Poured Concrete Walls And Surface Cracks

The bottom line is a low water to cement ratio is the number one issue effecting concrete quality and excess water reduces this ratio.

Poured concrete walls and surface cracks.

Each has its own cause and strategies to prevent or minimize. The main cause behind the generation of hairline cracks in concrete is plastic shrinkage which is the rapid depletion of moisture from the fresh concrete within its plastic state. If the cracks appear shortly after pouring the concrete foundation concrete may have been mixed poorly or poured too quickly. The injection process fills the crack from top to bottom from inside to outside.

The causes for these cracks to show up can be due to the variations in air temperature concrete temperature relative humidity and wind velocity at the surface of the concrete. This shrinkage causes forces in the concrete which literally pull the slab apart. Concrete block walls in particular can form cracks for a number of reasons. Flexomeric diy hairline foundation crack repair kits.

They are caused when the surface moisture evaporates too quickly usually during hot or windy weather. Concrete slabs can shrink as much as 1 2 inch per 100 feet. Crazing cracks are very fine surface cracks that resemble spider webs or shattered glass. Concrete cracks caused by premature drying.

As a concrete poured in place wall shrinks it develops shrinkage cracks most of which are small however if the concrete mix had too much water in it or if a wall is long wall you may get a few vertical shrinkage cracks up to a 1 16 or an 1 8 inch wide. Before you reach for the phone take your time and inspect the crack you ve spotted. This is the case especially if the cure is just setting in. When the top of a concrete slab loses moisture too quickly crazing cracks will likely appear.

Some cracks are just annoyances while others are symptoms of a larger problem and with a little bit of know how you can tell the difference. There are three main types of cracks in concrete. These occur during the first few hours when the concrete is still in a plastic state. If there are control joints the cracks may appear in them.

There are two common types of cracks brought on by premature drying. Cracks in concrete floors or slabs occur in poured concrete slabs may be found both in basement and in slab on grade or patio home construction and have a variety of causes and cures that we discuss here as we explain how to repair cracked concrete floors and as we describe slab on grade construction or patio home construction cracks and as we review the diagnosis of cracks in ceramic tile over concrete slab floors. There are different causes why these cracks appear. The only way to repair foundation wall cracks successfully is by the injection process.

Cracks are the end result of these forces. In poured concrete foundations hairline crack frequently appear in the center of the walls because the wall corners have greater stability.