The wall of the house cracked what to do. How and how to repair a crack in a brick wall of a house with your own hands? Step-by-step instructions and recommendations

Sooner or later, almost every property owner is faced with such an unpleasant thing as crack detection. And the reasons for this can be very diverse. The article will discuss the repair of cracks in the walls of the house.

Preventing the appearance of cracks in the walls of a new home

The appearance of cracks on the surface of the walls does not bode well. At best, you will have to re-execute Finishing work, but I don't even want to think about the worst options. However, it is difficult for an ordinary person to assess the level of threat, so it is worth resorting to the services of specialized organizations that will conduct design and survey work. The result will be an act, which will indicate the reasons for the appearance of these defects, the dynamics of development, the conclusion on the hazard class, as well as recommendations (design solution) for their elimination.

Most residents, seeing the cracks, begin to sound the alarm, contact housing companies and other similar services. Upon arrival of specialists, it turns out that cracks were formed due to temperature changes, low-quality finishing materials or their natural wear and tear. However, in such situations, finding out the origin of various depressions and sizes of crevices will not be superfluous.

General information

It should be remembered that any building construction must meet the relevant standards, a number of important requirements. When a structure ceases to resist operational loads, it begins to collapse. This state is called limiting. The resulting damage does not allow further operation of the building.
Therefore, if any element of the structure (foundation, floors, walls) ceases to meet certain norms and rules, it means that it has reached the limit state. As a result, signs of deterioration begin to appear, namely cracks of various shapes and sizes. And the larger they are, the wider the depth of disclosure, the more dangerous they are.

But the appearance of small cracks, the so-called cobweb in new buildings, is not fraught with any danger. After all, the reason for this is the natural subsidence of the building. After 3-6 months, new microcracks stop appearing, and old ones stop expanding.
The progression of cracks should alert, this indicates the beginning of the destruction of the structure. Here, measures should be taken to eliminate the cause of destruction.

Cracks in the walls of wooden houses

As for wooden structures, cracks often occur under the influence of moisture retained in the inner layers of a bar or log. Their formation can be minimized by compensating sawing, which is performed along the entire length of the lumber with a depth of no more than 1/5 of the diameter of the log.

In cases where large crevices have formed in an exploited building, you should not go into panic. Such defects are harmless and do not in any way affect the custom properties of the walls. To be convinced of this, it is enough to look at the log cabins dotted with cracks in remote villages that have stood there for several decades.
Therefore, the filling of cracks in wooden houses carried out only for aesthetics. The materials used are different, but, unfortunately, none of them differ in their long service life:
- the sealant cannot provide long-term adhesion to wood. Such a seal will withstand no more than 2-3 seasons. But after peeling, a new layer can be applied over the old one, only it will last again for a couple of years;

foamed polyethylene harnesses are intended for indoor spaces, therefore, their use is impractical;
any solid formulations are also not suitable for this kind of structure. The tree constantly absorbs and gives back moisture, changing its size depending on the season. That is why there is a detachment of any sealing material $
the best option for filling gaps in wooden surfaces carried out by means of caulking with moss or linen-hemp pigtails.

Why do cracks form in the walls of a brick house

The appearance of this kind of defect on walls made of bricks, foam blocks or aerated concrete can be influenced by various reasons, the most common are:

violation of the masonry process (thickened horizontal seams, lack of dressing and reinforcement);
poor-quality material and / or illiterately mixed solution (violation of proportions when mixing, that is, by eye);
the use of building materials for other purposes (for example, a silicate product cannot be used in rooms with high humidity);
the combination of materials that differ in their characteristics (the combination of clay bricks with cinder blocks is unacceptable);
uneven shrinkage of the foundation.

Cracking in reinforced concrete structures occurs due to the following factors:

non-compliance with the technology of pouring concrete (low vibration, fast drying, an error in the recipe when mixing concrete mortar);
mechanical deformations, external load (absence of expansion joints and omission or reduction in the number of reinforcement);
uneven settlement of the base.

Cracks in the wall what to do

You can patch up the cracks different ways, their disclosure will determine the choice of material.

If the depth of the crack is small, then it is plastered with sand cement mortar, with the addition of PVA glue or cement putty for external use. Of course, the previously damaged area and the adjacent part of the wall must be cleaned of crumbling fragments, dust removed, treated with a primer, and a reinforcing tape must be applied.

A medium-sized crack is closed using metal mesh... Here, all cracked coating is removed and must be primed without fail. Next, holes are drilled for dowels with a step of 25-30 cm. The mesh with 5x5 cm cells is attached to the surface using screws with wide washers. If the emergency section is large and it is required to lay another strip of reinforcing material, then this is done with an overlap (at least 10 cm). The cement-based plaster is pressed into the mesh so that it adheres to the wall. After light leveling, it is necessary to wait until it is completely dry, and only then apply the next finishing coat.
You can also use polyurethane foam - the gap is foamed, after drying, the residues are cut off, and then finishing materials are applied (plaster, paint, and so on).

Cardinal methods of eliminating cracks in the wall of the house

Determining whether a crack is progressing is quite simple. For this, paper strips are taken, which are glued across the crack in several places (top, bottom and middle). Further, everything is simple, if the paper is torn, then, accordingly, it is necessary to identify and eliminate the causes of this defect.

Tip: a gypsum plate can also act as a beacon. You can take plastic (glass) elements that fit tightly to each other, which are attached on opposite sides of the crack. Every 7-10 days, the beacons are inspected, data is recorded, which is compared with the original records. Their displacement or deformation signals the development (expansion) of the gap.

Setting the anchor

It is possible to stop the "spreading" of large cracks with a large opening with the help of an anchor (channel). First, the plaster is knocked down to the length of the metal plate, if this parameter is 1 meter, then the area is cleaned 50 cm on each side of the slot. The depth of the groove must correspond to the thickness of the metal.
Depending on the thickness of the wall, the material from which it is made, as well as its condition, fastening is carried out using dowels, anchor bolts or long bolts with a nut. In the latter case, the wall is drilled through.

The crack and grooves are cleaned and filled with polyurethane foam. The anchor is inserted into the recess and fixed with hardware. It is better to install the tightening system in 3 places, stepping back a little from the beginning and end of the slot, and in the middle. Then the reinforcing material is mounted and the plastering of the emergency area is performed.
Staples will work instead of plates. They can be prepared independently, for this, the reinforcement of the required length is taken, it is necessary to take into account the bending of both ends of the metal by about 15-20 cm.
Grooves are prepared across the crack in several places, so that the metal bracket sits a little deeper in relation to the surface. For example, if the cross-section of the reinforcement is 10 mm, then the groove depth should be 13-15 mm.
Holes for the ends of the workpiece are drilled with the appropriate diameter and equal to its length. It is impossible to hammer the bracket into the wall, as this can provoke a crack divergence or destruction of the area adjacent to it.
Next, standard manipulations are performed: cleaning, priming, reinforcement, plaster.

Crack diagnostics by specialists

If the manipulations carried out did not lead to a positive result (cracks expand or appear in other areas), then the time has come to correct the mistakes made during the construction of the structure.
To do this, you should contact a specialized company that will conduct research and offer the best solution to this difficult issue. Experts will prepare a project for the restoration of structural elements of the building.

The result will depend on the detected violations committed during the construction process:

dismantling the emergency wall and re-laying brick, block rows;
implementation of a monolithic structure - a reinforcing belt;
strengthening of supports or their complete replacement;
restoration of the blind area;
lengthening the load-bearing wall and strengthening the walls.

How to repair a crack in a wall inside a house

There are many factors influencing the appearance of different "caliber" cracks and cracks on the walls and ceilings of the room:

natural shrinkage of the house, violation of construction technology;
substandard materials or their incompatibility, incorrect application;
unfavorable operating conditions (high humidity, temperature drops).

Before proceeding with the elimination of cracks, it is necessary to identify and correct the reason for the cracking of the surface. Otherwise, all the efforts made, the funds spent will not be justified.

Drywall

Small cracks often appear on such material. The cobweb suggests that a thick layer of putty may have been produced. Another reason is violation temperature regime Thus, many artificially inject heat (with guns, hair dryers or heaters) for faster drying of the surface. You definitely can't do that, finishing material should dry, not harden.
Such defects in the horizontal or vertical direction often occur at the joints of the sheets. There are two sources of their education:
- weakened frame;
- lack of serpyanka at the seams.

Correction

You can get rid of the defect only by removing the damaged layer and applying a thinner one, not exceeding 2 mm. If there is a need for another surface coating, then first you need to wait until the applied material is completely dry, and only then proceed to the application of the next layer.

If the problem lies in the metal structure under the drywall, then deeper cracks cannot be repaired. But with reliable fixing of the base to the wall renovation work produced as follows:

- cracks are deepened with a sharp knife at an angle of 45 °, a kind of groove is made;
- the furrow is filled with a small amount of the mixture intended specifically for this purpose;
- Serpyanka tape is "glued" on top and the surface is leveled.

Plastered walls

Often the sources of such damage are improper application of the material or a violation of the proportion when mixing a dry mixture with water. Of course, there are more serious reasons due to which surface cracking occurs, but this was discussed above.

Correction

Fiberglass is an ideal material for masking a non-ideal surface. It will hide existing cracks, prevent new ones from forming and old ones to expand. Before work, it is enough to seal only very deep recesses with putty and treat the wall with a deep penetration primer.
You can completely remove peeling plaster, after which the surface is primed and putty. Before work, carefully read the information on the packaging regarding the dilution proportions, as well as the recommended thickness of the material layer.

Conclusion

Almost all cracks that form in the walls of a house are due to a lack of proper supervision, low qualifications of workers and, therefore, poor-quality work. Therefore, it is very important when erecting buildings of any purpose to follow all technical specifications, rules and regulations. As well as:

take into account the properties of the soil;
calculate the margin of safety of supporting structures;
use high quality building materials.

Before you cover the crack in the wall of the house yourself, you need to make sure that it does not affect the strength of the entire structure and does not pose a threat. And in order to avoid such a problem, it is better to entrust the construction to licensed contractors, who, on the basis of a contract, can make claims for poorly performed work.

Foundation crack

If in a private house, garage or dacha cracks have gone along the walls, the foundation is cracked, it is not necessary to despair, you can fix the damage that has arisen. The reasons for the appearance of such defects are uneven soil settlement, the assumption of structural miscalculations at the design stage, errors during construction works or the influence of natural, mechanical influences on the structure of the base. Cracks in the foundation must be eliminated, otherwise the bearing capacity of the house structures may be disrupted and an irreversible consequence of collapse will occur.

Base cracks can be classified according to their location:

A horizontal crack in the foundation refers to a common type of fracture that occurs due to errors in the technology of masonry work, improper selection of the composition of mortars. Most often, horizontal cracks appear on tape structures, erected in stages. Horizontal cracks do not pose a significant threat, however, it is recommended that cracks be repaired in a timely manner in order to prevent their further development.
A vertical crack appears due to deformation of the base structure under the influence of soil swelling forces and from an increase in the level groundwater... The appearance of vertical cracks indicates the beginning of the fracture process supporting structure, therefore, they should be eliminated as quickly as possible. If the foundation is cracked vertically, it is recommended to strengthen the base of the structure cushion.

In order to prevent the appearance of cracks in the supporting structure of the house, it is recommended at the design stage to conduct a thorough assessment of the geology of the base soils, not to save on the purchase of high-quality building materials, to correctly calculate the ultimate loads and take into account the possibility of soil changes under the influence of various natural factors.

Horizontal destruction of the foundation

Causes of foundation deformation

Before starting the repair of the base structure, it is necessary to determine the reason why the foundation cracked and choose the right one effective method elimination of the violations that have arisen. Most frequent reasons, due to which the foundation could burst, there may be the following factors.

Technological reasons

If during the construction work on the construction of the base, violations of the mandatory technological process are made, then all these errors will lead to the occurrence of destructive deformations. Therefore, it is so important to correctly perform the reinforcement of the base, to consistently mount the formwork system, to select the correct brand concrete mix, take into account the depth of freezing and the level of groundwater at the site.

Operational reasons

Another reason for the opening of cracks in the foundation can be a violation of the operating mode of housing construction. For example, on an existing foundation one-storey house the homeowner decided to complete a second floor superstructure. Such an increase in load can adversely affect the bearing capacity of the base structure and significant destruction will appear on the foundation of the house.

Increased humidity in the basement of the building and the lack of drainage from the building - all these factors can be attributed to the operational reasons for the occurrence of cracks.

Structural reasons

Diagram of the occurrence of cracks in the foundation

At the design stage of the building, it is necessary to conduct a geological study of the soils of the foundation of the building plot, correctly calculate the load on the foundation structure. If, for some reason, such miscalculations were made, then significant deformational changes in the base structures can surely occur.

Seeing cracks

When a crack appears on the foundation, experts advise observing the change in the size of the crack rupture, whether it will increase over time. The process of identifying the nature of crack fracture occurs in the following order:

An open crack should be carefully cleaned from plaster residues, dirt and dust.
Small plaster beacons with a thickness of no more than 5 mm are installed with a certain step. After that, we observe their condition.
If, within two or three weeks, the lighthouses did not crack and new deformations did not appear, then the foundation structure is not in danger and the crack on the surface is most likely formed from the shrinkage of the building.

A video tutorial of installing beacons can be seen:

Sealing simple cracks

Repair of simple cracks from shrinkage is carried out in several stages:

First, the crack cavity is cleaned of dust and rinsed with water.
After the dry crack is covered to the full possible depth with a primer for outdoor use.
The cavity of the crack is filled with special sealants or cement mortar with a cement grade of at least 500.

Clearing a simple crack

Crack repair methods

Methods for repairing cracks in the foundation are selected depending on the type of materials of the main walls of the building. For stone, brick or wooden walls there are special schemes for sealing cracks:

The foundation of a stone or cinder block house is strengthened with reinforced concrete clips, which are mounted on both sides of the foundation.
Foundation wooden house rarely covered with deformation cracks. But if this happened, then you can use jacks to raise the wooden building, having previously freed all the rooms from furniture.
When strengthening foundations brick houses it is possible to use two methods: fill basement wall with concrete mixture along the pre-installed along the entire perimeter metal frame or install bored piles. The second method is very effective, in this way you can restore an almost destroyed foundation, but the price of such strengthening is quite high.

Video example of strengthening the foundation of a wooden house:

Ways to strengthen the base

Before strengthening the foundation, if there are cracks on the walls, it is necessary to choose the most suitable method for eliminating the occurrence of deformations. Modern construction technologies for sealing cracks in the foundation give optimal recommendations on what to do in such cases. The following methods of strengthening the foundation are usually used.

Reinforced outsole with new construction

First, the burst foundation is pre-cleaned of dirt and dust, the cracks are filled with repair mortar. Under the deformed section of the structure, a small trench no more than 60 cm wide is dug in a checkerboard pattern to a depth of 200-300 mm below the base of the foundation. The open base of the foundation must be filled with concrete and carefully compacted.

After backfilling and compaction of the soil, thus reinforced in the base section, it is possible, after a distance of 60 cm, to repair the next cracked section.

Reinforcement with special piles

The pile method of strengthening a cracked foundation is the most effective way... There are several types of piles according to the method of their installation:

Screw piles. The simplest and most common type of strengthening cracked foundations, which does not require special skills. The pile structure looks like a pipe with helical blades at the end. When installing, the pile is screwed into the ground, only the head remains visible on the surface.
The bored piles have a hollow structure with a height of 2 m, into which metal reinforcement is inserted, and after that the entire cavity is filled with a concrete mixture. Before installing the bored piles, wells are drilled with a step of 1.5 to 2 m.
The use of the driven pile installation method is not suitable for a dilapidated structure, since the walls of the building may crack from the blows of the pile driver.

Strengthening the foundation with screw piles

Additional reinforcement when strengthening the base

Strengthening a burst foundation by means of additional reinforcement consists in tying the entire basement part of the structure with a reinforcing mesh of longitudinal and transverse metal reinforcement, installing formwork and pouring a concrete mixture of at least 200 grade. This technology of strengthening the foundation is the most popular and less laborious than other methods.

When cracks appear in the foundation, you should carefully study the recommendations and instructions for their elimination. Of course, it is always difficult to repair than to build, so it is better not to make mistakes and not disrupt the technological construction process. Then there will be no need to strengthen the foundation.

All cracks appearing on the foundation of the house indicate that the base of the building needs to be strengthened or repaired. But in order to do this with your own hands, you need to know about the reasons for the destruction of the foundation, as well as how exactly restoration work should be carried out.

Why are cracks dangerous?

If the foundation of the building is cracked, you must immediately begin work to restore it. If this is not done, after a while, due to the skewing of the house, the doors and windows will begin to jam. If the house is made of bricks, the crack can spread to the wall, causing the entire structure to collapse. That is why it is necessary to begin work on strengthening the foundation as soon as possible.

Before starting the restoration work, it is worth determining the type of crack. To do this, it is enough to clean it from dust and rinse with water. After that, you need to install a beacon on the fault. The date of consolidation is applied to it. This is necessary to determine the rate of destruction of the base. If the lighthouse remains intact within two weeks, the crack can simply be repaired. concrete mortar... If the lighthouse breaks, it is necessary to begin work to strengthen the base.

Usually cracks begin to appear in winter or spring, since it is at this time that an improperly created foundation begins to rise or settle unevenly. It is worth remembering that the foundation can burst due to many reasons, so you need to think about this problem even at the design stage of the house.

Causes of faults

Before starting the restoration work, it is necessary to determine the reason due to which the destruction began. If these actions are neglected, even after repair, the base will gradually collapse. The causes of destruction can be divided into several groups:

Technological. An example is the creation of the foundation of a house with violations of the reinforcement or installation of formwork. Also, mistakes can be attributed to the choice of the wrong grade of concrete. The laying of the foundation above the water table is also considered a technological error.
Operational. Such mistakes are made already in the process of using the constructed structure. For example, an increase in the load on the foundation as a result of the creation of the second floor. Also, a violation is an increase in humidity in the basement or poor-quality installation of a drainage system near the house.
Structural. An example is the compilation of incorrect calculations during the design of a structure. Often, the foundation begins to collapse ahead of time due to the fact that geological studies were not carried out before construction began.

Important! In order not to face the described problem before building a house, it is necessary to accurately calculate the load on the foundation.

Crack types

Cracks in the foundation of a wooden house, which can occur on the foundation, are divided into several types:

Hairy. Such cracks are hardly noticeable and have a thickness of no more than 3 mm. Their presence only indicates a change in the outer layer of the base. Such flaws can be corrected quite easily.
Horizontal. Such defects do not affect the integrity of the foundation.
Shrinkage cracks. Such defects occur when the rules for creating a foundation are violated.
Vertical. It is these cracks that are a sign that the foundation needs repair. Often they appear under the influence of groundwater on the base or due to heaving of the soil.

How to fix the problem

If you notice that the foundation of the house is cracked, you need to start strengthening it as soon as possible. Such work is carried out as follows:

first, with the help of a jack, the sagging parts of the base are raised to the design level;
after that, pits are drilled, the diameter of which is from 20 to 40 cm;
the resulting void is filled liquid glass, cement milk or hot bitumen.

This reduces the permeability of the soil, which will make the soil more stable. The described strengthening method can only be applied when using special equipment therefore it is necessary to hire professional builders for such work.

Strengthening the foundation of a stone house

The main task of repairing the base of a house is to stop the process of building upsetting. therefore, it is impossible to dig under the foundation without securing it. A method of strengthening is often used, in which a strengthening is erected from all sides. concrete belt... Such work is carried out as follows:

A trench is dug along the strip base of the house, the width of which is approximately 45 cm. During such work, the sole of the foundation must not be exposed.
After that, the foundation is cleaned of dirt and dust. In this case, all cracks must be sutured with a spatula.
Then the falling off parts of the old foundation are removed.
In the next step, the concrete surface is treated with a primer. It is worth remembering that you need to choose deep penetration formulations.
After that, holes are drilled in the foundation. The distance between them should be about 60 cm.
Anchors are driven into the created holes, which are subsequently welded to the reinforcement cage. The diameter of the reinforcement should be approximately 12 mm.
At the last stage, concrete is poured into the created trench. In order for the concrete solution to be evenly distributed over the trench, it is necessary to use a construction vibrator. It also helps to fill cracks in the old foundation. If this stage of work is neglected, voids can remain in the concrete, which will subsequently cause the foundation to collapse.

Backfilling of the soil occurs only after the concrete has completely solidified. If the cracks are not caused by subsidence or deformation of the foundation, they can be repaired with mortar and plastered.

It is worth remembering that if the work is carried out with an error, the foundation will quickly begin to collapse even if there are additional reinforcing elements of the structure.

Repair of the base of a house made of wood

The cracked foundation of a wooden house can be strengthened quite simply, since such structures can be lifted with a jack and installed on temporary supports. But it is worth remembering that if the lower logs are rotten, the structure cannot be lifted.

If the crowns are unreliable, rotten areas are cut out in them, after which the house is raised. After that, you can restore the foundation in one of the common ways. Often owners country houses a concrete bandage is installed around the base. You can also dig under the base and pour concrete pillars. This will make the foundation resistant to significant loads.

It is worth remembering that before raising the house, it is necessary to disassemble part of the roof in the place where it connects to the chimney. To carry out such work, it is better to invite professional builders.

Reinforcement with piles

In some cases, it is not possible to increase the density of the soil under the structure. In such a situation, it is necessary to strengthen the base with piles:

If the house is wooden, the whole structure is raised on temporary supports, after which a bunch of heads with a grillage occurs. After that, the building is lowered onto a new foundation.
In the case when it is necessary to strengthen the base without raising the house, "bulls" are used. They are piles that are driven obliquely from different sides of the corner. Beams are welded onto the heads of these elements, which will serve as a support for the structure.

When using piles, it is worth remembering that their length must be sufficient so that they abut against solid ground.

Repair of a monolithic slab

Monolithic foundations are destroyed quite rarely, but under certain conditions it is possible. If a serious crack appears on such a base, it can only be replaced with a new plate. No way will help stop the destruction of a monolithic foundation if it is already beginning to deform.

Conclusion

If it is impossible to completely replace the foundation for some reason, the walls are strengthened and the old sections of the slab are removed. In these places, concrete mortar is poured, which helps to temporarily preserve the integrity of the structure. can also be installed as supports concrete blocks or piles.

Foundation device for a private house
How to sheathe the foundation of a house outside
Pile foundation with grillage
Strengthening the foundation of a private house

Strengthening the foundation of a private house is necessary in two cases:

the foundation or wall of the house has cracked;
the reconstruction of the house with an increase in its mass is ahead, for which the existing foundation is not designed.

The first case is obvious. If there is a crack in the foundation, it means that something was done wrong, and an urgent need to correct the situation. And the second one is not so critical, but requires minimal preliminary calculations.

And the situations are different.

As cracks are different, so are their consequences.

In this case, there is nothing to save, but such catastrophic consequences, as a rule, if it is not the result of a serious earthquake, are preceded by primary signals in the form of small, sometimes subtle, cracks in the foundation.

There was a crack on the wall. How to react, do you need to immediately strengthen the foundation?

The formation of small cracks on the wall does not mean at all that you have problems with the foundation.

Often such cracks appear on houses made of gas silicate blocks or with the use of other cellular concrete technologies and may be associated with a violation of the technology of their laying or even the technology of their production.

The material itself has a high moisture absorption, which leads to too active drying of the plaster and increased cracking.

Large waterlogging of blocks due to poor waterproofing can also lead to these consequences.

And on other buildings, it is not the wall that often cracks, but the finishing layer. Therefore, first of all, investigate the base. And if everything is in order with him, continue observing until you are finally convinced that it is cracking. finishing or symptoms of apparent base weakness do not appear.

If this happened, we propose the following algorithm of actions.

Identification of destruction processes

1.Create the crack by removing the plaster around it.

2. At certain intervals, install gypsum beacons with a thickness of 3 - 5 mm and observe their behavior.

3. If after 2-3 weeks of observation none of the lighthouses cracks, you can sleep well, and in the intervals between sleep, choose a way to eliminate the problem.

But at the same time, it is desirable to extend the observation period to several months, and it is even better to survive the off-season in order to exclude the cause caused by the seasonal rise in groundwater.

But, above all, about natural causes. Few people know, but any, even a monolithic brick house shrinks within 1 - 5 years from the date of construction, therefore, it is possible to plaster and put windows and doors in it after at least 1 year, or even more, which is often violated ... Uneven shrinkage is possible due to differences in the recipe or ingredients of masonry mortars, and the brick itself. It is in this case that cracks can appear and the foundation has nothing to do with it.

If the reason is precisely in him, and you are convinced of this, do the same procedures with beacons with him. Perhaps this is a one-time insignificant subsidence due to the presence of small voids in the ground under it, which stopped after a slight subsidence of a part of the base.

So, what to do if cracks formed in the wall and foundation do not grow for a considerable time?

Easy repair of cracks in the wall

If cracking has not increased and cracks are small:

Remove small fragments from it and dust as much as possible with a vacuum cleaner.
Prime to maximum depth with a deep penetration primer.
Fill the crack with polymer or polymerised cement mortar available from home improvement stores.

For more complex methods, such as injection, it is better to invite specialists with the appropriate equipment and devices.

If the crack in the foundation increases, look for the cause.

The reasons for the destruction of the foundation and how to eliminate them

They can be both local (sometimes banal) and global.

If you have long horizontal cracks in the basement, then the reason may not be in the foundation, but in the blind area that you connected to it, and which rises by the forces of frost heaving, transferring deformations to the outer part of the basement.

It is clear that it will need to be redone, installing a damper tape, and repair the base.

If your corner of the house sags and there is a water drainage pipe in this place, you can call yourself a bad word and get down to the device of a point drainage. In many cases, this will stop the process.

If your foundation has cracked for no apparent reason, you should make pits in the ground at the place of the crack, as well as on the sagging coal, on both sides of it at a distance of about half a meter, to a depth just below the level of the foundation.

If water appears in the pits, then you need to immediately take care of the device drainage system otherwise no strengthening of the foundation will save you. How to do it see here.

The foundation can crack if there are so-called. voids in the ground, unnoticed during construction, because few people conduct serious geodetic studies when building individual housing. It can also happen due to incorrect calculation of loads or a violation of the technology of its device.

In these cases, it needs to be strengthened.

How to strengthen the foundation with your own hands

How to strengthen the foundation if there is a crack in the wall? Let's make a reservation right away, we will describe the methods that you can apply yourself, without the involvement of specialized organizations, and to strengthen the foundation brick house, and reinforcing the foundations of the old wooden structure. If none of them suits you, contact the professionals.

Let's consider the ways.

1.Binding the basement of the house.

It is used if the foundation has cracked in many places or before the reconstruction of the house with an increase in the load on its foundation.

At the same time, it is rarely possible to strap the foundation tape on both sides. The exception is strip foundations under wooden or frame houses which can be raised evenly by jacks.

In other cases, the foundation is tied from the outside. For this:

dig a trench along the foundation along the perimeter of the building to a depth below its occurrence by 150 - 300 mm, and if possible, then under it by 1/3 of its width;
make a drainage cushion from a layer of sand (up to 100 mm) and crushed stone (up to 100 mm);
they carry out a spatial strapping of reinforcement of 10 - 12 mm, connecting it to the existing foundation by drilling holes in it and hammering in pieces of reinforcement;
they expose the external formwork and fill with concrete of a grade not lower than M200.

A variant of such a strapping in the video:

2. Reinforcement of the foundation with a double-sided bench.

This method is also good when it is possible to lift the entire building.

Or it must be produced in sections, gradually tearing off the foundation tape so that a constant support remains on the existing foundation.

This type of amplification can be done in two ways:

with the chipping of the existing foundation and the establishment of the unloading beam in the groove;
bringing the beam under the foundation strip.

In any case, its basis is a banquet made of monolithic reinforced concrete, fed under the tape of the existing foundation, and several support and unloading beams, which are subsequently concreted outside together with the banquet.

3. Strengthening the foundation with screw piles.

For this:

tear off a section of the foundation that needs to be strengthened;
screw piles under it at an angle;
concreting both the place around the piles and under the foundation.

4. Strengthening the foundation with a reinforced concrete pad.

Most often, in this way, the sagging corner of the house is strengthened, although it is also possible to eliminate the cause of the local subsidence of the foundation section, which was formed as a result of water supply or sewage leaks that were not detected in time.

Work order:

to open the foundation on both sides of the corner by at least a meter, with an indent from it by half a meter and deepening under it by half a meter;
arrange a drainage cushion as described above;
make a spatial frame from reinforcement of at least 10 - 14 mm with a connection to the existing foundation by drilling it;
concreted to a height just below ground level.

And here is the video. It is somewhat long, but informative, and most importantly: everything was done without errors.

Elimination of cracks in the wall after repairing the foundation

After strengthening the foundation or strapping the basement, the crack in the wall must be repaired. If it is small, you can use the method described above, as well as for sealing cracks in the foundation. And if it is too large, then:

fill the gap with polymerized cement-sand mortar, you can pull it off with temporary (or permanent) ties, filling a possible gap above the foundation with the same solution;

having pierced the wall across the crack in several places, install hidden metal screeds with pins deep into entire sections of the wall and seal it with the same polymer-cement-sand mortar.

Of course, it is better to eliminate the consequences of such repairs by combining it with the decoration, or even the insulation of the facade of the house.

Dear readers, if you have any questions, ask them using the form below. We will be glad to communicate with you 😉

Sometimes cracks form in the foundation of a house. And the owners of the building, quite reasonably, begin to wonder what to do in such a situation. Not in all cases, a bursting foundation has a negative impact on the integrity of the building. But in most situations it will not be superfluous to repair it. Even if the cracks are still very small, they are hairy.

What are the cracks in the base fraught with?

If the foundation of the house is cracked for some reason, it is recommended that the crack be repaired immediately. After all, if the problem is not eliminated at the stage of its occurrence, the consequences can be the most undesirable. At best, windows and doors will begin to jam, and at worst, the crack will spread to the wall of the building, and the latter will collapse in the shortest possible time.

To avoid problems, the first thing to do is to determine the type of crack. To do this, the crack should be thoroughly cleaned of accumulated dirt and dust and rinsed with water. After that, you need to prepare a plaster beacon. It is marked with the date when the foundation cracked (or when it was first noticed). The lighthouse is set in a crack and observation begins. The behavior of the problem area of the foundation should be monitored for a sufficiently long period of time. If the beacon remains intact as a result, then the foundation is not cracked through and through and the crack does not pose a great danger. For purely aesthetic reasons, it can be sealed with cement mortar and forget about the problem.

The beacon will also help to track whether the break in the foundation is increasing. If this happens, then the foundation is cracked through and through, and something should be done immediately.

Most often, the base of the house begins to crack during the winter or spring periods of time. So, if the foundation of the house is installed incorrectly, in winter it will inevitably begin to rise unevenly, and in the spring it will also settle unevenly. For a certain period of time, the structure will successfully withstand such overloads, but after a few years a vertical or horizontal crack will surely appear.

Reasons for cracking the base

If the foundation of a brick or wooden house has cracked, you should figure out why this happened. There can be many prerequisites for base cracking:

Technological reasons

The foundation that has burst due to technical reasons is most likely to have been incorrectly poured during the laying process. Another reason for the appearance of cracks can be incorrectly mounted formwork, deep freezing of concrete in the winter, insufficient amount of used reinforcement, and much more.

Operational reasons

If the foundation suddenly cracked due to an operational reason, most likely it was due to the superstructure of the building. But in some case, the bursting of the basement vault is explained by the lack of a drainage system around the house and an increase in the level of humidity in the basement.

Structural reasons

How to strengthen the base of a building

If you do not know how to strengthen the base of the building and what to do so that even hairline cracks do not appear on it, some useful tips are unlikely to be superfluous.

Often, to strengthen the base of the house, the injection method is used using synthetic resin or ordinary cement.

To implement this method, it is necessary to drill a hole in the body of the foundation, the diameter of which is about 30 mm and maintain a distance of about 0.5 m. The depth of the hole should be selected depending on the size of the protective layer. An injector is immersed in the resulting wells and the space is filled with a solution under pressure. If there is a need to identify weakly bearing soils under the base of the house, it is additionally necessary to cement the soil under the foundation.

Eliminating gaps in pile foundations

Strengthening pile foundations and preventing their cracking is often done by converting from a pile foundation to a strip one. To carry out such an operation, concrete lintels are installed. In some cases, such lintels must be made to the full height of the base of the structure. This makes it possible for the foreseeable future to equip a basement without unnecessary difficulties.

Eliminating gaps in tape bases

If the strip foundation is cracked, in order to repair it, you will need to apply a whole range of restoration methods. In this case, it will not be enough to seal the cracked area with cement mortar, since this step will not solve the problem. It will be more expedient to strengthen the base with bored piles, the soil - with a drainage system and the arrangement of a heat-insulating blind area.

Piles, installed under the sole of the base of the house in the form of a support, reliably keep the foundation tape from subsidence. As for drainage, if everything is done correctly, it will contribute to an increase in the depth of freezing of the soil and thereby prevent the base from sinking over time.

Cracking can also be avoided by screeding the tape masonry. This technology uses the introduction directly into the body of the base of two special crutches, which are connected to each other by means of a clamp. This design works both as a screed and as a shock absorbing element. In this case, the crack can be repaired with concrete or reinforced with epoxy resin.

After the blind area, support or screed is installed, it is necessary to use a marker-marker (flag), which will fix the state of the cracked area. To do this, along the edges of the fault, you will need to attach a certain amount of epoxy resin, on which an ordinary wire is pulled. If, when the seasons change, the thread does not break, and the base of the house does not continue to sag, then the destructive process has been successfully prevented.

Elimination of plate break

If you need to close the gap of the slab foundation, you should be prepared for the dreary work ahead. The only good news is that this will only have to be done in an exceptional case, since the plates rarely crack. But if the rupture of the slab does occur, a complete or partial replacement of the base will be required.

Long-term practice clearly demonstrates the fact that it is not possible to stop the destruction of the slab. Therefore, you will have to dig under the slab, make reinforcement in those places where the split occurred, remove the damaged parts and re-fill the damaged area and mount pile or block supports.

Unfortunately, even such manipulations will not be able to give one hundred percent guarantee that the plate will not continue to collapse. Therefore, in some cases it may be necessary to rebuild the house again.

Thus, it turns out that it is much easier to avoid the occurrence of base breaks than to deal with them.

A crack may appear on the wall of the house at any moment, and the owners of the building immediately wonder how dangerous this phenomenon is. Experts distinguish between two types of cracks - passive and active. And if in the first case the defect in question can be "removed" with your own hands, then in the second you will have to involve professionals in the work. But first you need to understand what factors provoke the appearance of cracks.

Table of contents: - -

Causes of cracks in the house

It is believed that in the first five years after the construction of a house, cracks appear on the walls in 90% of cases - experts call this natural shrinkage, which does not pose any danger. But it also happens - the house has been for many years, it is quite habitable, all structures are regularly repaired, but cracks still appeared. What is the reason for this phenomenon?

Firstly, cracks in the house may appear due to violations in the technology of erecting the walls themselves. For example, if the dressing of brickwork was carried out incorrectly.

Secondly, the phenomenon under consideration on the walls of the house may be caused by non-compliance with the sequence of construction work. For example, communication systems (water supply, sewerage) are often carried out after the construction of a house - you have to dig out the foundation, which negatively affects its quality characteristics.

Thirdly, foundation settling often occurs - for example, due to compression of the foundation soils or too much pressure of the house on the foundation. This is possible if the construction of the foundation was carried out without preliminary calculations and design. The most common mistakes:

during the construction of the foundation, geodetic surveys were not carried out, the nature of the soil was not studied;
the ground resistance taken as a basis was erroneous, greatly overestimated;
geodetic surveys at the construction site were carried out in the summer - the level of groundwater rise was not calculated;
a mistake was made when choosing the type of foundation - for example, a linear one was laid instead of a columnar one;
no calculations were made of the depth of the foundation of the foundation, its thickness - usually these parameters are based on data from past construction sites;
violations of the technology of laying a sand cushion under the foundation - for example, insufficient layer thickness or poor-quality compaction of sand.

Note:cracks in an old building can also occur due to structural changes in the building. Often, owners will set up a subfloor in a non-intended foundation, and the result will be displacement / shrinkage of the foundation base.

When even a small crack is found, the main question arises - is it dangerous? It is quite simple to check this - you need to install a control beacon and observe the "behavior" of the crack for a long time. Professionals put such control beacons special - plate, which must be registered with the supervisory authorities. At home, with independent decision problems, you can use one of the following methods:

stick a strip of paper on the crack with the date of installation;
prepare a plaster mortar and put a strip of it on the crack.

And then all that remains is to wait and periodically check the status of the control beacon. It may take several months before any conclusions can be drawn - experts say that it is necessary to control the crack for 8-12 months.

How dangerous it is will be shown by the rupture of the control beacon - if there is such a phenomenon, then it will be necessary to apply complex technical solutions to eliminate the problem, if there is no rupture in the beacon, then there is no need to worry at all.

Methods for eliminating cracks in the house

Different cracks are fixed in certain ways - you need to first determine the level of the problem.

Note:if the control beacon showed a rapidly expanding crack, then no way to eliminate the cracks with your own hands will help - they will only have a short-term effect. Be sure to invite specialists to solve the problem, otherwise the consequences will be the most terrible - the collapse of the wall or the entire structure!

How to fix a crack in a house from the inside

If small cracks are found on the wall inside the house, then it is easy to fix them. You only need a primer and a special putty mesh. You need to act according to the instructions below:

we clean the surface of building materials, finishes - the wall should turn out to be perfectly clean;
we use a deep penetration primer (with this marking!) - cover the entire cleaned surface;
we glue the putty mesh on the entire prepared surface;

Note:it is necessary to cover the entire area of damage on the wall with a special mesh - even small sections of cracks should not protrude beyond its limits.

put a small layer of putty on the mesh and leave it to dry completely.

Only after the putty layer has completely dried can you start grouting the surface and gluing wallpaper or other finishing materials.

Elimination of a crack in the house from the outside of the wall

If small cracks appear outside the house, you should proceed according to the same principle as in the above option. Procedure:

the crack is cleaned from plaster or debris;
apply a layer of deep penetration primer and putty mesh on it with glue;
put putty on. But! In the case of eliminating a crack on the outer walls, it is advisable to use a special putty, reinforced - it is resistant to negative impact atmospheric changes.

If the cracks on the outside of the walls of the house have gone not only through the plaster, but also spread to the brickwork, then much more effort will have to be made. And in this case, the algorithm of actions will be as follows:

Note:the metal mesh should cover the entire surface intended for the application of a new layer of plaster. Thus, the new plaster will not blur, which will allow the finishing materials to be applied flawlessly.

This situation means only one thing - it is urgent to take drastic measures to eliminate such a problem. If you ignore all the recommendations of experts, limit yourself only to the above repair options, then the result will be the collapse of the whole house. But a beginner can also cope with the work of eliminating such complex active cracks - the main thing is to strictly adhere to the following instructions:

All the plaster from the wall at the location of the crack gets lost - be sure to maintain a distance of 50 cm on each side of the crack.
The crack is cleaned of mortar and dirt - this can be done with a metal spatula.
The cleaned crack is filled with polyurethane foam.
Fastening metal plates that will tighten the crack, preventing it from spreading further. In this case, the following points must be taken into account:

the plate must be chosen from thick, high-quality metal;
to obtain an optimal result, you will need to tighten the crack with at least 3 plates, and if the crack is long, then you may need both 4 and 5 metal plates;
plates are attached with self-tapping screws, but using dowels.

After applying the fastening metal plates, you can continue to work according to the usual algorithm - priming / fixing the reinforcing mesh / applying new plaster.

But keep in mind - such events serve as a temporary measure, since without a specific education it will not be possible to determine the cause of the appearance of active cracks. Most often, in the future, it will be necessary to carry out correction work on the foundation - it is either strengthened / strengthened, or the walls / roof of the house are raised and the base is completely replaced.

Prevention of cracks in the house

In order not to have to deal with cracks in the house, it is worth familiarizing yourself with the prevention of such a phenomenon.

Firstly, if only a house is being designed, several points need to be considered.:

carrying out geodetic surveys must be completed - this will help determine the type of soil, the location of the aquifers, the depth of the water soils;
even at the stage of drafting the project, it is necessary to provide for the possibility of building an underground / cellar under the house - this will entail serious structural changes;
it is imperative to familiarize yourself with the depth of soil freezing - the depth of the foundation will depend on this.

Secondly, when buying an old house, pay attention to the existing walls, invite specialists to assess their condition - often serious problems in the stability / reliability of the entire structure are hidden behind the small size of the cracks. One more point - there should be a blind area around the whole house - this will prevent moisture from entering the foundation, and therefore will serve as a prevention of its destruction.

The reasons leading to the appearance of cracks on brick houses, a huge variety. This is unforeseen seismic activity, and mechanical damage, and mistakes made during construction. For example, cracks can occur due to incorrect piping. brickwork load-bearing walls at home. What to do if a crack in the wall of a brick house has already appeared? In any case, the house will need both superficial, cosmetic and thorough repairs with the elimination of the causes of damage, if they appeared due to a violation of construction technology. If the base and walls of the house are not strengthened in time, then one small gap can provoke a skew of the supporting structure and irreversible deformation of the house.

Causes of wall damage

There are several main reasons for which a gap may appear in the wall.:

Regular natural settlement of the house for more than 1-2 years (of great importance is the choice of a foundation that can be erected on a specific type of soil) and natural shifts.
Subsidence and further cracking of the foundation due to regular erosion of groundwater or poorly distributed load, giving a bias by one point.
Freezing of the foundation and further destruction after the next change in temperature.
Heavy load on the brickwork. Under such circumstances, cracks appear not only on the walls, but also on the pillars. A characteristic feature of cracks that appeared due to excessive pressure is vertical direction and closeness.
Violation of the pouring technology at the stage of building the foundation of the house, poor-quality materials and their incomplete drying.

Cracking

Strengthening the foundation

Serious structural integrity issues involve a total foundation overhaul:

Strengthening the foundation of the house

First of all, along the wall with a crack to the level of the base horizon, you need to make a deep trench. The width of the trench should not be greater than the thickness of the foundation.
After that, the crack needs to be slightly widened, cleaned of weakly fortified stones and cement that adheres them.
The extended and cleaned section is drilled for the reinforcement horizontally and vertically. Reinforcement rods of suitable size must be interlaced with anchors and secured by welding. The distance between the rods depends on how wide the crack needs to be repaired.... This reinforcement is made as a further connection with the skeleton of the new reinforcing base.
Now you can make the formwork and pour concrete into it. In order to prevent new cracks, all work with the base is carried out only after it dries.... You can also sprinkle it with water occasionally so that it hardens evenly.

The solution will dry for a very long time - at least a month, only after this time you can tamp the site and make a blind area.

These measures will stop the destruction of the walls and only after they have been carried out, you can proceed to the direct elimination of defects.

Elimination of defects

Reconstruction of a brick wall

After strengthening the foundation, cosmetic cracks are repaired in brick walls ... In order to make sure that new cracks are no longer expected, it is worth sticking pieces of paper in places of damage and monitoring their integrity. If the piece of paper does not break, you can start restoring them.

Small, shallow cracks can be repaired with a cement mortar by first cleaning their edges and knocking down unstable pieces of material and adhesive mortar from them with a hammer. To make the adhesion with the new solution more durable, it is worth moistening the edges of the gap with water... The middle gaps should be sealed with a mixture of sand and cement (ratio 3: 1).

Sealing large cracks

Reinforcement with plates

In order to eliminate large (more than 1-2 centimeters wide) connectors, you need to do much more operations, which are discussed in more detail below.

First, you need to completely disassemble the entire area with a crack, starting with the top rows. All unstable and crumbling bricks must be replaced with new ones. When laying new brickwork, they need to be additionally reinforced. If a rupture occurs in a brick wall unit, reinforcement can be made using a strip of steel strip, bending its ends to the sides of the masonry and fixing it with bolts.

If it is not possible to disassemble the wall, the filling of cracks in the brick walls is carried out by throwing crushed stone with cement mortar into large crevices and strengthening with a metal strip fixed with anchors.

a - installation of a brick castle; b - brick castle with an anchor; reinforcement with plates with tension bolts (c - flat wall; d - wall corner); e - repair of a through crack with steel staples; e - repair in the place of support of the floor slab; g - strengthening of the cracked pier. 1- brick wall; 2- crack; 3 - brick castle; 4 - cement mortar; 5 - tie bolt; 6 - channel (anchor); 7 - steel plate; 8 - staples (installation step 50 cm); 9 - floor slab; 10 - brick wall; 11 - corner; 12 - finishing layer.

If the cracks that appear threaten the integrity of the building, it is necessary to perform a major reinforcement of the wall. Along the perimeter of the house, steel rods are installed with the outer and inside... The result is a kind of powerful steel belt that encompasses the entire building.

a, b - steel rods along the outer (a) and inner (b) sides of the wall; c - installation of non-tensioned tie-bars; 1 - steel rod; 2 - corner; 3 - steel base plate; 4 - channel.

If the crack is too deep, you can also use the cement injection method: for this, inch holes are drilled along the entire length of the crack at a distance of 15-20 cm from each other. A tube filled with cement mortar is placed inside the hole, and by means of a sealant or a special construction syringe, the solution is injected into the crack, filling it with itself.

Injection method

In addition, some developers use polyurethane foam ... To do this, it is blown into the depth of the crack, dries and is fixed on the outside with cement.

Sometimes cracks and breaks are so catastrophic that the wall cracks through and through. In such cases, it is also necessary to reinforce the wall from the inside. To do this, you need to deeply moisten the gap, fill the gap formed with cement and gravel and install metal linings fixed with anchors. After the solution has dried, you can start finishing the inside of the cracked wall.

So, repairing cracks in brick walls is an important and difficult task that requires large physical and material costs. Nevertheless, if such defects are not repaired in time, the house will soon simply be warped or deformed irrevocably.

Due to the movement of soil layers, the entire structure is tilted, then in one direction, then in the other direction. But the structure itself is solid, at the expense of the good.

In the event that a crack appears in the wall of the house, this may mean that the foundation is doing its job very poorly, but there are many more reasons why cracks can appear even without destroying the foundation.

If the supporting soils do not evenly accept the load, the tape will deform more than the walls of the building can withstand.

It's easy to do this:

If the markers remain intact or the cracks expand or contract, then this means that the foundation is doing its job well, and there was stress in the wall materials that splashed out in the form of cracks.

To strengthen the wall in the emergency area, use:

Reinforcement with carbon fiber or steel mesh, outside;
Metal frames or anchors;
Reinforcing elements that are laid along the strobes;
The injection method is used.

To solve this problem, it is necessary to equip a drainage system.

In the event that no measures have helped, then the problem of the occurrence of cracks must be looked for in the foundation.

The reason for this is not only the formation of cracks in the building, but also significant flaws in the foundation.

Faults formed locally in the foundation must be eliminated immediately.

It is not necessary to exclude the fact that the cause of the cracks may also be an initial miscalculation in the design or non-compliance with the requirements during the construction of the building.

So before starting construction, consider all the nuances. Well, if troubles do occur, then after reading this article you will know what to do.

We hope that the information in this article was useful to you. We wish you good luck!

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