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0:00
In this video, I want to explain something about basement cracks
0:04
There really are two kinds, the kinds that matter and the kinds that don't matter
0:09
And the vast majority of cracks you might find in your basement don't matter
0:15
They might look something like this. They're going to be squiggly. They could be long or short
0:26
That's kind of what they might look like. you might see similar ones in the floor as well too
0:33
kind of random, not going in any particular spot. So most cracks like this don't matter because they're stable
0:44
Basements made of masonry are very likely to contract over time. They're actually going to expand and contract with changes in temperature
0:54
but masonry also just shrinks a little bit. especially after the masonry's curing
1:02
So this could be poured concrete or blocks. But if you see cracks like this and they're not moving, then that's a good thing
1:13
How do you know they're not moving? Well, it's a matter of observation. And when I say moving, I mean getting worse in one way or another
1:20
So let's say you've got a crack like this on your basement wall and you want to monitor it
1:27
Well, the first thing you're going to want to do is to put several straight and visible lines through the crack
1:35
using a marker or a pencil even. And that's going to do a couple of things
1:43
First of all, it's going to show you whether the crack is shifting
1:48
So if the masonry on one side of the crack is going one way
1:52
and the masonry on the other side of the crack is going the other way If that what you find then you got some structural issues with your basement and I be explaining what these might be and how to fix them
2:07
In addition to marking lines, usually a magic marker is a great thing
2:12
a magic marker and a straight edge. You'll also want to write the date next to that
2:18
so you don't have to remember how long it's been sitting around
2:22
and you can see whether it's moving or not. Now, I should say the majority of these cracks are not going to move
2:29
They're not structurally significant. They should be filled with something. There are epoxy injection systems
2:38
There's also some other systems that have reinforcing fibers that go over top
2:45
which I think is a great idea. And this is one of, you know, fixing cracks like this is one of the things that needs to happen
2:52
before you get going with your basement project. However, there are some things you need to keep your eye on
3:01
If, say, about here, you see a crack that's horizontal, a horizontal crack that continues across the whole wall
3:12
maybe one wall, maybe more than one wall. That's more of a warning sign
3:16
because the issue with cracks that move is that they're, really responding to the pressure of soil on the outside
3:26
And there can be a tremendous amount of pressure just from the weight of the soil. More than that, though, if the soil gets wet and stays wet over winter and you live in a place
3:38
where soil freezes fairly deeply into the ground. Well, when wet soil freezes, it expands with tremendous force
3:48
So if you see a horizontal crack like this, and maybe it continues
3:52
all the way across the basement then that a warning flag because if the soil is beating the foundation
4:03
if the pressure of the soil cannot be resisted by the foundation, one place where it's going to show up
4:10
is right around the bottom of the frost penetration in the soil in your area
4:16
So if this soil up here freezes and expands, and by the time you get down here, there's no more
4:23
freezing and expansion. There's a lot of force that's being applied in this direction to your
4:31
basement. And that can be especially prominent where the frozen soil meets the unfrozen soil
4:40
And that will show up this way. Another place where it might show up is some funny business
4:46
going on here where the wall meets the floor. These two parts might appear to be
4:52
one, but they're not. They're always constructed separately. The wall will be constructed first
4:58
The basement floor is poured second. So they're not really attached, although they can be quite
5:04
close to each other. But if you have some inward movement here, as evidenced by a horizontal crack
5:13
that also shows some movement. So you don't want to put some lines on it here so you can monitor that
5:19
If you see some cracks like this, you're going to see some movement down here too
5:25
So look down here, look up here. If there is movement, if there is significant and dangerous movement of your foundation
5:33
it's going to show up in a change in relative position of the foundation wall to your house frame
5:42
So you need to be a bit of a detective, but this is one area where if you see this
5:49
you're going to want to do something about it. Really you going to have to call in a professional This is a pretty serious situation Another place where you see foundations giving way is if you see a crack like this sort of diagonally
6:07
this is going behind the machine here, and then another crack over here, going down, in this case
6:15
behind the water heater, and then maybe another vertical crack here, that's a side
6:22
that this whole wall is bowing in under soil pressure. And trust me, you don't want to finish
6:30
a basement. You don't want to invest all of that effort and money into finishing a basement where
6:37
the structure is not perfectly sound. So you'll need to get some professional advice on this
6:43
But before you do, take some time, monitor these cracks, put lines across them, visit the cracks
6:52
regularly with a ruler and in addition to the dates that you put next to your monitoring lines
6:59
put a measurement you know on February the 13th the crack measured 3 30 seconds of an inch wide
7:09
or 4 millimeters wide and then six months later measure it again and especially when the
7:19
frost is coming out of the ground if you live in in an area that gets winter
7:23
That's when you always have the most movement. When things transition from frozen soil to unfrozen soil
7:31
that's probably where movement is going to happen most and where you're most likely to be able to see it
7:37
So I don't want to alarm you because the vast majority of foundation cracks are harmless
7:43
They've occurred and they're stable and that's it. But you do need to know that there are some dangers here
7:49
and monitoring is the best. way to figure out what they are and what to do about them
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