sama80•22d ago

Hot take: should you fix a cracked foundation yourself or call a pro?

I was working on a house in Lethbridge last month and found a crack in the basement wall that was about 8 feet long. I figured I could just patch it with some hydraulic cement for under $50, so I gave it a shot. After 3 tries, the crack kept seeping water again right through the patch. I ended up calling a contractor who injected epoxy and it cost me $1,200. Has anyone else tried to DIY a foundation fix and had it backfire?

3 comments

3 Comments

julia_carter22d ago

Oh man, same thing happened to me last year. I tried patching a crack in my own basement with hydraulic cement and it actually held for about two months. Then we got a big rainstorm and water came pouring through like nothing was ever there. Ended up paying $1,400 for an epoxy injection and it's been bone dry since. The DIY route feels like you're saving money until you realize you're just buying time before the real fix anyway.

jade22622d ago

Ha, yep that sounds about right. DIY fixes and basements are like oil and water, literally I guess. You spend a weekend covered in mud and swearing at a tube of caulk, only for nature to laugh in your face two months later. It's the home improvement equivalent of putting a bandaid on a bullet wound. But hey, at least you got a fun story out of it and a lighter wallet eventually, so that's a win, right?

the_kevin22d ago

I tackled a similar crack last year and the key was figuring out what kind of crack it actually was. A hairline crack from settling is one thing, but an 8 foot crack sounds like a structural issue that hydraulic cement will never hold. Once I had a pro do the epoxy injection it was a totally different story, dry ever since like it never happened.