How to Repair a Crack in a Concrete Foundation | This Old House

Fixing a fractured foundation with This Old House general contractor Tom Silva. (See below for a shopping list and tools.)

Shopping List for Repairing a Crack in a Concrete Foundation:

Tools for Repairing a Crack in a Concrete Foundation:

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How to Repair a Crack in a Concrete Foundation | This Old House

[absolutetruthgirl]

Doing it RIGHT NOW!! following the video and I should be done today! I'm a 58 year old woman btw.

[harryschultze]

I'm glad that a lot of people see this for what it is, an improper fix. He should know better. That's a cosmetic fix at best and it isn't going to last long, I can tell you that from experience. You can't always believe what you watch on This Old House. There are different ways of fixing that below grade Foundational crack but that ain't one of them.

[americanbasementsolutions]

That looks easy and fast to do. Repairing cracks in the basement as early as possible can prevent major structural problems in your house.

[ru]

It's crazy because Tom is a master carpenter, yet here he is doing foundation work

[Sjrick]

Tommy adding the acrylic is something ive never seen before. But Tommy knows his stuff for sure.

[joypowell]

Thank you so much for posting these directions. We fixed a crack in our wall tonight - I think the hardest part was digging out and chiseling the crack along the outside of the house - it went down about 4 feet. The power mixer for the mortar/acrylic mix was a great tip!

[lilturk]

It must be awesome to have someone like Tom to come into your house to do repairs. You'll have peace of mind knowing that it's done right, and you get to learn something in the process.

[joshuachiriboga]

Excellent way to hide a problem. Surely know one will be the wiser.

[IgorRyltsev]

Realtor: “Just a tiny foundation crack, nothing to worry about” 😂😂😂

[mackshinoda]

I'm not good in English, but this man make me 99% I'm understand what he teach. Thanks a lot Sir...

[wingmanalive]

Just my $.02. I'm an ex roofer, and been in construction for 30+ years. Not to mention owning 3 homes. I have basement water issues in my current home but only during HEAVY rain. Like once every couple years when we get 10 inches in 2 days. I can say in confidence most water issues inside are resolved from the outside in proper drainage. Leaky gutter joints, clogged downspouts, improper grading, ect. From experience the majority of water in the basement problems can be fixed from the outside. Now, the size of the cracks shown here are big enough for rodents to enter so there are other issues to address as well. I'm talking about hairline cracks in the slab floors or walls. Just enough to let water in to be a pain. Bottom line is keep the water outside away from foundation walls and you have 75% of your battle fought.

[robopaul]

Legend has it that foam is still expanding to this day

[migueljusamazin]

All these people saying this man is doing a horrible job, yet none of them got their own tv show, if y’all so good, why aren’t you guys getting paid like this man is. One thing I learned about this business is every mechanic or carpenter will never admit when someone does a great job, you can fix the wall the same as they did and make it look exactly the same as theirs, and they’ll still say your doing a horrible job lol. Old man got experience and been in the business for a long time, listen to him

[lipevolcom]

"If the foam keeps expanding, you gonna have your whole basements insulated" hahahah

[SurferKenTV]

“Had a little bit of extra mortar so let’s mold a life size statute of Bob Villa in your front lawn.”

[lunarmodule]

I would go with expanding epoxy. It seals AND glues. It actually make the area of the crack stronger than the rest of the foundation.

[DBLOCKDBLOCK-ufyy]

This man is the answer to everything !!! All companies should pay this man

[augustreil]

Everybody is commenting how bad this "fix" is. Sure it would be better to jack the house, dig out the soil, cut out the foundation, put up concrete forms, rebar and concrete, drains around the entire house etc. Maybe the guy doesn't have 60 grand laying around ?

[turquito]

I like your expertise, I watched your video and I liked the way you get wet the walls for making sand mix bonds with cement, not to many "pros" does it.
I will continue watching more videos from you.
thank you very much for making of you your best.

[somdhabah]

You guys are the best...Second to none..Keep up the good work.