Foundation Crack Repair Gone Bad
Every week we get a call or an email about a foundation crack repair injection that was completed by others and it is still leaking. Some of these foundation crack repairs are completed by foundation repair companies and some are a homeowners attempt at saving some money. At the end of the day, what matters most is stopping that crack from leaking and making sure it won’t leak again in the future.
Picture 1 is a perfect example of what we are talking about. This repair attempt did not do what it was supposed to do (stop the water from passing though the foundation) which to a trained eye can be seen immediately upon entering the room.
You will notice the patching material that was installed over the crack did not do what it is supposed to do when installed correctly – keep the injected material (in this case polyurethane) from oozing out into the basement. It is supposed to force the injected material into the crack so it can fill the foundation crack all the way through to the outside.
There is also no need to install injection ports so close together as seen in the picture to the right. In most cases one injection port can be installed every 10 to 12 inches apart in order to get the right amount of material injected into the crack.
In picture 2 you can see some holes to the right of the repair area. These are holes that were drilled by a previous repair company so they could install their injection ports. This type of crack repair is called a high pressure crack injection and is a valid repair technique as long as it is completed properly. This one however did not pass the leak test so it was up to us to get it fixed right!
For this foundation crack injection we cleaned up the crack, sealed the holes left by the other repair company before we could install our injection system. Notice the injection ports are installed directly over the crack and are spread out fairly evenly. This is a low pressure injection system that forces injection material directly into the crack so it has nowhere else to go. You will also notice that there is no injection material oozing out from the sealing compound that was used to seal the interior side of the crack. This means we have completed a successful injection and all of our material is now inside the foundation where it belongs!
At H&N Basement Worx we pride ourselves in providing all of our customers with quality, clean foundation crack injection repairs that are guaranteed for at least 20 years. If you or someone you know has a leaking foundation crack that requires sealing give us a call. We will walk you through the process and explain exactly how it works so you can make an informed decision.