Are you worried about spreading cracks in your basement? While cracks in your basement may not seem like a big deal, they can be indicative of a larger problem with your home's foundation. Ignoring them could be courting danger, including a total collapse of the house. Basement cracking can be attributed to different problems, each needing a special fix. Here are common causes of basement cracks and how basement foundation crack repair can help fix them.

1. Poor Drainage around Your Home's Foundation

When rainfall or melting snow does not drain properly away from your foundation, it can seep into the ground around your foundation and put pressure on your foundation walls and floors, which can cause cracks to form.

The contractor will improve drainage around the foundation using a pipe or French drain, or other means to ensure that water is diverted away from the house.

2. Tree roots are growing into your foundation

As trees mature, their roots grow outward in search of water and nutrients. If these roots grow into or under your foundation, they can put pressure on your foundation walls and floors, which can cause cracks to form.

To fix this problem, the basement foundation crack repair will need to remove the tree roots and fill the cracks. You will also need to clear trees around your home, especially those that develop strong lateral roots.

3. Settling or Shifting in the Foundation

Over time, all homes settle into the ground as their weight compresses the soil beneath them. This settling process usually happens slowly and evenly, but sometimes it can happen unevenly, putting pressure on certain parts of your foundation and causing cracks to form.

Sometimes the ground around your home can shift unexpectedly due to floods or earthquakes, which can also pressure certain parts of your foundation and cause cracks to form. The best remedy is slab jacking to fill the gaps left by settling soil.

4. Poor Construction Techniques 

Sometimes, builders cut corners to save time or money during construction, leading to things like using low-quality materials or not following building code regulations correctly. These shortcuts can lead to a weaker overall structure for your home, which means that it is more likely to develop cracks over time as its foundation settles or shifts slightly due to things like changes in moisture content or tree root growth. This problem requires a comprehensive solution to rectify those prior mistakes.

If you have a cracked basement wall or floor, you should get professional repair as quickly as possible to mitigate the risk of foundation failure. Contact a basement foundation crack repair contractor for inspection and assessment as soon as possible to determine the most effective and safest remedy.