Howard Shachter, vice president of U.S. Waterproofing, explains why foundation cracks are so often the cause of seepage problems in basements and what he does to solve them.
The most common cause of seepage problems is usually cracks in the wall of a poured concrete foundation. These are usually caused by stress, settling or shrinkage of the concrete. Most cracks are hairline fractures that are less that 1/8” wide and run vertically down the foundation wall. They tend to go through the entire concrete foundation, which is what allows the water in and the leakage into your basement.
While a crack in your foundation won’t be any danger to your house structure, it does allow seepage of water into your home, which can result in puddles, unwanted moisture and the dangerous mold and nasty smells that come with it.
The way these are fixed is usually to simply find them, fill them and seal them up. If your basement is unfinished, we most often use an epoxy/urethane process to fix up cracks. We first inject a coat of epoxy into the inside of the crack to form an envelope. When that dries, we pump in urethane under pressure which fills the cracks all the way through and then chemically cures from exposure to air. This provides a permanent seal that locks and prevents water from ever coming in.
If your basement is finished — that is drywall or paneling is over your concrete foundation — it can be a little more difficult. Instead, we attack the problem from the exterior with what is known as our Wall-Clay process. We go outside and dig a small hole along the outside of the foundation where the crack is. We then pour in sodium bentonite, a naturally occurring material which, when it hydrates, forms an impenetrable barrier and a perfect sealant. This is essentially a big band-aid on the crack on your foundation, but it effectively prevents water from coming in and lasts for over 50 years.
Don’t let a crack allow moisture into your basement. If you think you have a seepage problem, call a waterproofing contractor for a free estimate before larger problems like mold and water damage set in.
