house92

The concrete slab between my support wall at the basement exit is three years old. Last year, it had a hairline crack the entire length. This winter, I noticed the crack is about 1/8 inch. What can I do? Is there something that can fill the crack and prevent further damage. Is the fact that the slab is between two support walls a plus, or will it continue to damage just as if it were a side walk?

mudmixer

At 3 years old, you could have water under the slab that caused the second crack. Do you have drain tile around the foundation (inside oe outside)?

The first crack was probably a shrinkage crack.

The floating slab inside is a plus if it poured on top of the footings since it prevents any lateral movement of the wall base and footing.

Dick

house92

What should I do? Is there a concrete repair caulk?

GaTomCat

i seriously doubt if you have any kind of major problem...it is the nature of concrete to crack...that is the only guarantee i can give on a home is that your concrete will crack....we try to control it with control or expansion joints...if the width of the crack is not increasing....i would not worry...you can pick up different filler at lowe's ...home depot...the proble is it will stick out like a sore thumb...if that doen's bother you ...let it be...if it does....take a cold chisel and lightly chip a groove in the crack...fill it smooth and after it dries...paint the concrete with a masonry paint....the floor will look great and people will not zero in on the crack repair..

house92

The crack has went from a hairline to about 1/8 of an inch. I'm just hoping it doesn't get worse.

itsreallyconc

don't obsess about this little crk - at least we've still got homes, right ? just to ' see ' what's happening, spread some plaster of paris across the crk & watch - if THAT crks, you've got movement you can measure then come back & post again !

it is inherent conc will crk to relieve stress of tension as it should/must,,, in practice, most conc crks due improper jnt patterns,,, of course there are other reasons but that's the lead dog,,, all factors're certainly controllable by the installer,,, we still maintain there's not any paint worth a tinker's dam for conc - coatings, yes; paint, no - ESPECIALLY on floors subject to sub-slab moisture,,, do it right & pay the bucks for the correct mtls OR stay on the porch w/the puppies !

at least, that's been MY experience thru 38yrs of repairing conc.