen

Concrete foundations crack. In fact, it is very rare in modern homes to find a foundation that does not have cracks in it.

Cracking is a normal process of the concrete curing. As the concrete cures it shrinks. This shrinkage causes stresses that must be relieved by the concrete cracking. Your contractor knows this and places steel reinforcing bars (rebar) inside the wall to maintain the strength of the concrete foundation.

Stopping the Basement Water Leak from the Inside

Once a crack occurs in a concrete foundation, water can enter the basement. Homeowner’s can repair the basement crack from the inside of the basement using a polyurethane foam injection system. The Do-IT-Yourselfer does not have to rent heavy excavating equipment in order to remove the soil on the outside of the foundation to make a repair from the outside.

Polyurethane foam injection is done from the interior of a basement. The polyurethane foam enters the foundation crack in a liquid form. Upon meeting water that is in the basement crack, the liquid polyurethane reacts and begins to foam inside the crack. The foaming action greatly increases the volume of the polyurethane. The polyurethane foam will fill the foundation crack from the bottom to the top and the entire width of the foundation.

Many people are curious as to how wide the crack has to be for the polyurethane to get into it. The polyurethane is in a liquid form during the injection process. If water can get into the basement through the crack, the polyurethane can also get into the crack.

Better Than Hydraulic Cement

Polyurethane foam injection is better than hydraulic cement for several reasons.

First, the foam fills the crack entirely. Water will remain on the exterior of the foundation and not enter the crack. Hydraulic cement repairs only get about as deep as 1/3 of the width of the foundation wall. This allows water to continue to enter the crack.

Secondly, eventually salts form from the water entering a crack that has been repaired using hydraulic cement. These salts cause the bond between the hydraulic cement and the concrete of the foundation to fail. After a period of time, the hydraulic cement will begin to leak again. Eventually completely failing and crumbling.

Find a Qualified Basement Remodeling Contractor in Your Area

Get Free Quotes. Easy, Quick and No Obligations!

For the home improvement or home remodeling project that is too big for you, check out our partner NeedContractor. They are a national resource for finding pre-screened, insured, and licensed home improvement and remodeling contractors in your local area.

Get Matched in 48 hours with Basement Remodeling Contractors!

Third, polyurethane foam injection is easier, faster and cleaner than traditional hydraulic cement. The homeowner does not have to drill or chisel out any concrete. Polyurethane foam is injected through ports that are easily attached to the foundation surface.

A Dry Basement

Once the foundation crack is repaired using polyurethane injection, the crack is sealed. Water will no longer be able to penetrate into the basement area of a home. Now the homeowner can remodel the basement any way they wish.

About the Author: This article is written by Aaron Kuertz with Applied Technologies, LLC. Aaron has been in the waterproofing industry since 1998. Applied Technologies is a manufacturer and supplier to professional waterproofing contractors and homeowners in the United States. Please visit them at www.appliedtechnologies.com.

For more help on Finishing Basements, see HomeAdditionPlus.com's Basement Remodeling Bid sheet. The Basement Remodeling Bid Sheet will help ensure that your hire the right contractor so that your basement remodeling project is done correctly and you get the project finished on time and budget.

How to Finance your Basement Remodeling Project - can help provide funds for your new home improvement project if financing is required.