Aquaseal Basement Foundation Concrete Crack Repair Specialist Ontario

Aquaseal Basement Foundation Concrete Crack Repair Specialist Ontario
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Thursday, March 29, 2012

How to Repair a Concrete Crack with Epoxy Injection 1-800-NO-LEAKS


How to Repair a Concrete Crack with Epoxy Injection 1-800-NO-LEAKS How to Repair a Concrete Crack with Epoxy Injection 1-800-NO-LEAKS How to Repair a Concrete Crack with Epoxy Injection 1-800-NO-LEAKS 

How to Repair a Concrete Crack with Epoxy Injection

Homeowners love how a concrete basement provides a safe, clean and dry area to store possessions or expand a home's living space. What they don't love is how concrete cracks. Cracks in a basement wall can let in water or signify that there is a structural problem with the foundation. Injecting a basement wall crack with epoxy will stop any water leaks and structurally repair the wall.

Epoxy Crack Injection Advantages
  • Seals the crack from water 
  • Epoxies are stronger than concrete 
  • Structurally repair the concrete
All Concrete Cracks

First, the basics. All concrete basement walls crack. These cracks are due to the concrete shrinking as it cures and the water in the mix is removed. This shrinkage places stress on the concrete and to relieve that stress, the concrete cracks. The cracks will develop soon after the foundation is cast in place. The vast majority of cracks are not a sign of a structural defect with the foundation.

Structural Cracks in Concrete Basement Walls

While it is difficult to determine by looking at a basement wall crack if it is in fact a structural problem, there are a few rules to help guide you. If the crack is over ½" wide there is a chance that it is a structural crack. Horizontal cracks are almost always a structural problem. Cracks that run on a severe diagonal, especially those that start at an inside corner are usually a structural issue. It should be noted that diagonal cracks that start at the corner of a window or where the foundation "steps down" and are under ½" most likely are not a structural issue.
If you are not sure if a crack is structural in nature, an engineer can be hired for a few hundred dollars to determine it for you. The engineer may use a crack stress gauge to help in determining if it is.
Signs of a structural crack
  • > 1/2" in width 
  • The crack is horizontal 
  • The crack runs on a severe diagonal
How the Concrete Basement Wall Crack is Repaired

The repairs made to a basement wall crack are performed from the inside of the basement. Epoxies are injected into the crack in a liquid form. The epoxies are a two component material that is mixed as they are injected into the crack. After mixing they will cure to form a hard and strong material to reinforce the wall. In fact, the epoxies have a higher compression and tensile strength than the concrete itself. Once the epoxy has cured the crack will not leak water.

How the Epoxy Injection is Performed

Step 1.
Attach Surface Ports - Plastic injection ports are attached with a special surface paste directly over the crack. These ports are spaced every six to twelve inches.
Step 2.
Seal the Crack Surface - Once the ports are attached, the rest of the crack is covered with the same special surface paste. This is not what makes the crack water proof. It merely keeps the epoxy in the crack as it reacts and hardens.
Step 3.
Injecting Epoxy into the Crack - The injection process starts at the lowest surface port. A mixer that attaches to the epoxy cartridge is inserted into the port. The epoxy is in a liquid form and flows into the crack. It will flow all the way to the outside surface of the crack. Once you see the epoxy start to come out of the next port above you stop injecting into the current port and move to the one above. A plug is inserted into the first port to keep the liquid epoxy from leaking out. Proceed until all of the ports have been injected.

Epoxy Cure Time

Epoxies start to cure as soon as the two parts are mixed. They start to reach a semi-rigid gel after about 20-30 minutes. After several hours they will start to become hard. Final cure strengths are usually achieved after seven days.

Limitations


15 comments:

  1. Concrete responds to the changes in its environment, and one of the most important factors that we should consider is the constant temperature changes. Like any other material for construction, concrete expands in hot temperature and contracts in cold temperature. The constant expansion and contraction that it undergoes over time is one of the major causes of cracking. Experts know this basic chemistry concept, and home owners should too. Preventing the occurrence of cracks starts with the proper procedures in preparing the concrete for use.
    Manuela Jelen

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  2. Indeed, concrete cracks must be fixed immediately to prevent mishaps in the future. The use of concrete fillings or epoxy may solve the problem.

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  3. Thank you for sharing your thoughts about concrete testing and construction crack repair in your area. This is really a revolutionary invention that will certainly help the construction industry. Keep it up! This is a good read about handling such situations.

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  4. Your blog caught my attention while I'm researching about bead blasting north california and concrete repair solutions and I found one of the answers here.

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  5. Hi there, nice post. This is an interesting and very informative topic. Thanks for sharing you thoughts on this issue. Keep it up, looking forward to read another one in the future. Cheers!
    All leaky basement repair take place from the inside, with no need for digging, heavy equipment or disturbance to landscaping.

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  6. nice blog. brief information regarding Crack Injection repairs good work

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  7. Thank you for this extensive guide, Pierre. And I think epoxy is a good choice to repair concrete cracks on your basement. For one, it has high mechanical and thermal properties that make it a perfect adhesive to a lot of construction materials

    Shannon@InstantCA.com

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  9. Nice post but I am more interesting about bead blasting in North California I hope on your future post you will discuss that matter.

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  10. Wow, this is really interesting. I love coming across things like this and learning something new that I didn't know the day before! I had a leak in my basement a couple months ago and I tried fixing it on my own but it didn't turn out so good. I finally got professional help and they took care of the problem for me!
    Holly James | http://www.sohanandsons.com/

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  11. During the winter, our basement always seems to leak when the snow begins to melt. I believe there are more than two cracks in the cement that allow the water to come through. I'm getting really tired of vacuuming up water so that we don't have any water damage. Hopefully my mom will call a basement leak repair company in Cincinnati, OH to come and fix the leaks. http://www.sohanandsons.com/cincinnati-basement-leak-repair

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  12. Thanks for sharing up–to-date on this subject! I find it is very informative and very well written one! Keep up on this quality!
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  13. Thanks for the great information. Recently my house foundation started cracking, and I just want to make sure I deal with it before it gets any worse.
    http://www.reliablebasement.com/services/foundation-crack-repair.aspx

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  14. Nobody wants a crack in their basement floor. That would be the worst thing imaginable. I have a really hard time with water in my basement. I can't seem to get it to stop flowing through the cracks. http://structural-restoration.com

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  15. Thank you for sharing this information Such a great help to us.
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