CONCRETE REPAIR & CRACK INJECTION
Concrete Protection for Basements, Foundations & Retaining Walls Using Crack Injection
- Concrete is one of our most durable man made building materials being both strong and inexpensive.
- Concrete is formed from cement and water and is cured to solidify.
- However as concrete hardens, it also shrinks.
- Cracking occurs at both extremely low and high temperatures, as drying too quickly will crack the concrete and so will drying unevenly.
- Settlement will also cause cracking if the soil beneath the foundation is not stable enough to support the structures weight.
Concrete Leaks
Shrinkage & movement are one of the major reasons why concrete & cement block foundations & retaining walls crack.
Concrete is NOT Waterproof
- Untreated concrete has one basic and fundamental flaw: as it hardens it becomes porous and acts like a giant sponge.
- Absorption testing using concrete samples (40mm x 40mm x160mm) standing in 3mm water deep showed that ordinary concrete samples became completely saturated within a couple of hours (BS EN 934-2:2001).
Concrete Acts Like a Sponge
Microscopically there are a multitude of passages through concrete.
- There are small cracks around the aggregates.
- There are small fissures in concrete from shrinking that occurs during it's curing stage.
- There are voids where the water in the original mix once was.
- If curing takes place too quickly, the concrete created will be filled with numerous capillaries.
- The same is true if you use a high water to cement ratio (more water).
Concrete, even if uncracked, still allows water vapour to migrate through.
Isn't Quality (higher MPA rating) Concrete Waterproof?
Even the highest quality concrete contains a network of pores and capillaries.
Increasing the density of the concrete can only reduce the permeability of the concrete - not eliminate it.
Concrete Needs to be Waterproofed
- Waterproofing is the only way to permanently stop water and water vapour from entering concrete.
- Concrete waterproofing is accomplished using many different techniques, different methods of application and different products.
How to Fix Leaking Basements, Foundations & Retaining Walls
There are two ways to waterproof concrete - :
crack injection & exterior excavation.
Exterior Excavation
- As exterior excavation is costly, highly invasive and destructive to the adjacent external area , but there are times when it is the only viable solution to solve water leaks.
- Because of the heavy cost and the amount of difficult works involved in excavating, crack injection is the most optimal solution for most basement & below ground leaks.
Crack Injection from the Inside
- Crack injection uses high pressure application of either epoxy or polyurethane to seal concrete cracks.
Using Crack Injection to Fix Leaks
- Crack injection, then, is the most viable method for waterproofing a leaking basement and fixing cracking at most areas within the basement.
- It is easier and less expensive than exterior excavation and involves a non-invasive procedure.
- Crack injection is done within the inside, and, as such, is much faster and more practical.
- There are two methods of crack injection, and the procedure and comparisons of both are elaborated below.
What is Crack Injection?
- Concrete basements & foundations are commonly repaired by either a polyurethane crack injection or an epoxy crack injection.
- These crack repair methods are popular due to low cost, high reliability, and because excavation is not required.
- Both epoxy and polyurethane are considered as chemical resins.
- In the formation of both these resins, two components are used.
- Through blending these chemical components together immediately before the application, a reaction occurs that will fix the concrete crack.
Epoxy is most often used to fix structural foundation issues as these products cure to a rigid compound.
Whereas polyurethanes are used to fill an entire crack.
The decision to use one or the other is completely up to the qualified contractor’s prerogative.
Epoxy Crack Injection
- Epoxy is mixed from two components, a resin and a hardener, in the mix of two parts epoxy to one part hardener.
- It takes an epoxy injection between three to four hours to completely cure, at a temperature of around 77 degrees Fahrenheit (or 25 degrees Celsius).
- Epoxy, in essence, is a glue.
- Once the chemical is completely cured, it produces a strong bond and strongly resembles a hardened plastic.
Polyurethane Crack Injection
- Polyurethane has several advantages over epoxy – it expands to fill the entire crack all the way to the outside of the wall, can be used when water is present and remains flexible when set so it doesn’t crack when minor wall movement occurs.
- Filling the crack all the way to the outside soil is particularly important because when the urethane expands outside the foundation wall it creates the same type of “positive side” seal on the crack that used to be available only from the old exterior method described earlier.
- Polyurethane (also known as urethane when used for basement crack operations) also typically has two components, but may have more. The two elements are the resin and an activator (also known as the accelerator).
- The mixture of polyurethane can vary a great deal between contractors, or even vary depending on the severity of the cracks in the basement.
- Because of this difference, there are very different outcomes of polyurethane upon curing. Many become extremely rigid, while others can be rubbery or powdery.
- The most optimal appearance of cured polyurethane is that of the rubbery constitution. Because of the vast differences in mixtures of this resin, there is no set curing time across the spectrum.
- That said, most polyurethane mixtures will cure within 15 to 45 minutes, but these figures will vary a great deal depending on both basement temperature and external moisture.
Crack Injection Method
- As with any waterproofing method, good preparation is critical.
- Correct preparation allows the chemical resin to fully adhere to the concrete surface.
- The BSA experts will set several injection pins into the crack at intervals before injecting the high pressure resin into each of those ports until the crack is completely sealed.
- As such, the process of waterproofing using a high pressure resin crack injection process will guarantee improved foundation stability.
- It is also possible to use carbon fiber reinforcing staples in the process to make the process as seamless as possible.
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the best crack Injection Method for Concrete repair?
- There is no simple answer to this question.
- Given the reliability of the epoxy injection crack repair, which has proven itself over time, our company typically recommends this injection crack repair wherever possible.
- However, the versatility of the polyurethane injection makes this type of injection more appropriate in other circumstances.
- Both of these injection repairs are highly reliable and effective at stopping basement leaks.
- Click on this hyperlink for a comparison of the epoxy versus the polyurethane crack injection.
Epoxy is most often used to fix structural foundation issues as these products cure to a rigid compound.
Whereas polyurethanes are used to fill an entire crack.
The decision to use one or the other is completely up to the qualified contractor’s prerogative.
- Concrete Protective Coatings
- Concrete Repair & Treatments
- Crack Injection
- Remedial & Remediation
Our expert team are experienced in identifying and treating the cause of concrete deterioration, whether due to carbonisation, chemical attack or mechanical damage.
Concrete Maintenance & Structural Repairs
- BSA are Registered Building Practitioners trained & certified by both manufacturers and industry.
- BSA use high performance products that are supported by manufacturer technical advice and on-site support.
- We provide on-going concrete repair and crack injection services to the Eastlink & Mullum Mullum Tunnel
Providing structural concrete repairs
to infrastructure, industrial & commercial sectors.
Our Systems to Waterproof Concrete
- Over the past two decades there have been many technological advances in waterproofing materials and systems.
- Liquid Applied Membranes seek to overcome the shortcomings in older conventional methods like PVC and sheet membranes.
- Generally the new generation waterproofing technology, Liquid Applied Membranes (LAMs), rely on polymer-based materials that are extremely adhesive creating a seamless barrier around structures.
- Liquid Rubber is a premium quality elastomeric liquid applied waterproofing membrane.It is specifically designed to be a robust, long life, UV resistant, flexible waterproofing membrane.
Where other waterproofing products dry & crack with age,
Liquid Rubber will remain flexible as the day it was applied.
Concrete Repair Products
- Building Services Australia use a number of robust long life products for concrete repair systems.
- These applications retain flexibility and extreme adhesion and so accommodate the thermal expansion and contraction of concrete surfaces.
- We use the latest generation of advanced polymers that stay flexible enough to absorb the continuous and normal movement that takes place in concrete.
- And many of our concrete repair systems are at least 3 times harder than concrete itself.
Builders & Waterproofing Company
Melbourne
- Building Service Australia is a highly experienced team with a proven track record of concrete waterproofing systems.
- We have systematized procedures to create a complete waterproofing system for a wide range of applications.
- BSA is familiar with proprietary waterproofing systems and experienced in a variety of construction, industrial and infrastructure environments.
- Using approved applicators gives access to product warranties and our installation guarantees.
Approved Waterproofers & Building Contractors
BSA Reputation Is For Providing “Can-Do” Approach To Complex & Challenging Remedial Projects.
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