Cracks In Concrete Basement Floor

Basement floors crack for a many reasons.

Cracks in concrete basement floor. That may explain why your slab has fared so well vs. Often they use wire mesh as reinforcement which keeps concrete pieces together but doesn t prevent cracks. When there are cracks in your home s foundation it lets pressure force the water up into your basement. Small cracks in the basement floor commonly result from shrinkage as the concrete dries which pulls the concrete apart.

Because basement floors are poured after the walls are poured the concrete where they meet doesn t always bond completely and this is a common spot for a crack to appear when the house settles. The typical basement floor. The ground underneath your foundation is full of moisture. Any cracks in your basement floor open you to the possibility of water seepage.

Each type of concrete foundation wall basement slab floor slab or slab on grade crack is discussed and described with photographs below. The sub base wasn t properly compacted and the concrete settled in one area causing the basement floor to sink and crack. Most times these cracks are referred to as nonstructural settlement cracks but there can be a wide variety of reasons why a foundation cracks cracks can occur due to settlement of the building concrete shrinkage and curing stress and vibrations caused by trains and trucks traveling nearby and bad construction methods. Resolving cracks and unlevel floors caused by soil expansion is a job best left to the pros who may advise and carry out solutions as extensive as replacing the basement floor and or install an.

Concrete cracks due to inclusions photo above of shale and iron sulfide mineral pyrrhotite cracking see details at pyrrhotite inclusion cracking. Your concrete basement floor eventually cracks and lifts due to the pressure of the expanding soil underneath. It s fact that many houses develop cracks after they re built. Basement floors on the other hand rarely use rebar and typically run 3 to 4 inches thick.

Step 3 chisel loose concrete for larger cracks. Risks of cracks in your basement floor water seepage. Newly poured concrete shrinks when it dries. These types of cracks can show up as long as a year after the basement floor is poured depending on how quickly the slab dries and how humid the basement is.

There are a lot of variables. If your cracks are fairly large chisel all the concrete that is loose around the crack. Action should be taken immediately if you notice concrete in your basement lifting. These are quite common.

For cracks that exceed 1 inch in width place your chisel at the edges of the crack and use a hammer to strike the chisel. Chip away 25 inches from each side of the concrete.