Is Your Home Struggling With Foundation Cracks?

If your home suffers from foundation cracks, you should call a professional foundation repair contractor from WCI Basement Repair as soon as possible. We offer solutions to repair cracks and keep your foundation solid for years to come. Foundation cracks can appear in any sort of concrete foundation. Whether it is your home or garage, cracks are always a possibility. Because Iowa foundations have to endure all different sorts of weather conditions, they may be more likely to develop certain kinds of foundation cracks.

What Causes Foundation Cracks?

There are a lot of reasons that foundation cracks might start to appear in your home, including:

  • Settling Soil: When the soil beneath your foundation starts to settle, the foundation will settle as well. Severe foundation settlement can lead to crack formation.
  • Frost Heave: Cold temperatures cause freeze-thaw cycles in the wintertime. During these cycles, soil freezes (and expands) and thaws (and contracts) repeatedly, causing the foundation to heave and settle, forming stress cracks.
  • Erosion: Too much rain can cause the soil under your home to be washed away. This leaves empty voids that cannot support the foundation so that it settles and cracks.
  • Drought: Lack of moisture can also cause settlement and crack formation. As the soil shrinks from lack of water, it will shift and cause the foundation to shift as well. If it rains suddenly after a drought, soil can be washed away, leaving voids that lead to settlement and crack formation.

If you are aware of any of these natural events happening near your home, make sure to inspect your property for obvious signs of damage and then call our professional team for a full inspection. 

What Are Some Solutions for Foundation Cracks? 

There are a few different ways that floor cracks can be fixed in your home. If the cracks are large and severe, they may need to be fixed using underpinning. WCI also offers both ECP (Earth Contact Products):

  • Steel Push Piers
  • Helical Piers

Push piers can be driven or pushed into the ground under the foundation until they reach a layer of stable soil. Once they are stabilized, the weight of the home can be transferred onto them and they are used to lift settling slabs. This helps close any cracks that may have formed. Helical piers also lift and stabilize the foundation in this way. The difference with helical piers is that they are screwed into the ground, not pushed in.

Another solution that works well for minor cracks or cracks that have been closed by underpinning is an epoxy injection. In this repair method, an epoxy or polyurethane foam injection is used to seal the crack and bind the faces of the concrete back together. 

Choose WCI Basement Repair

If your home has recently been affected by foundation shifting and settling, you need to get a professional to come and inspect any cracks that appear. WCI has years of experience in the foundation crack repair industry and can help you decide the best course of action for your home. If you’re ready to get started, give us a call today and receive a free quote!