Foundation Crack Repair South Dakota

Crack Alert! How to Prevent Further Damage

It may seem like all cracks are the same, but this is untrue. All cracks are different. They have various causes and should be fixed and taken care of differently. Each one says something different about your home and its foundation. There are at least 12 different types of cracks, but this also depends on your home type, whether it be a brick or concrete wall.

Here is a list of cracks and what they mean.

1) Angled and Horizontal

This crack may mean that your foundation walls are bowing. It is usually caused by moisture in the soil putting pressure on the walls.

2) Angled

This crack may mean that your home is starting to settle. Settling is caused by soil moving, leaving voids behind that cause your home to settle down into the voids left. In fact, settling is one of the more common problems.

3) Vertical and Horizontal

This crack may mean two different things: bowing walls or settlement. Either way, you should have a professional help you determine what this crack means.

4) Center Converging

This crack is basically the same as the last (number 3, vertical and horizontal), except that this is with a brick wall. As with the previous, you should seek professional help to determine whether it means bowing or settlement.

5) Horizontal

This crack signals that you have bowing walls, but because this wall is brick instead of concrete, it should be handled differently.

6) Stair Step

This crack shows that you may have settlement or heaving (an upward movement of your foundation). This common crack in brick walls may happen anywhere you have brick walls. Anywhere it happens in your home usually signifies settlement or heaving.

7) Vertical

This also shows that you have settlement or heaving. This is just the concrete version of the stair-step crack. As with numbers 3 and 4, you should contact a professional to identify whether it is settlement or heaving, this crack, as well as 6.

8) Vertical

This is similar to crack number 7, except this crack just signals settlement. There are no signs of heaving.

9) Vertical (Wider at the top)

This crack means that you have side settlement, a settlement in which just one side of your foundation is starting to settle. The void is just under one side, causing it to sink.

10) Wider at the Top than Bottom

This crack shows that you have a differential settlement. This means the foundation is not moving as a whole; the settlement is uneven, causing uneven cracks.

11) Vertical (Wider at Bottom)

This crack signals that you might have a center settlement. This type of settlement means that the center of your foundation is sinking, but the outside is not. This means there is a void directly under the center of your foundation, causing cracks and a sinking floor.

12) Stair Step

This crack is just another type of crack that may show that you have differential settlement. Just because you have one problem does not mean that all the cracks will look the same. This is just another crack that may show up.

Professional Foundation Crack Repair South Dakota

This is just a quick and simple guide to the many different types of cracks. Call us if you need help identifying your specific wall or floor cracks and what they mean. Identifying your cracks is the first step in having a safe and secure home. We offer solutions such as wall anchors to help with all your foundation crack repair needs in South Dakota. Rapid Foundation Repair promises that we will make your bad foundation failure experience a distant thought. We provide great service, quality products, and wonderful results. Call us today!