From: Mark

Carl, I own a home built in 1922. It has a poured concrete foundation with out reinforcing and there are several cracks that need to be repaired.

Before I bought it I had two structural engineers and a geotechnical engineer look at it. I am an architect but I prefer to work with experts. All three said the same thing the cause of the cracks is water outside the house.

I took care of those issues and now want to repair the cracks. Some cracks are 1/2" or so. Any suggestions or direction would be appreciated.

Hi Mark,
I prefer to work with experts too, as that's what General Contracting is all about. I've always wondered how people expect to learn construction trades from books or videos. They can't of course, as it takes years of "on the job training."

Now that the source of your problem (water) has been identified and fixed, all you need to do is find an expert to fix the crack. Here are a few good sources for those experts:

http://www.yellowbook.com/category/foundation_contractors/

http://www.angieslist.com/AngiesList/

http://www.servicemagic.com/

I tried once to repair a crack in a concrete wall. It was a messy, tedious job and I knew it wouldn't last, and it didn't. The first heavy rain, water found its way to the repair and pushed it out.

I saw an ad in the yellow pages that said "We repair other’s mistakes."

Experts then fixed it for good with pressure grouting.

Nuff said?
Good luck,
Carl


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