I noticed on the outside of my home there are cracks alongside the cement on the bottom of the house. I noticed it a while ago, but it seems like the crack has gotten lmuch longer. Is this something I should be worried about? This is a failry old house. Someone told me the house is "settling" What does that mean? And I thought only new houses can settle.
What can I used to patch up these cracks? Cause I believe ants are coming into my home as well. I am looking for a affordable solution and cannot afford a professional to do it, unless this is really a hugh project.
Thanks!
2007-03-24 06:56:50 · 4 answers · asked by tropikanagirl 3 in Home & Garden ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
The crack can be patched with a hydraulic cement mixture. This can be found at most home stores and hardware stores and can be bought in large bags or small 15 pound buckets. Follow the directions exactly on preparing the crack, ( dig down to the bottom of the crack, remove all loose material with a chisel or screwdriver and widen as necessary so there is enough space for the product to expand and seal the crack.) You must use a hydraulic cement mixture as this type will expand and force itself into the crack, regular cement or concrete will flake off and not be very effective. Settling can be caused by rain runoff from your roof, be sure you have gutters and the downspouts are draining at least 4 feet from your foundation
2007-03-24 07:17:38 · answer #1 · answered by bluestreak0146 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Home depot, buy premixed cement/concrete mix, just add water. Dig down to the bottom of the crack and fill it with the concrete/mortar/cement whatever you want to call it. Old houses do settle. wirthout seeing it I cant tell if something else is causeing this crack, but that is a quick relatively cheap fix. As far as the ants, they dont need a crack in the foundation to get into the house.
2007-03-24 14:04:09 · answer #2 · answered by Papa Joe 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It might be worth having someone take a look, due to the age of the house, it might be subsidence.
If not, I would get rid of the ants first. You can buy a ant killer from the supermarket, and then just fill in the cracks with cement.
If you can't have someone take a look right now, take a photo of it and then take another in a month's time. if there is any change you might need to have someone in to do the work. It can take a month or so to completely get rid of ants anyway, the buggers will keep trying to find places to get in. We had the same problem in our old house, the were coming in under the front door, so we removed the fascia put down loads of ant killer and put it all back, no more ants. though the builders who came in to pull our old house down thought someone had lost a stash of something when the pulled it all down... We moved to the house next door - I really like the area. and we had problems with subsidence in the old place....
2007-03-24 14:11:44 · answer #3 · answered by frost7216 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If the crack isn't getting any bigger, I'd just slap some cement on it and let it be. Make sure your basement isn't having moisture problems due to the crack.
2007-03-24 14:12:40 · answer #4 · answered by EvErY_nAmE_gONe 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋