How It Works

Why Foundations Fail

Several things can occur for your basement walls to become bowed or cracked

  • The most common cause of bowing/buckling basement walls are hydrostatic pressure and expansive soils, especially in colder climates because moisture in the soil can freeze. The soil freezing can put tremendous pressure on the wall, that pressure, is what can cause the cracks to form. As the temperature fluctuates throughout the year, it results in your wall starting to shift.

  • Some trees and plants may have roots that extend to the foundation of a building. When this occurs, it results in pressure being placed on the walls.

  • When soil shifts it results in pressure being exerted on your basement walls causing them to become bowed or cracked.

  • The way in which the walls were constructed can also be a factor in the pressure being put on them. The environment where the basement was built may not have been ideal, resulting in a poor structure. Issues with the walls may not show up right away, but in the future there could be problems.

  • As time goes on, your basement walls may start to break down. The average basement can last up to 100 years. Along with that, your basement walls could encounter shifting and other outside pressures over an extended period of time.

  • The area that your foundation is sitting on (the footer), could be sitting on materials that aren't secure. Settling can occur due to the heavy weight that is sitting on top if it. Your basement may have been built in an area that has soil that moves.

  • The coating that is on basement walls can break down as time goes on, causing water to come in contact with the concrete. The water can then lower the strength and durability of the wall. You may start to notice discolourations, water, cracks, or the walls becoming bowed.

  • Shrinking comes from the curing of concrete. Cracks develop as the concrete shrinks and once a crack is formed, the cracked wall is less stable than the surrounding walls. Pressure from outside of the wall may cause it to bow.

Foundation Crack Injection

  • What is a foundation crack injection?

    Crack injection involves concrete crack repair and basement waterproofing techniques which are only applicable to poured concrete foundations and structures. Crack injection, or foundation crack injection, is used in the following applications:

    • To repair concrete cracks of virtually any size in poured concrete foundation walls;


    • To permanently repair actively leaking foundation cracks;


    • To repair foundation cracks that have been previously repaired by injection or some other basement waterproofing technique; and


    • The repair of cracked poured concrete structures in general.

  • How does crack injection work to fix concrete cracks in foundations?

    Foundation crack injection involves the pressurized injection of either epoxy or polyurethane resin into a foundation crack; these injections are referred to as epoxy crack injection and polyurethane crack injection. The injection pressures ensure that cracks are filled through the entire thickness of a foundation wall which is typically 8" or 20cm thick, thereby effectively eliminating the crack and keeping water on the exterior of the foundation where it belongs so that you no longer have water in your basement. This type of concrete crack repair is all that is needed to accomplish basement waterproofing when a poured concrete crack is leaking, or if there is a concern that an existing crack may leak in the future. Pressurized crack injection is also the most economical means by which to repair a wet, leaky poured concrete basement; in reality, it is rarely necessary to excavate a poured concrete foundation wall.

    Excavating and waterproofing a foundation is expensive and destructive. Crack injection is an effective and inexpensive way to put an end to foundation leaks and that wet basement.

Epoxy vs Polyurethane

Is Epoxy or Polyurethane better?

OK, so which method is best for repairing cracks in concrete: epoxy or polyurethane? Since an epoxy crack injection is a structural repair which prevents basement leaks at the same time, it is logical to conclude that epoxy should be used as much as possible.

From a "effectiveness" point of view, the characteristics of the crack to be repaired should dictate which injection method to choose. For example, if a crack requires a structural repair we would use epoxy if all of the conditions that are required for this injection are met. If not, a polyurethane injection would be a better choice. If reinforcement is required, we would perform an epoxy injection or use crack locks to stablize a crack in order to compensate for polyurethane's inability to withstand tensile forces. Similarly, if a crack is full of mud, we would elect to inject the crack with polyurethane to take advantage of the crack flushing process associated with this injection method.

Ultimately, the characteristics of the crack to be repaired should dictate the most suitable injection method. Clearly, it is wise to hire a company that offers both types of crack injection.

Carbon Fiber

What is Carbon Fiber?

Carbon fiber is the strongest, man-made material in the world. It is incredibly lightweight and will not stretch. It can be woven into fabric sheets or melted down and molded into various shapes to create hundreds of different products. It is a material made up of small fibers of carbon. These small fibers were found to be exceptionally strong individually, but when thousands of these fibers are woven and bonded together, they are stronger than steel.

The process to make carbon fiber is complicated and was originally very expensive. Since it was so expensive, carbon fiber was only reserved for critical applications like space shuttles, airplane wings, and bridge repairs. Today, mass production of carbon fiber has made it more accessible and affordable to use in every day applications. Due to its outstanding performance and popularity, carbon fiber is now used in other products such as motorcycle helmets, bullet-proof vests, and golf clubs just to name a few.

Finally, carbon fiber is affordable to use in residential foundation repair applications. Once carbon fiber is bonded to the wall with epoxy, the wall can no longer deflect or move. Whencarbon fiber is applied, it actually makes the wall stronger than it was before. Carbon fiber applications are commonly used prior to basement remodeling projects so that homeowners can remodel with the assurance that their walls are solid and are as strong as they can be.