Foundation cracks are completely natural. These cracks in foundation tend to form during the process of curing and shrinking. Water is a large component of the creation of concrete. As concrete goes through the curing process, a chemical process occurs that allows it to become hardened into a complete solid. As this hardening process occurs, the concrete will lose some of its volume. In other words, the laid down concrete will shrink down somewhat. For example, a 100 foot concrete wall may shrink by up to three quarters of an inch, which does not seem like much in the grand scheme of things, but can actually be a vitally important consideration to make in certain circumstances.

This process of shrinking that occurs as a natural part of the concrete curing causes the concrete to stress somewhat, and the resulting cracks in foundation are what result as a way of relieving the pressure that has formed during this process. This is generally not a bad thing, however, since foundation concrete also has steel reinforcement bar embedded within it. Common places that you may end up seeing such cracks are in the middle of long walls, under the windows, or in any place where the foundation steps down.

There are a few different ways in which water may penetrate the cracks in foundation of a house with a basement. You need to watch out for these spaces, giving them extra consideration.

• Crack at the corner of a basement window
• Improper grading of the lot
• Low spots on the yard
• Below grade entry

There are several ways that you can stop the water from entering cracks in concrete foundation and eventually leaking into the basement of your home. The most expensive way for you to consider is to excavate along the foundation wall and then to have a contractor waterproof the foundation wall to stop the leaking. Interior repair is much more common and feasible in nature, and can be done quickly without requiring a very large budget in the process. The downside of this particular method of dealing with cracks in the foundation is that it does not last, and could fail much sooner than would be anticipated. Another solution is urethane foam injection. Urethanes have been used to stop basement water leaks for over fifteen years. The repair is done inside the basement by a technician. Liquid urethane is used to fill the crack. When it encounters water that came from the leak or was placed by the technician it foams and expands, filling the entire gap.

With the crack newly filled and looking great, the basement will finally be dry. The landscaping is not ruined and for only a little bit of money the basement is in a useable state again.

Ready to make a decision on a foundation crack? Get your project started by submitting a free BuyerZone request for foundations price quotes.