Weeks turned into months before we were finally able to haul out most of the junk from the basement.
Even though most of the walls were covered with paneling, without the distraction of the mounds of clutter something about the parts of the basement walls that were exposed became glaringly obvious to me. The floor to ceiling crack in the corner had opened up again, less that a year after it was repaired. To make matters worse, upon close inspection, I noticed mid-line horizontal cracks on the adjacent walls. After a bit of research online, I knew it was time to call in a basement inspector.
So, we tore down the paneling and I called in the inspector. The final report wasn't good.
To make a long story short, the types and location of cracks indicated that the basement walls were shearing off of the foundation as well as collapsing inward at the horizontal cracks. You name the type of basement wall crack, it was on at least one of my walls. Here are the pics of the cracks in my basement and the significance of each:
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| Horizontal mid-line cracks indicate that the wall is being pushed inward at that point. A deviation of one inch or less from the base - to midline - to the top of the wall can be resolved by bracing the wall with steel bars spaced at aprox. 36" intervals. Note: The marking on this wall shows a displacement of 1". |
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| Inward movement of greater than 1 inch necessitates a "dig" to resolve the problem. (We are talking 8 ft deep trench dug on the outside of the house.) Notice the displacement on this wall. |
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| The original crack on the SE corner that kept getting bigger. This is where the foundation problem began, the walls are shearing off the foundation at this point. (Note: Shear cracks 'tear' their way though bricks instead of cracking along mortar lines.) |
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| The secondary shear cracks on the south wall that formed to relieve stress on the wall caused by the original shear crack. |
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| Last but not least, the step crack (runs along mortar lines) that connects the two shear cracks. The base of this wall (not shown in photo) is shearing off of the foundation by aprox 1". |
For further information - and really cool diagrams - check out Tom Fezia's article in the ASHI Reporter: Basement Cracks and Leaks
