Wall Cracks and Floor Cracks

A vertical wall crack in a foundation is shown

Cracks in the concrete of your home can be a huge issue. If you find wall cracks and floor cracks in your home, there is probably something wrong with your foundation. Most often, shifting and settlement are to blame for cracks in the foundation floor and walls. No matter what kind of cracks you find in your home or business, we can help. The team at Airlift Concrete Experts has the experience needed to take care of all foundation repair in Little Rock, Arkansas.

What Do the Different Types of Wall Cracks Mean?

There are a variety of different kinds of cracks that can form in your basement walls because of a shifting or settling foundation:

  • Horizontal: Often due to a bowing or leaning wall in the basement as a result of soil pressure.
  • Vertical: Can be caused by settling or heaving of the foundation.
  • Vertical and Horizontal or Angled: Usually caused by a wall bowing from external pressure or possibly by settlement.
  • Stair Step: Seen when the foundation starts to heave or settle due to temperature changes.
  • Center Converging: Bowing walls or settlement can result in these cracks.

In the upper levels of the home, wall cracks are common in drywall or mortar. These kinds of cracks may indicate that the shifting or settling foundation has started to cause the walls of your home to become unsteady. Some drywall cracks are simply due to aging, but cracks that appear near windows or doors or are wider than 1/8 inch may be a sign of a foundation problem.

What Do the Different Types of Floor Cracks Mean?

Settling foundations, shifting foundations, and other foundation problems may also cause floor cracks to appear in your basement:

  • Shrinkage Cracks: Appear in the middle of the floor or around objects in the floor when the concrete is improperly mixed or when extremely high temperatures occur.
  • Expansion Cracks: Occur in slabs adjacent to a wall or other structure during extreme temperature changes and can be accompanied by chipping and flaking.
  • Settlement Cracks: Settling slabs may crack as the soil under the foundation falls away and gaps appear.
  • Heaving Cracks: During freeze-thaw cycles, concrete may heave and start to crack; floors may become uneven or sloped.

How to Fix Cracks and Keep Them From Coming Back

The best way to fix floor cracks and wall cracks involves support the slab from underneath so that the problem doesn’t return as it would with purely cosmetic fixes that don’t address the root cause of the issue. Once this has been done, the cracks will not expand and can be sealed to keep moisture out.

A common repair option that we offer is polyurethane foam leveling, or polyjacking. This method uses the injection of a polyurethane foam material to lift the slab from underneath. As our technicians inject the material, it expands to fill holes and gaps that may have formed in the soil. The expansion lifts the foundation back to the proper level and creates a more stabilized base for the concrete.

Contact us today to learn more about these services to close the wall and floor cracks in your Arkansas home.

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