Got a crack about 1/8" wide running from the top of a window to the top of the brick (about 8-10" long). What's the best way to fix this or keep it from getting worse? Good ol' caulk or is there something better.

 

There is stuff you can buy in a caulk tube that is made for this. My local hardware store had it.

 

Yeah, I don't have the name handy, but I got it at Lowes. It matched my mortar on the house almost exactly. It dries pretty much like concrete too. I used to to caulk in a new dryer vent, just didn't want white or clear caulk, so I got that stuff.

It's either concrete or mortar repair in a caulk tube. Using anything else is going to be an eyesore.

 

have your foundation fixed before it gets worse.

 

excellent advice. nothing in a caulking gun is going to keep the earth from moving.

 

I have a buddy that has to have the foundation under the chimney of his house adjusted every summer when the weather gets really dry for a while.

He made the mistake of building a two story house with a huge rock fireplace on a nice hill overlooking his pasture and lake. no bedrock for about 30 ft.

 

When it gets as dry as you folks in AL have had you really need to put a soaker hose a couple of feet from your foundation and keep some moisture in the soil. Sometime that's impossible, but the concrete patch caulking will seal it and allow for some flex, 'cause it will probably move again when you finally get adequate moisture.

 

If the home was built correctly, on engineered fill, D2 Cats comments are useless. If the home was built correctly you don't have any need to "water" your foundation. It's bull. You need to stabalize your foundation, and then use an elastomeric caulk to fill in the crack. Do not use any substance that will dry hard. That will promote more cracking.

 

It's a concrete slab on a cotton field. No hills at all. Its about 1.5 years old too.

 

All foundations settle a little when they are new(even properly engineered ones). You probly just got a settling crack fill it with something flexible that matches. Perhaps you have a builders warrenty that covers it?

My .02- water and foundations BAD JUJU.

 

My house has been there for 30 plus years. on an exceptionally dry year, I will still get a new crack in the drywall

the best you can hope for is to get some solid pillars on bedrock to support the load. My house doesn't have a slab floor (at first I wished it did), I now go under the house and drive a wedge as I need to to solve cracks.

 

If you do a Google search for watering your foundation you'll find more information then you'll have time to read. Here's one.

Texas Department of Insurance
Summaries of the News Releases for 2000 follow.


Drought Playing Havoc with Homeowners

News Release Date: 9/11/2000
Category: Homeowners

Shifting soils from the heat and lack of rainfall in Texas have cracked the foundations of some homes all across the state. Foundation repair companies, insurance agents and lawmakers have been hearing from homeowners from Corpus Christi to Wichita Falls who describe how the drought-like conditions have cracked foundations, outside brick walls and interior walls.

Oftentimes, the first sign of trouble for homeowners is a door or window that won´t open or close or a small crack that appears inside the house. As the drought continues, the cracks in the soil widen and the problems for homeowners multiply.

Sam Nelson, chief engineer at the Texas Department of Insurance, said homes built over fill dirt or clay soil are the ones most likely to develop problems.

" Visualizing what the bottom of a dry stock pond looks like with its huge cracks will give you an idea of what´s happening around many concrete foundations," Nelson said. "After this long drought period, the soil experiences a ´shrinking effect.´ Once the rains return, the increase in moisture causes a ´swelling effect´ creating movement in the foundation."

Nelson said homeowners can prevent foundations from cracking by maintaining a proper moisture level around the perimeter of the home. Watering the general area twice a week for twenty minutes is sufficient. Nelson said barriers also may need to be dug near a home to prevent the roots of large trees from pressing against foundations as they tend to rise during drought-like conditions.

Homeowners may want to contact an independent licensed engineer to assess the damage to their homes if they believe they have a cracked foundation. Repairing a cracked foundation can cost thousands of dollars. Not repairing a cracked foundation may result in the inability to sell the home or finding the home uninsurable.


Unfortunately for homeowners, typical residential property insurance policies have exclusions addressing cracked foundations resulting from drought or shifting soils. Gary Julian, a homeowner insurance specialist with the Texas Department of Insurance said the exclusion rules out coverage for losses to a home caused by settling, cracking, bulging, shrinkage or expansion of foundations, walls, floors, ceilings, roof structures, walks, drives, curbs, fences, retaining walls or swimming pools.

However, if a foundation is damaged due to a water leak under the slab unrelated to ground movement, most homeowner policies pay for the ensuing loss caused by water damage.

 

It is only a 1/8" wide, 8-10" long right? Just fill it and take a look at it in a couple of months. If it were a crack 1/2" wide and 2-3' long I would think about checking the footing.

 

They should be horse wipped for even addressing watering your foundation. Call any good testing lab and ask their opinion. I've built every thing from hospitals, schools, AT&T buildings, AA baseball stadiums and after 35 years of experience, my .02's worth is watering your slab is BS. And yes I built all over Texas. I have also built my share of custom homes, apartments, and spec houses. Foundations have shifted and cracked due to improper prep. of the building pad. Waterering your slab is a band aid for shotty building practices of unqualified home builders. You need to stabilze your soil.

 

Hey Need more torque; got any connections there at Redstone. I've been trying to get on there but no such luck.