Epoxy Injections
Epoxy / Urethane Injections-
Epoxy or urethane is pushed into the wall filling the crack from the interior of the home all the way to the exterior where the concrete wall meets the dirt. Crack injection, properly installed, should last the life of the structure. With a urethane or epoxy injection method expansion and contraction of the wall will not cause re cracking or shadow cracking.
Epoxy Injection is a GREAT method of repair if you are experiencing the following problems:
– Vertical / Diagonal Wall Cracks
– Beam Pockets
– Rod Holes
– Water Intrusion around a pipe exhaust
– Window Sill Crack
A crack can be injected with epoxy while small amounts of water are still entering through the concretes surface. Epoxy has the advantage of introducing structural integrity, whether needed or not. If the crack needs to be structurally repaired and the area needs to be as strong or stronger than the concrete around it, the answer is simple: epoxy.
Why Your Poured Concrete Basement Cracked:
Cracks in poured walls can be caused by a number of reasons such as; moisture infiltrating through the tiny breaks in the concrete surface and in colder climates enlarges them to full-sized leaking cracks due to expansion/contraction resulting from freeze/thaw cycle of the moisture.
Also as the ground around the foundation stabilizes, any movement around the structure could cause the rigid concrete substrate to separate at these tiny breaks in the concrete, enlarging then to a water- leaking size. Sometimes these can span from the floor to the ceiling even possibly stemming from the corner of a window or beam pocket.
In an extreme circumstance the ground surrounding the structure is unstable and maintains a stress on the concrete wall sufficient to cause a crack where one did not previously exist. In other words, the movement is exceeding the strength of the concrete substrate.
About the Epoxy Injection Repair Process:
Epoxies for crack injection vary in viscosities to accommodate the width of the crack. Once the correct viscosity is determined the epoxy material will be injected via low pressure into the crack by means of a small “Port”. (Small possibly white funnel looking plastic piece.) After a minimum of 24 hours, the “Ports” may be removed from the wall surface by sawing them off as close to the wall as possible, the surface seal may then be removed with a belt sander. You may notice excess material bubble or run out of the repaired crack or ports up to 14 days from the repair date. If this occurs, allow excess material to cure or “harden” a minimum of 24 hours after its first appearance. It can then be removed or scraped off with a putty knife.
There may be a small quantity of odor from the repair lasting approximately 2 to 24 hours, this is normal and will subside. You will want to wait until after this “curing” period before replacing any carpeting, tile, drywall, paneling etc. beneath or in front of the repaired areas. Wait for at least two heavy rains before starting any construction projects, such as finishing, etc.