Is this a full basement foundation or partial? Is there some reason to worry about the crack? like is water coming in or something like that?
While it is possible that this is a block wall parged on the inside and out it is more usual that only the outside is parged over on concrete block construction. Apart for the appearance unless you have snakes or water coming through there isn't any good reason to do anything. Some tar might fill the crack but it is not likely to water proof it all that well, more discourage water but disturbing the soil against the foundation is more likely to give water an easier route to percolate down against the very location of your crack. Better to land scape any water away from the site. The more usual way to repair a crack like that is from the inside, you undercut the crack with a masonry chisel and mallet so that the bottom of the cut is wider than the top. You clean out the excavation thoroughly with a brush then dampen it and firmly trowel in some of that hydraulic expanding cement flattening it firmly to the surface. The cement will expand but because of the undercut, it doesn't just pop out of the crack. This will reduce water infiltration and discourage critters. Hope this helps. Depending on things like soil conditions you are almost guaranteed to have some shifting of a building and concrete is not forgiving about that. While it has wonderful compressive properties it doesn't withstand stretch one little bit so if the ground lifts a little or falls a little the weight of the concrete and supported building will crack it very readily. Happens to them all. If you do decide to dig down I recommend going to all the trouble of back cutting and cement filling or spraying in some of that foam in a can before tarring over. The tar though won't remain all that flexible for long and soon will permit water through. Dale Leavens, Cochrane Ontario Canada [EMAIL PROTECTED] Skype DaleLeavens Come and meet Aurora, Nakita and Nanook at our polar bear habitat. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Scott Howell" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, April 14, 2007 12:29 PM Subject: [BlindHandyMan] cracked foundation > Ok folks, I got a question. > > I have a crack in my foundation which appears to go clear through the > wall, its quite thin, but the section I need to dig up to get at it > is about 4 feet deep and being the crack is only quarter inch likely > at the bottom, and less at the top, I guess depending upon how I > repair it, will determind how wide. So, what I was told is that if I > get some foundation tar, I could paint the area and that really > should do the trick. I'm being cheap I know since hiring a contractor > would be easier, but damn all, I bet it would be expensive. So, does > anyone have any other suggestions? This appears as far as I know to > be a block wall with concrete poored on both sides or however they do > it. I can't get inside the wall so have to assume this is accurate > info. Its not a solid concrete wall I'm sure. Ah, tapping on it > doesn't tell me much and so well, I'm open to any suggestions and if > a contractor makes more sense, if anyone has any idea even remotely > what I could expect to pay, that would help. > > tnx > > ps. Yes, it has leaked and only two times in 3 years so I guess that > isn't so bad. grin > > Scott > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > > To listen to the show archives go to link > http://acbradio.org/handyman.html > or > ftp://ftp.acbradio.org/acbradio-archives/handyman/ > > The Pod Cast address for the Blind Handy Man Show is. > http://www.acbradio.org/news/xml/podcast.php?pgm=saturday > > The Pod Cast address for the Cooking In The Dark Show is. > http://www.gcast.com/u/cookingindark/main.xml > > Visit The Blind Handy Man Files Page To Review Contributions From Various > List Members At The Following address: > http://www.jaws-users.com/handyman/ > > Visit the new archives page at the following address > http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ > For a complete list of email commands pertaining to the Blind Handy Man > list just send a blank message to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > To listen to the show archives go to link http://acbradio.org/handyman.html or ftp://ftp.acbradio.org/acbradio-archives/handyman/ The Pod Cast address for the Blind Handy Man Show is. http://www.acbradio.org/news/xml/podcast.php?pgm=saturday The Pod Cast address for the Cooking In The Dark Show is. http://www.gcast.com/u/cookingindark/main.xml Visit The Blind Handy Man Files Page To Review Contributions From Various List Members At The Following address: http://www.jaws-users.com/handyman/ Visit the new archives page at the following address http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ For a complete list of email commands pertaining to the Blind Handy Man list just send a blank message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/blindhandyman/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/blindhandyman/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
