Thank you both, Mr Duffy and Mr Hetzel. Your comments are greatly appreciated by this old man.
Terry, here is what the crack will look like outside, a lil wider. This crack is under a window Pic 8,10. House built in 50`s. http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=220465151/a=122238283_111847456/t_=122238283
99% of the time there is NO cracked-dropped footing,no footing failure, thats what we have seen in 30 years. We hand dig,all jobs done outside so we expose-look at every footing where there are vertical,diagonal,step,horizontal cracks.From homes built in early 1900s to now. If i remember correctly, weve seen 2 footings that were cracked.
Just because a wall is cracked,pushed in etc and/or has bricks that are cracked in no way means there is any problem-failure with the footing.Those who sell helical piers etc will tell people differently,theyll BS HOs into piers/inside systems they do not need…see this all the time.
Just saw this shtt again, HO called n hired first company who came out 2 years ago,told them they needed helical piers, block wall w/several vertical and a horizontal crack,leaked at wall-floor joint. Well, the HO still leaks and cracks have widened because BOZOs-Big-Top-Waterdiverting didnt do anything on the OUTSIDE, left clay soil/roots against wall and didnt waterproof exterior-cracks.This DIPSHTT Co. supposedly sent out an engineer…THEIR-own engineer…PFFT. These people aren`t engineers! They are scams/frauds and talk MANY people into SHTT they do not need.
If these Bozo`s have real ‘engineers’,competent engineers then i am J Krsit, Abe Lincoln and Alexander the Great combined! #-o
See these exterior cracks in block wall? MUCH WIDER. NO footing problem,see for yourself. See pics 15,16,17,18,19 http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=228425185/a=122238283_111847456/t_=122238283
Wall is bowed in, vertical crack much wider than in your pics AND the wall is pushed in. Then look at FOOTING…what ya see? Nada. Lateral soil pressure and roots caused wall to crack,bow in,leak. Dipsticks ‘B Dri’ told this HO she only needed an inside drain tile system pffft. This was 10 or so years ago.The inside blcchtt didnt stop water & insects from entering, didnt remove/relieve soil pressure or roots, cracks widened.
Some pics not so good, what can i say . Another block wall http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=220464322/a=122238283_111847456/t_=122238283
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=216590473/a=122238283_111847456/t_=122238283
See cracks, see footing? No problems. 30 years this is what weve repeatedly seen YET many-most inside cos tell people their house is settling,footing is settling…blccchht. Does occur in Texas with those SLABS but rarely w/basement walls and certainly not around here in SE MI,lots of clay here too.
- Exterior waterproofing, long as the wall is NOT pushing/bowing in then waterproof the crack, not the entire wall.Did ‘clients’ say they
ve seen crack WIDEN? The weaker parts of block walls(from lateral pressures) are at-near middle as the corners have a lil support from adjoining wall but as some of yas noticed, cracks do-can occur near corners too. 1 crack usually costs $875-975 these days…depends on depth to footing and what may be in the way on outside. If someone wanted the entire wall done and wall is 30’ long and 6’ deep then it should cost between $2,500-3,000.
- What ‘could-might’ occur in future w/some homes-walls is, IF they hire someone to add new addition or put in new driveway w/use of heavy equipment then the WEIGHT of equipment…or weight of addition-porch or its footings against a wall …‘could-might-can’ cause the wall to bow in or crack to widen.
http://www.plickandassociates.com/newsletters/Mar06.pdf
Scroll down to ‘A Little Crack Can Mean Big Problems’
Not sure if i care for that title…Can=could-maybe…sometimes,depends.
Agree with most of what they state and this is true, 4th para…
“the center of a masonry block wall if often the weakest point…”
http://www.bobvila.com/HowTo_Library/Why_Foundations_Fail-Foundation-A2095.html
“Often however, the biggest load on the foundation is NOT the weight of the house, but the pressure of the SOIL around the foundation”.
http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpwes/publications/marineclay.htm#2
Scroll down a tad to ‘BASEMENT WALLS’
See… Cause and Resolution
http://www.lrb.usace.army.mil/AmherstSoilStudy/reports/Amherst-2005-01.pdf
Prepared by U S Army Corps of Engineers
…all these links ARE important in trying to understand why basement walls crack,leak,bow in and what are best solutions/methods in most cases.
One thing often overlooked is the use of (lack of) steel reinforcing bars and the poor backfilling practices of some. Dont care for this guy too much but he is correct on SOME shtt [http://www.askthebuilder.com/569_Backfilling_a_Foundation_Wall.shtml](http://www.askthebuilder.com/569_Backfilling_a_Foundation_Wall.shtml) 'Backfill dirt that is placed AGAINST the foundation wall CAUSES a lateral or sideways movement. Vertical reinforcing bars add strength.....lateral pressure can also be CAUSED by heavy machinery.....Backfilling a wall can be very risky IF.....when you calculate the WEIGHT of all the soil being dumped agst the foundation......advice is to wait...builder and many others will scoff at you....fkem…their pressure pales in comparison to the weight of the dirt that is placed against the walls’
In particular, read Q-A 1 and 5…are sumps allowed? what if problem is not related to surface grading (itSNOT)? http://www.shakeronline.com/dept/building/FAQ.asp#wetbasements
…sump pump systems are allowed although this is NOT the approach we recommend…
…preferred method is to (AHEM!) dig outside…down to footing
Dont jump all over my azz on this one but, have seen some HOs hire a structural engineer who did not determine the true cause n subsequent remedy of basement wall crack(s),wall pushing in....sorry, i call em like i sees em. In Fact, go back to U S Army Corps of Engineer link (lrb-Amherst) and see what they said.
2.4.3 Foundation Repairs
‘limited experience revealed there is occasional erroneous diagnosis and subsequent implementation of an inappropriate remedial measure.For example, we observed pilasters that were improperly supported…misapplication of carbon fiber strips…we also observed reputable engineers` design solutions that did not alleviate the settlement and/or lateral pressure problem…’
