Cracks on the walls are common in buildings since the construction of the first house of mankind. Although some damage is not worth worrying about, others may indicate subsidence or damage to the foundation and, as a result, the walls. If you do not fix the problem cracks in the structures, damage to the foundation can quickly devalue your property and lead to unsafe conditions.
When do cracks in walls indicate a serious problem?
Large cracks (vertical, horizontal, or diagonal) may indicate weak points in the foundation or soil underneath of your property, as well as:
- One side of the wall is higher than the other
- Doors and windows no longer close easily or are skewed
- Cracks are either wider than 1 mm or they are encreasing over time
- Problem cracks usually start on Windows, doorways, or corners of a building.
However, if you find small hairline cracks, but they (which is important) do not have tendency to encrease, then most likely these are cracks on the decorative layer and are not worth the worry. They can be planned budgeted and easily repaired without consequences for the entire building. However, in any case, you should consult with a civil engineer, or better yet, with a survey engineer.
What causes cracks to develop on the walls?
Large cracks may appear due to the fact that the foundation of the object has lost its structure and strength, resulting in all or part of your structure subsides. This is usually because the density of the soil under the settled part of your real estate is too small. It is also very important to understand what part subsiding. People often intuitively draw the wrong conclusions about this. The second important cause of cracks is incorrect stress distributions in structures. For example, non-compliance with standards in design or construction and incorrect location of deformation joints in structures (or their absence at all). Well, in our practice on the Russian market, a common case is incorrectly erected roof.
How do I fix cracks in the wall?
First, consult a survey engineer (also known as a designer) to assess the cause of the crack and recommend a solution, and then contact a GeoResin expert (usually a geotechnical engineer). The best long-term solution for repairing large cracks is to lift the structures to the design position and then strengthen them with reinforcement. That is, re-strengthen the load-bearing nodes of your building. This complex process is called by one term "strengthening" and often confuses owners, because it is a two-stage process. As the structure re-levels to the design marks, the cracks may close or decrease (then the walls are sewn together with spiral reinforcement and finished). Windows and doors also tend to start working properly again.
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Technological excessive subsidence of a building columns
Stopping subsidence and increasing the load-bearing capacity of the pile foundation
In a residential building, a floor slab sank after a pipe burst
Reinforcement of base soils and re-leveling of floor slab
Leakage of the retaining wall of the entrance to the underground garage
Compaction of soils and plugging of leaks in the retaining wall structure
Eroding the foundation of the supporting columns
Strengthening the foundation foundation without disrupting the entire project schedule
Reinforcement of foundation soils and stabilization of the foundation
Reinforcement of foundation soils and stabilization of the foundation
Strengthening the foundation soil and stabilizing the foundation
Strengthening the foundation soil and stabilizing the foundation
Subsidence of the slab and the appearance of a longitudinal crack
Compaction of the soil with filling the gap under the slab