You don’t want a foundation crack…at all! No matter how small it looks at first, you need to remember that if it isn’t monitored or repaired immediately, it could just grow into a ticking time bomb.
However, there are different kinds of foundation cracks. There are structural and non-structural cracks and they can be caused by different things. We’ll go through them.
Non-structural cracks:
- They don’t threaten your home’s structural integrity.
- They aren’t very big. They’re usually less than 3mm wide.
- They are usually caused by natural things like temperature changes, moisture content and weather conditions.
- They are also caused by other things such as “creep damage, settlement, shifting foundations, hydrostatic pressure, and vegetation or trees”.
- They can turn into structural cracks if water is allowed to seep through it and erode the inner concrete.
- They should be fixed immediately using a sealant resin.
Structural cracks:
- By they can be caused by issues like “poor soil bearing, overloading, swollen soil, and poor construction sites”.
- They may cause thing on the inside of your home to go wrong. You may experience sloping floors and doors or windows that stick when they close.
- They have horizontal cracks, vertical cracks, diagonal cracks or cracks that look like a staircase.
- They are usually more than 3mm wide.
- They can be fixed from the inside or the outside, with an interior French drain or an exterior weeping tile drainage system.
- They are “injected with high-pressure fittings to create a permanent seal that carries a transferable warranty”.
Your foundation is one of the most important aspects of your home because it supports your entire house. Even if you don’t think of your foundation as your first floor, your house does. Both the structure and the air quality of your basement have an effect on that part of your home that you live and sleep in. Wood rot, cracks, mould, moisture, water and pests can all cause harmful damage to your living spaces and the people who occupy them. Most can be attributed to foundation problems.
