Foundation Crack Repair in Wichita Falls, TX

What a crack is telling you

A crack is a sign that something moved. Sometimes it is just concrete shrinking as it cured years ago. Sometimes it means part of your foundation dropped or lifted. The free inspection tells you which.

In Wichita Falls, cracks are common because the clay soil under most homes swells when wet and shrinks when dry. The house moves with it, a little at a time.

The cracks people call about

Tell us what you see. These are the cracks Wichita Falls homeowners ask about most:

• "There is a crack running up from the corner of my door."
• "The brick outside has a crack that looks like stairs."
• "My garage floor has a crack and one side is higher."
• "My tile floor cracked in a straight line."
• "There is a crack in the drywall over a window."
• "The crack opened up this summer and closed in the spring."
• "There is a gap between the brick and the window frame."
• "The plaster in my old house has cracks in every room."

Which cracks matter

Usually cosmetic:

• Thin hairline cracks in a concrete slab or garage floor
• Small cracks in drywall tape at corners
• Cracks that have not changed in years

Worth a look soon:

• Cracks wider than about a quarter inch
• Cracks where one side sits higher than the other
• Stair-step cracks in brick
• Cracks running from the corners of doors and windows
• Cracks that come with sticking doors or sloping floors
• Cracks that grow over a few weeks or months

Why cracks are so common in Wichita Falls

Swelling clay. USDA soil surveys show that Tillman clay loam and Kamay silt loam, two common soils in Wichita County, have subsoils of 35 to 50 percent clay. Kamay's clay is the swelling kind. Geologists link this type of clay to most shrink-swell soil damage. When it gets wet, it pushes the house up. When it dries, it lets it drop.

Deep cracks in dry years. Tillman soil can crack more than 4 feet deep when it dries, according to USDA. Long dry spells, like the 2011 to 2015 drought, dry the soil deep under a house.

Then heavy rain. In 2015, Wichita Falls got 50.5 inches of rain, right after that drought. Soil that had dried and shrunk for years swelled back up. Many homes showed new cracks after swings like that.

Older homes. About a third of Wichita Falls homes were built before 1960. Plaster walls and old brick show every small movement.

How cracks get fixed

Step one: find the cause

The crew takes floor level readings across the house to see if it moved and how much. They check drainage, gutters, trees and plumbing. If the house is still moving, sealing the crack alone will not last.

Sealing slab cracks

Cracks in a concrete slab or garage floor can be filled with epoxy or a flexible sealant. This keeps out water and bugs and stops the crack from getting wider from water getting in.

Brick and mortar

Stair-step cracks in brick are fixed by grinding out the old mortar and putting in new mortar, called tuckpointing. If bricks are cracked, they can be replaced.

Drywall and plaster

Inside cracks are patched and painted after the house is stable. Patching first is a waste if the house is still moving.

Fixing the movement

If the house moved, the crew may suggest piers, re-leveling or drainage work. See foundation repair, slab foundation repair and drainage correction.

What moves the price

The table above shows typical ranges from published cost guides. They are not quotes.

A single slab crack costs much less than a house that needs piers. The number and size of the cracks, whether the house is still moving, and how much brick or drywall needs work all move the price. Your written estimate shows the full number before any work starts. See the cost guide.

Track it before the inspection

If you want to help the inspector:

1. Mark both ends of each crack with a pencil and write the date.
2. Take a photo with a ruler or coin next to the crack.
3. Note which doors stick and when.
4. Write down when you first saw the crack and any big rain or dry spell since.

A crack is the cheapest time to find out what is going on. Call (940) 468-1786 or send the short form for a free crack inspection and a written price.