Foundation crack repair in Murfreesboro
This page is about cracks in the concrete or block itself: a slab, a garage floor, a basement or crawl space wall. Direction, width and whether the two sides still line up say more than length does.
Direction matters
What the shape of a crack suggests
In poured concrete walls
- Thin and vertical, the same width top to bottom: frequently shrinkage from when the concrete cured.
- Diagonal from a corner or a window opening: frequently one end of the wall settling.
- Wider at the top than the bottom: the wall may be rotating outward or one end dropping.
In block walls
- Stepping through the joints near a corner: settlement or pressure from the soil outside.
- One long horizontal line a few courses up: soil pushing the wall inward.
- Hairline joints with no offset: often age and shrinkage of the mortar.
In slabs and garage floors
- Fine cracks that wander, or follow the sawn control joints: common in almost every slab.
- One side higher than the other: the slab has moved as two pieces.
- A crack that lines up with one in the wall or brick above: worth an inspection.
Keep a record
What to write down about a crack
- Its width at the widest point, compared with something ordinary such as a credit card edge or a pencil.
- Whether a coin laid across it rocks, which shows the sides are at different heights.
- Pencil marks and a date at each end, so that growth shows up later.
- Any dampness, rust-coloured staining or white powdery deposit along it.
- Whether it existed when you bought the house, if an inspection report mentions it.
Two different jobs
Sealing the crack and fixing what caused it
A crack that has stopped moving can be sealed. In poured walls that is commonly done by injecting epoxy, which bonds the two faces, or polyurethane, which stays flexible and keeps water out. Some companies add carbon fibre straps across a wall crack to hold it.
A crack caused by a footing that is still settling will open again unless the footing is supported, typically on piers. A slab that has dropped may be raised by pumping foam or grout beneath it. The repair methods guide sets these out side by side.
If the only complaint is water coming through a crack, with no movement, that is a waterproofing matter and a separate trade. A foundation company can tell you which side of that boundary your crack is on.
Why here
Rock under one end, fill under the other
Limestone is close to the surface across the Murfreesboro area, and the soil over it ranges from almost nothing to several feet of clay. A foundation that crosses from shallow rock to deeper clay is held firmly along one stretch and less firmly along the next.
Newer subdivisions add a second variable. Lots on rolling ground are cut and filled to make a flat pad, and soil that was placed rather than left undisturbed can settle over the first years, more so under garage slabs and porches that carry little weight to begin with. An inspector will want to know which part of your lot was built up.
Questions
About cracks in foundations
Is a hairline crack in my garage floor a problem?
Fine cracks in garage slabs are very common and many never change. The ones to report have a height difference across them, are getting wider, or continue up into the wall.
Can't a crack just be filled?
It can, and for a stable crack that may be all that is needed. Filling does nothing about the reason a moving crack opened, so the first question is whether it is still moving.
Should a structural engineer look at it instead of a repair company?
Either can be a sensible first step. The inspections guide explains what each one gives you and when an engineer's report is worth paying for.
One phone call
Speak with a foundation repair company near Murfreesboro
Mention the crack, the dip or the lean, name the room, and give the month you first spotted it. Whoever picks up belongs to a Middle Tennessee foundation outfit whose only tie to this website is the referral. They can pencil in an inspection and follow it with a written price.
A house that is cracking as you listen, a wall on the point of failing, gas in the air: everybody outside first, then 911 and the gas company.
Expect the call to be recorded. Two short pages cover the rest: who pays for referrals and what becomes of call details.