Types of Foundation Cracks
You take a look at your foundation and find a crack. How do you know if this is something to worry about? Cracks can appear in foundations for a variety of reasons, and are entirely expected. As your foundation is exposed to freezing and thawing cycles, it’s put under pressure due to the expansion and contraction of moisture in the concrete and surrounding soil. Because of this, cracks will naturally form as your foundation gets ‘broken in’. These cracks ought to be taken care of with polyurethane injections to prevent moisture penetration, but generally don’t represent a structural issue with your home. If these small cracks are left untreated, they can turn into serious structural issues.
How to Tell If a Crack Is Serious
There are a few ways to determine if a crack in your foundation is structural, or can be treated with polyurethane injections. First, measure the crack. If it averages less than an 1/8th of an inch, you’ll want to get in touch with CrackPro for a quick polyurethane injection before it grows. If allowed to fill with moisture and experience freeze/thaw cycles, it is liable to grow and eventually become a threat to your homes structural integrity. If a crack is over 1/8th of inch thick, or has either side of a crack uneven/shifted, your foundation could require significant work. The key to preventing this from happening is to treat these cracks with polyurethane injections before they grow.
Polyurethane Injection
For the cracks that don’t represent structural damage to your home, CrackPro’s polyurethane treatment is a cost-effective solution that serves to stop growing cracks quickly and easily. Without polyurethane, water gets into the cracks, and expands as it freezes in the winter, widening your crack. During the following summer, it fills with more water, and freezes again and again; slowly expanding the crack. By injecting them with our rapidly expanding polyurethane, we fill every crevice of a crack, making them completely impenetrable to moisture. This fills the crack so that it looks great aesthetically, but also helps to ensure that the crack never grows. If you’ve got cracks in your foundation, and aren’t sure what kind of treatment they might need, get in touch with CrackPro and we’ll send one of our technicians out and provide you with a free assessment on your foundation cracks.
