As most homeowners with poured-in-place concrete foundations can attest: Cracks in basement walls are a fact of life. These cracks—due to drying shrinkage, thermal movement, and other causes—usually are minor and result in few problems. But over time, even minor cracks can grow larger and cause big headaches, such as loss of structural integrity or, more commonly, water leakage.

The good news is that in most cases homeowners can now have these cracks fixed permanently—without the need for costly, disruptive excavation—using low-pressure injection of epoxy or polyurethane foam repair materials. See our easy to use do-it-yourself kit including instructional CD by clicking here.

“Most basements eventually leak. Even if a crack is not leaking now, eventually water will find it,” says Lou Cole, president of Emecole Inc., Romeoville, Ill., a manufacturer of epoxies and polyurethane foams for all types of foundation crack repair. Cole says that in the Midwest, crack injection has been an accepted way of tackling these repairs for many years, and more and more foundation repair contractors around the country are adopting the technique because it is cost-effective, reliable, and permanent.

Emecole’s customers—primarily residential waterproofing contractors have less than a 1% callback rate for crack repair work. “More than 99% of the time, crack injection will fix the problem,” says Cole. Most contractors in the Chicago area (as well as other parts of the country) warranty the injection repair for the life of the structure, he adds.