If you’ve discovered cracks in the foundation of your home, you may be wondering whether it’s something that needs repair, and if so, how much repair will it require. Perhaps it’s something minor that you can deal with yourself, or perhaps it’s something more serious that will require a specialist. Here are some ways to determine what your options are.
Barring large, sudden events such as an earthquake that can cause immediate and severe damage to the foundation of your home, the majority of foundation damage issues tend to develop slowly over a period of time, giving you the chance to catch them while they’re still minor. Things such as very tiny cracks that may simply be the result of the concrete curing, are cracks that do not pose any harm, unless you find that water may be coming out of it. If this is the case, or if you simply want to fix the crack purely for aesthetic purposes, you can use epoxy putty or silicone caulk, both of which can be purchased in a hardware store.
A more moderate repair job may involve something like horizontal or vertical cracks that are more than a quarter of an inch wide. These cracks are indicative of a more serious problem which needs to be discovered in order to correct it. For this, you may want to consider hiring a contractor to inspect the problem and make the repairs, or have them simply fill in the cracks with epoxy to stop any water damage that may be occurring. You can also do the epoxy method on your own, but regardless of who it is done by, it is only a temporary fix for what is likely a serious problem. Don’t allow this problem to sit for too long a period of time.
If you have discovered extremely severe cracks, such as those with large chunks of concrete missing, or areas where the walls are beginning to cave in or buckle, your options are pretty limited to just calling a repair company for help. This type of repair is a serious undertaking that will likely involve excavating the foundation wall from the outside of the home and rebuilding it. This is also an extremely costly process, yet a necessary one if you want to repair the structural integrity of your home.
These are only some examples of certain damages and what your options for repair might be. There are numerous other types of damage that range in between the ones listed here, from other reasonably simple repairs that you can make on your own, to the more serious types that will require professional help. Also remember to never perform any work that you are unsure of on the foundation of your home. When in doubt, always seek professional help for foundation repair work.