Foundation Crack Repair With Steel Dowels
Concrete foundation cracks are common occurrence yet not all concrete foundation cracks will need steel dowels installed to stabilize the cracks. However if your concrete foundation crack is located on a corner then a steel dowel installation is usually recommended.
A foundation crack repair can be undertaken in a concrete foundation by the placement of a steel dowel across or perpendicular to the foundation crack.
A dowel is a piece of steel that is inserted into a hole drilled into a concrete foundation in order to bridge a crack in the concrete foundation wall. The purpose is to re-connect the foundation on either side of the crack and to help hold the foundation together in this vulnerable and prone area.
Below are photos of a foundation dowel job we performed for one of our clients.
This photo shows the return of the main photo on the page. The crack extended around the corner of a garage foundation where it joined a basement foundation wall. This is a typical area of movement.
We drilled several holes into the foundation wall across the crack. The foundation repair dowels should be evenly spaced on either side of the crack after insertion into the holes.
This can be a difficult operation some times and care must be taken not to further damage the foundation concrete.
Next we cut slots into the foundation wall above and below the drilled holes. This allowed for the deformed foundation crack repair dowels to offset into the foundation wall to secure the dowel bar.
These are the steel dowels that were manufactured and deformed with an L shape end to fit into the slots cut in the foundation. They have been epoxy coated to provide lasting protection.
A two part epoxy is now pumped into the holes to anchor the dowels in place. The dowels would likely hold on their own but the epoxy helps to fill in every crack and crevice assuring the tightest bond possible.
The epoxy coated foundation crack repair dowel is placed into position before insertion into the hole filled with epoxy.
Pushing the foundation crack repair dowel further into the hole.
All foundation crack repair dowels have been inserted fully into the drilled holes, seated into the cut out foundation slots and solidified into place with epoxy. The only work left to perform is the coating the foundation and final clean-up.
Finished stucco applied to foundation to hide cracks, slots and holes. Another seamless repair by Olde World Masons!
