Stress Cracks In Concrete Walls

Concrete walls containing horizontal cracks are serious issues.

Stress cracks in concrete walls.

Call in a structural engineer for an in depth evaluation. The process will bring the particles closer together and create cracks that are often too small to cause any problems. Types of concrete cracks. Cracks less than 1 8 inch wide are likely stress cracks while larger ones are often more serious.

Each type of concrete foundation wall basement slab floor slab or slab on grade crack is discussed and described with photographs below. However these products can fail after a few years if your foundation or retaining wall continues to move slightly leaving you with little choice but to chip them out and start all over again. Poor concrete mix rapid curing or possibly other states. In areas with expansive soils clayey type soils there is usually more soil and foundation movement than in other areas.

Within a year after construction hairline cracks about the width of a sewing thread commonly appear on the inside of basement walls most often near windows and doors or in the corners of the. Plastic shrinkage cracks are typically very narrow in width and barely visible. Concrete cracks due to inclusions photo above of shale and iron sulfide mineral pyrrhotite cracking. In poured concrete foundations shrinkage cracks are usually due to conditions at original construction.

Since concrete cannot shrink around a corner stress will cause the concrete to crack from the point of that corner. Several masonry patching products such as hydraulic cement do an adequate job of filling cracks in concrete walls. If the crack is simply an aesthetic nuisance you can cover it yourself without worrying about the structure of your home. Concrete block walls can fall victim to a number of different types of cracks.

In any case concrete shrinkage causes the concrete to develop internal stresses. They can be controlled but not eliminated. The cracks might indicate a more serious structural problem. Measure the width of cracks with measuring tape.

See details at pyrrhotite inclusion cracking. Horizontal cracks in concrete walls however indicate poor wall designs or pressure buildup behind the wall. Hairline cracks in a concrete slab are rarely a cause for concern. While nearly invisible it is important to remember that plastic shrinkage cracks don t just exist on the surface they extend throughout the entire thickness of the slab.