Foundation cracks

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>Shouldn't be too huge of a concern right?

>>1053856
So does that mean I am fucked?

>>1053854
Fix water problem. Measure/fill crack. If it keeps getting bigger, you're fucked.

You probably won't be fucked until you try to sell the house and try to pass inspection though. Worst case, it'll make your roof leak. Or crack your windows. Probably.

>>1053862
I am getting quotes that it could cost max up to 5-7k to strap it. A whole new foundation would be something very pricey like 60k.

I am actually trying to purchase the house right now, and plan to keep it for a long time. Inspector didn't seem to worried but I am not sure if I should run or not.

>>1053860
not really, especially if you are amerifat with wooden house. You can go on like that for another 10-20 year, ppl are having those with 5 story concrete/brick homes and keep it like that for years.

The fucked part comes either from inspectors (check your local code and laws) and earthquake, other than that you are fine

>>1053866
Home inspectors are pieces of shit, check the paperwork you signed and said you won't hold him liable if nothing he says is valid or useful or false or true.

>>1053876
He actually recommended having a foundation expert take a look at it. I sent the pic to a structural engineer and he told me to just deal it up and monitor.

>>1053874
Yup I am Amerifat and the house is wooden. Another house next to this one that was less nice sold for 100k more than this one and it had a crack as well. Although the crack was smallerz

how old is this house?

A crack in the foundation is super common. I would be really surprised to go in a basement (block or formed concrete) and not see at least one crack. Shit settles.

The water problem comes from bad drainage. It's usually some combination of non-existent or blocked perimeter drainage and shitty gutter downspout placement or a high water table.

I'd be way more concerned about basement wetness than a crack or three in the foundation.

>>1053881
48 years

>>1053854
Did you seriously buy a bucket from home depot? Seriously?

concrete cracks are a guarantee, it's just a matter of how much and where

>>1053906
They cost like $3 which is actually completely reasonable, especially considering the convenience factor.

>>1053897
Water issues are completely fixable right? If I create a storm drain to route gutter water away from the house, and then make sure the land slopes away from the foundation, then that should fix a good part of the problem?

>>1053878

There you go.

Story done.

>>1054025
Depends on how deep your pockets are and the local water table.

No amount of drainage around the house can stop slow seeping water from wet land.

Cracks are common. Every house with concrete has them to some extent, even europoor indestructible houses. What you need to watch out for is deflection at the cracks. If there is more than 1/4" deflection vertically or horizontally, you might have a serious problem.

Epoxy it and check on it periodically.

As for water issues. First and foremost, get the water away from the house. Extend your gutters so they deposit water away from the structure. The farther away, the better.

Secondly look at the grading of the property. Land should slope gradually away from the foundation.

Thirdly look at a drainage system like a french drain.

Finally look into digging around the foundation and installing (or improving existing) drainage and adding a water proof membrane.

Do those things in that order. Stopping when you have no more wetness in basement.

They go from easiest and cheapest to most expensive. The last one will cost you in the tens of thousands range. Downspout extenders or PVC will cost you in the tens to hundreds range.

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>>1054074
This is a pic of the crack. Not sure what you mean by "deflection" in the crack. Can you tell from the picture?

I will do those, hopefully I won't need to do the more expensive ones but that would be fine in the long run considering the location and price of this house.

>>1054063
I don't think there is any wetland near this area. We have those lower down by the lake but this house is pretty high up on a big hill. There are chipmunks, deer, bears, Cougars.

It does have a septic tank 15ft behind the house, but no one I talked to said that would be an issue.

>>1054056
Thanks :) just a little nervous because I haven't owned a house before.

>>1054102
Deflection would be the cracks moving apart from each other. It basically means that your foundation is being forced apart.

Anything under 1/4" is generally considered a non-issue. Get some polyurethane caulk and fill the crack.

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At least you don't have to deal with this OP

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>>1054252

That is no problem at all. Dirt settles over time and concrete is brittle.

My house has one. I had an engineer friend of mine look at it and said it was nothing to worry about. It's when the cracks are horizontal is when you need to fucking worry, because that means that the dirt around the foundation is literally caving the walls in.

>>1053898
48 years and one crack is probably fine.

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Made a picture for you OP. This will prevent water from getting into your basement. I have done plenty of waterproofing both above and below grade and the crack you have pictured is pretty common.

You need to find a supplier of caulking/waterproofing material. Maybe Carter Waters or Goedecke? Not sure where you're located.

If you plan on epoxying the crack, use "Sikadur 33", if you plan on caulking it use "Sika 15LM" or "Tremco Dymonic 100". For the waterproofing, use "Tremco 201/60 R".

Any other questions, feel free to ask.

>>1054347
Not OP but thanks for being thorough!

>>1054347
Thank you!

Looks like in your image the dark grey part of that the bottom appears to be the footing. I think my footing may be cracked as well. Does that make a difference?

Also what is the difference between doing epoxy vs. caulk? Is one superior or does it depend on the situation?

" Hello, I'm Troy McClure.
You might remember me from such instructional videos as Mothballing Your Battleship and Dig Your Own Grave and Save.
Now, over the next six hours, I'll be taking you through the do's and do-not-do's of foundation repair.
- Ready? - Ready! First, patch the cracks in the slab using a latex patching compound and a patching trowel.
Hand me my patching trowel, boy.
- Hmm.
- Now, do you have extruded polyvinyl foam insulation? - No.
- Good.
Assemble the aluminum J-channel using self-furring screws.
- Install.
- What do I do in case-- After applying brushable coating to the panels-- - Wait a minute.
- you'll need corrosion-resistant metal stucco lath.
- Wait a minute! - If you can't find metal stucco lath-- - Uh-huh? - use carbon-fiber stucco lath.
- Ohh! - Now parge the lath.

Homeowner here. I'll share my experience.

Bought a home. Foundation was cracking along the mortar lines on a CMU basement wall. Seller agreed to repair it. Ended up hiring a company that installed carbon fiber strips. Lifetime warranty. Excellent.

3 months later the basement started flooding everytime it rained on the same side of the house but 30-40 feet further along the wall. Fuck.

Called companies and got quotes. All wanted to cut into the slab and install sump pumps. $3-4K range. Double fuck.

Start drinking one day and say "fuck it", I'm going to rip up the downspout by the leaking side and see what's up. Fucking thing was clogged with dirt/mud a few inches below ground. Ripped it all out and ran extenders about 20-30 feet away from the house.

Since thin? Not a goddamn drop of water. The point of the story? Address the water issue first. You will buy yourself a lot of time and stress if you can stop the problem from getting bigger and bigger and bigger.

Not an expert on patching concrete or joints but for fucks sake, handle the water issue first. The biggest goal of any home owner, aside from making payments, is to keep fucking water away from the house.

>>1054744

This is very true.

I'm a carpenter that does mainly additions and some new home construction. Every time it rains during construction before the roof and gutters leak the basements get water in them, mainly around the joints between the existing house and new basement and it freaks the homeowners out like crazy. People get pissed that they're new basements leak, couple weeks later the gutters, downspouts, and drain tile go in and everything is dry as can be and there are never any callbacks about basements flooding.

Properly sized and working water drainage systems are as important as any foundation waterproofing as far as my experience has taught me.

>>1053854
make the fucking owners fix it first if you're wanting to buy the house or deduct the costs of repair from your offer and tell them to fuck off