Crack in the Wall

[Old Croc]

Seeking local advice on the best way to repair a crack in the garden wall. Built with columns deep in ground, concrete beams top and bottom and filled with rendered blocks. The crack goes right through and, as can be seen, even split the beam.

I think it was caused by an earthquake some years ago, but was covered by a bush so out of sight, out of mind. 

The lady wants to buy some of that expanding foam filler, she's seen it on the shopping channel!

I think grout or cement would be more appropriate. I don't want to rebuild, just fix it well enough to paint over.

Thanks for your advice.

 

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Edited April 26, 2020 by Old Croc

[sanemax]

Is the crack getting bigger ?

[Old Croc]

AS I said, it's been there for some years and I haven't noticed if it is getting bigger. 

It is possible it's expanded in that time as it seems to be separated at the top beam. 

[Artisi]

Replant the bush, all problems solved. 

 

Joking aside, I would look for a flexible water-proof filler, although not sure if such a thing is available in LOS. 

[bankruatsteve]

I wouldn't go with the foam stuff - you would be wasting most of it.  I wouldn't use silicone either.  You could fill with just anything else that "fills".  Wall putty, cement, render, river mud, etc.

 

Might need to ruff it a bit after dry if it's shiny compared to the wall and you want to touch-up paint.

Edited April 26, 2020 by bankruatsteve

[canopy]

The foundation has given way--you can see the right side has sunken. If it stays about there rather than continuing to sink you have a chance. But each side will tend to move, shrink and expand slightly differently over time. Thus using a hard cement based filler will be prone to cracking all over again. And while foam will fill up the crack, it will be ugly and after hardening will be susceptible to a gap opening again. A flexible polyurethane joint is a good fit if you want to do it once, do it right. Sika has products that are cement grey that look good without coatings and can also be painted. Note an angle grinder is often used to make a better looking joint rather than just a chisel as shown in this clip.

 

 

[Pungdo]

@canopy, have you seen this anywhere here in Thailand ?? I spent a lot of time repairing cracks in our house after 1 comer sunk badly about 8 1/2 years ago and have just discovered that one has opened up again and this Sikaflex may be the best best, anything else will just crack again at some stage.

[carlyai]

23 minutes ago, Pungdo said:

@canopy, have you seen this anywhere here in Thailand ?? I spent a lot of time repairing cracks in our house after 1 comer sunk badly about 8 1/2 years ago and have just discovered that one has opened up again and this Sikaflex may be the best best, anything else will just crack again at some stage.

Hi, can't say I've seen it in Thailand, but there must be a product that is very similar. 

Maybe the one I have enclosed a picture of will do the job?

[CharlieH]

My go to .......

[rwill]

I would not use the expanding foam.  I have used grout to fill cracks inside my house and it has worked good.  But the products shown above may be better.

However if the fence keeps settling it will crack again.

[geoff65]

TOA acrylic filler as per previous pic post shows, this is the one i have been using and works fine for minor to mid size cracks but any bigger you will have to take another approach to repair it.There are many more on the market just as good. Just make sure you v the crack out a bit with a small concrete cutting disc so you get get enough filler inside the crack. Even a coal chisel will do the job.

[geoff65]

2 hours ago, rwill said:

I would not use the expanding foam.  I have used grout to fill cracks inside my house and it has worked good.  But the products shown above may be better.

However if the fence keeps settling it will crack again.

Won't work for long, concrete doesn't expand.

[Max69xl]

19 hours ago, Artisi said:

Replant the bush, all problems solved. 

 

Joking aside, I would look for a flexible water-proof filler, although not sure if such a thing is available in LOS. 

You can by the flexible filler/putty at every large DIY shop, like for example HomePro.

[Susco]

Toa has a 2 component fiber cement

 

https://www.toagroup.com/en/product/product-details?url=toa-rebar-anchoring

[sanemax]

13 hours ago, canopy said:

The foundation has given way--you can see the right side has sunken.

Also the crack is bigger at the top and smaller at the bottom which confirms what you say

(Doesnt actually confirm it, just couldnt think of a more suitable word )

[OneeyedJohn]

Don't do anything, it adds character, like a scar on ur face.

[Pedrogaz]

Nothing to worry about....just keep small children and animals out of your garden.

[chilly07]

Where's the nearest expansion  joint? If none then don't worry  you now have one. Or stick a telltale on it and monitor. 

[AgMech Cowboy]

5 hours ago, Pungdo said:

@canopy, have you seen this anywhere here in Thailand ?? I spent a lot of time repairing cracks in our house after 1 comer sunk badly about 8 1/2 years ago and have just discovered that one has opened up again and this Sikaflex may be the best best, anything else will just crack again at some stage.

@Pungdo There is a Sika Thailand website:   https://tha.sika.com/content/thailand/main/en/solutions_products/02/02a002.html 

and I also read that Sika products are available at Lazada.

I wish my problem was a fence.

I bought a bag of the patch that CharlieH suggested, but haven't gotten started yet. HomePro curb service really sucked. I didn't get the tools I needed because I couldn't 'shop', so I'm going to try the Lazada route if the stores don't open on the 1st.

[AgMech Cowboy]

5 hours ago, Pungdo said:

@canopy, have you seen this anywhere here in Thailand ?? I spent a lot of time repairing cracks in our house after 1 comer sunk badly about 8 1/2 years ago and have just discovered that one has opened up again and this Sikaflex may be the best best, anything else will just crack again at some stage.

@canopy see the above and respond please.

[bodga]

6 hours ago, Pungdo said:

@canopy, have you seen this anywhere here in Thailand ?? I spent a lot of time repairing cracks in our house after 1 comer sunk badly about 8 1/2 years ago and have just discovered that one has opened up again and this Sikaflex may be the best best, anything else will just crack again at some stage.

Global House  stock  this,  but  personally  i'd  run  a  grinder down  both  sides and  re  render  it IF it's  stopped  moving.  You  should  put  some  fibreglass  mesh down the joint first, it's  self  adhesive.

[Old Croc]

Thanks for all the replies.

That Sikaflex product, or something similar, seems to be the best solution. It's apparently available at Homepro and we have one quite close (within our lockdown area) so will give it a try.

[Road Warrior]

my comment as a retired con.director from uk   think you will find is root damage under the beam or between blockwork and ring beam . first remove the adjacent trees /bushes if then settle is complete just fill will any cement base material 

 

 

[bankruatsteve]

All in all, it's just another crack in the wall.  ????

[KhaoYai]

Most likely a settlement crack rather than an earthquake. The right way would be to rebuild that section but that's a big job and clearly not what you're looking for.

 

If its not getting bigger just cross pin both sides and re-render. If you don't pin it, anything you do will be a waste of time. Very easy to make a few pins out of bent re-bar - cut out a shallow channel to sit them in and render over them.

[Artisi]

This is Thailand, so what's a few cracks in a wall, at least its still standing and vertical by the looks of it ????

[mikecha]

Dig out to the base ring make 1 meter shuttering  fill concrete and maybe drill some steel bars in  te wall

do both sides of the wall  

 

when dried out  u can use a moxture of grouting and weber tile over glue fill the cracks good and brush down smoothe after that repaint  

 

some work but u fixed the movement  .

 

[canopy]

I definitely would not use acrylic fillers and things mentioned as they are not flexible. It's too much to ask two wall sections to never move even a little. Even if settling has stopped there can be seasonal movements or wind bending. If you can't find an exact product match then Sika 11FC would also do well and is usually easily found. Sika's grey cement color that blends in by itself and dependable high quality are always a good bet, but just any cartridge of PU from any other brand like crocodile or what have you would do. Below is a clip for Sika 11FC and shows how to use an angle grinder to articulate the joint. This is important so the product can properly stretch rather than pull away from the side.

 

 

[Pungdo]

17 hours ago, AgMech Cowboy said:

@canopy see the above and respond please.

Thanks I did find the Thai Sikaflex site but couldn't see that particular product and I also found a list of distributors on that site, so when all this Covid shutdown rubbish ends I'll pay them a visit.

[MangoPineappleBanana]

On 4/26/2020 at 3:41 PM, bankruatsteve said:

I wouldn't go with the foam stuff - you would be wasting most of it.  I wouldn't use silicone either.  You could fill with just anything else that "fills".  Wall putty, cement, render, river mud, etc.

 

Might need to ruff it a bit after dry if it's shiny compared to the wall and you want to touch-up paint.

Whats the popular go-to wall mud in Thailand? I just took down 2 stories of wallpaper(hey, its easier when you have a concrete wall behind than it is with drywall in western countries), but now I need to go through and putty/mud the left over holes and putty knife scrapes. I picked up a bucket of Lanko 101 from an SCG store but it says to mix with gypsum 1:1, not really nice results. Furthermore, pole sanders don't exist in Thailand if anyone has a "tam ang" idea...

 

Sorry to hijack the thread but similar fix-it as OP????‍♂️