DIYing basement crack repair?

[origami]

Has anyone successfully repaired a foundation crack yourself? We have cracks where our basement windows meet the walls. The cement slopes in from the windows and is cracked. Unfortunately that area of the basement is finished so we had to tear out drywall, studs and insulation. We got a foundation repair company (2 actually) to quote repairs and they were both so scammy. They both wanted us to buy fancy waterproofing systems. But we can see where the water’s coming from. I’m now wondering if we could try to repair the crack and see if the water comes back.

Any yard grading advice is also welcome. The side of the house with the leaks also has standing water during heavy rains. I’m sure that’s not a coincidence

[rubytue]

We once have a structural engineer come in and evaluate our basement cracks. He told us what to do to repair them, but he also deemed them not a huge issue. So we didn’t do it. Also, didn’t want to dig down to where it was needed.

So, not useful for how to do it. But maybe if you can find someone who does residential structural engineering evaluations, you can get an independent assessment of what is needed. I think they are hard to find. The guy I found was a bit befuddled that I found the place of his website with the evaluation price I found. He honored it though. But he said he wasn’t doing that service anymore.

[RockNVoll]

Yeah, this is not something I would ever considering DIYing. The foundation is just too important.

If you're having trouble finding a company you trust, maybe find a landscape architect to talk to first about the grading and perhaps they'll have a recommendation for you?

Sorry you're dealing with this. We had to fix cracks in our old house and luckily found a highly recommended company that did a great job. Hope you eventually find the same!

[sakura]

Yikes, I wouldn’t try diy. The water will definitely come back if you don’t fix the cause so no sense in repairing the crack first. Grading out from the foundation would help a lot, also check that your downspouts drain far enough away and your gutters aren’t clogged. Those would be the cheapest first steps to fixing the problem.

[origami]

Jul 24, 2021 22:00:03 GMT -5 sakura said:

Yikes, I wouldn’t try diy. The water will definitely come back if you don’t fix the cause so no sense in repairing the crack first. Grading out from the foundation would help a lot, also check that your downspouts drain far enough away and your gutters aren’t clogged. Those would be the cheapest first steps to fixing the problem.

The scammy type people were telling us that even if we fixed the grading it would still leak bc of hydrostatic pressure (?). I don’t know what to believe. The roof overhangs that side of the house by about 1 foot, so there aren’t any gutters on that side. we are going to grade everything down though for sure. There’s pool equipment on that side that has to stay level but I guess we’ll just go around it

[rubytue]

Jul 25, 2021 7:14:43 GMT -5 origami said:

Jul 24, 2021 22:00:03 GMT -5 sakura said:

Yikes, I wouldn’t try diy. The water will definitely come back if you don’t fix the cause so no sense in repairing the crack first. Grading out from the foundation would help a lot, also check that your downspouts drain far enough away and your gutters aren’t clogged. Those would be the cheapest first steps to fixing the problem.

The scammy type people were telling us that even if we fixed the grading it would still leak bc of hydrostatic pressure (?). I don’t know what to believe. The roof overhangs that side of the house by about 1 foot, so there aren’t any gutters on that side. we are going to grade everything down though for sure. There’s pool equipment on that side that has to stay level but I guess we’ll just go around it

Leak? Maybe not. But you can still have moisture issue from hydrostatic pressure. Tape a piece of plastic to a wall and leave it for a while. Moisture will build up under it. It’s the reason for having a vapor barrier in basements. 

[sakura]

Jul 25, 2021 7:14:43 GMT -5 origami said:

Jul 24, 2021 22:00:03 GMT -5 sakura said:

Yikes, I wouldn’t try diy. The water will definitely come back if you don’t fix the cause so no sense in repairing the crack first. Grading out from the foundation would help a lot, also check that your downspouts drain far enough away and your gutters aren’t clogged. Those would be the cheapest first steps to fixing the problem.

The scammy type people were telling us that even if we fixed the grading it would still leak bc of hydrostatic pressure (?). I don’t know what to believe. The roof overhangs that side of the house by about 1 foot, so there aren’t any gutters on that side. we are going to grade everything down though for sure. There’s pool equipment on that side that has to stay level but I guess we’ll just go around it

Yeah, that’s not right. You could still possibly have a hydrostatic pressure problem, but the issue would start at the basement floor and bottom of the walls, not the windows. The pressure increases are you get deeper underground.
When you said the cement slopes in, was it built that way, or is it caused by the leaking?
You should still have a gutter with a 1ft eaves, water should be diverted 6-10 ft away from the foundation.

[turkletsmom]

Another vote for getting a structural engineer to check it out before you do anything. I'm dealing with a similar issue right now. We had a foundation company come out to look at a stair-step crack in our brick. They were very quick to tell us within minutes it would be $13k and then became overly friendly and started telling my H how much they liked our cars (a 2014 Honda Accord and a Hyundai- umm ok- can you tell me more about my slab??). So my spidey senses were up with this company.

Anyway- I found a home inspection company that has a PE that does foundation inspections. It's $750 for him to come out and do a full report but it will give me peace of mind before I start calling other repair companies for quotes.

[origami]

Jul 25, 2021 9:27:45 GMT -5 sakura said:

Jul 25, 2021 7:14:43 GMT -5 origami said:

The scammy type people were telling us that even if we fixed the grading it would still leak bc of hydrostatic pressure (?). I don’t know what to believe. The roof overhangs that side of the house by about 1 foot, so there aren’t any gutters on that side. we are going to grade everything down though for sure. There’s pool equipment on that side that has to stay level but I guess we’ll just go around it

Yeah, that’s not right. You could still possibly have a hydrostatic pressure problem, but the issue would start at the basement floor and bottom of the walls, not the windows. The pressure increases are you get deeper underground.
When you said the cement slopes in, was it built that way, or is it caused by the leaking?
You should still have a gutter with a 1ft eaves, water should be diverted 6-10 ft away from the foundation.

It’s built that way. Thank you for explaining the pressure thing

[origami]

Re: gutters, this side of the house is where the roof is peaked like a triangle and essentially flush with the wall (except for the slight overhang). The slope is toward the front/back of the house where there are gutters. So I’m not sure gutters would help here.

[sakura]

Jul 25, 2021 10:18:12 GMT -5 origami said:

Re: gutters, this side of the house is where the roof is peaked like a triangle and essentially flush with the wall (except for the slight overhang). The slope is toward the front/back of the house where there are gutters. So I’m not sure gutters would help here.

Ah, Ok, I get it now.

Is the only cracking the horizontal line below the slope and only under the window? I was imagining diagonal cracks in the foundation radiating out from the window, but seeing the picture and rereading what you wrote, that's not it. Without seeing & knowing more, I can't say for sure, but you might not have a 'foundation' problem that affects the structural integrity, maybe just a grading and window problem. So maybe DIY isn't that crazy of an idea    Do you have a window well?

[origami]

Jul 25, 2021 10:51:01 GMT -5 sakura said:

Jul 25, 2021 10:18:12 GMT -5 origami said:

Re: gutters, this side of the house is where the roof is peaked like a triangle and essentially flush with the wall (except for the slight overhang). The slope is toward the front/back of the house where there are gutters. So I’m not sure gutters would help here.

Ah, Ok, I get it now.

Is the only cracking the horizontal line below the slope and only under the window? I was imagining diagonal cracks in the foundation radiating out from the window, but seeing the picture and rereading what you wrote, that's not it. Without seeing & knowing more, I can't say for sure, but you might not have a 'foundation' problem that affects the structural integrity, maybe just a grading and window problem. So maybe DIY isn't that crazy of an idea    Do you have a window well?

Phew! Lol. I still need to take down the drywall further down the wall (under 2 other windows) to know for sure, but we haven’t seen any other cracks besides that horizontal seam one. And a rod hole that needs corked (different wall). No window wells here. Not sure if that’s better or worse.

[ellipses84]

I agree that a structural engineer could evaluate and identify the issues for you and could create a report. Landscape architects may have good solutions for grading and they deal with some waterproofing so they may have recs for the outer wall (or they may tell you they need a structural or architect to review it. I think a design build landscape company who deals with this but also can rec. professionals would be ideal. That could get pricey though which is why a lot of people pay $$$ for a company who will just fix it all. Ask for recs in your neighborhood groups. If your house is similar to others or there’s a lot of basements, chances are others have dealt with this.

Anyone who does a report or gives you a quote could probably provide levels of repair to consider, i.e. the bare minimum vs. Cadillac of upgrades vs. a middle of the road solution, but be specific and tell them that is what you would like to see. I recommend this for any work you get an estimate for that you don’t fully understand, especially if the quotes seem really high. If a contractor can explain options in detailed layman’s terms with pros/ cons, that makes me feel way more confident that they know what they are doing and are honest. Sometimes there’s sticker shock with a big number but when you break down the work and materials it doesn’t seem so crazy. They aren’t always scammy, but sometimes companies go overboard because it is the best solution and it lessons their liability risk for future issues with the work. However, you don’t need a belt and suspenders if a belt will work and you don’t want to pay for suspenders, KWIM?

[ellipses84]

To answer your original question, I would not DIY the waterproofing. I might figure out a temporary solution and I might do the landscaping if I got a detail of what to do and could watch an installation video on YouTube (like if the solution is to install a French drain).