foundation wall cracking

[wvishere]

I am new to this forum and don’t if this is the correct forum to post this question. Moderator, if it is not, please let me know. I live in the state of Maine. My area of concern is with my second basement foundation wall which is under my attached two car garage addition; let’s call it the “shop”. On the exterior of the northwest corner of the shop abuts a retaining wall (RW) which retains the driveway to the garage above (the shop is a daylight basement). Through the years, the RW appears to be moving into and to the west of the shop wall causing a once hairline crack to become over 1/8”-1/4” wide in various places on this northwest corner.

The previous owner told me he had issues with the driveway and retaining wall but the 3 new tiebacks/soil anchors installed resolved the issues. There appears to be weep holes at the bottom of the wall that I have yet to see work. At the top of the RW where it abuts next to my garage, there is a low spot which used to pond water. I drilled a few holes at the top to allow the water to drain through the wall and run down below.

Question: what is the quickest and most economical solution to the “moving” RW? Should I just simply vertically sawcut off a portion of the RW that abuts the exterior of the shop foundation wall to relieve the pressure? Any other ideas besides digging up the entire driveway, find the perimeter drain to ensure it functions, and re-place the retaining wall with a new one)? If I have to do the latter, should it be tied to the shop foundation wall?

[wvishere]

here's some pics...

[admin]

Yes, some pics would be easier for us

[wvishere]

I thought I had uploaded some pics yesterday and tried again, but apparently they are too large. Any ideas on how to make files smaler? They are jpg files.

[admin]

Hi,

We just changed the limits of the upload files. Could you please upload again. Thanks

[wvishere]

Ok..here's the pics

[aaron.adley]

It sounds like this could be nothing serious, but you might want to find somebody that is familiar with concrete work to look at it if these cracks are growing.

[wvishere]

Is there anyone that can help with this issue, preferably someone who has encountered this in the past or a PE opinion??? Original post was on 4/17 and pics uploaded on 4/18...

[blackbird03]

Judging by your photos you have a settlement problem. In structures where settlement is isolated to a small area you will need to identify what the cause is, ie; is the area exposed to high levels of water run-off or is the area more suceptable to freeze thaw conditions than other parts of the structure.

You have options to stabilize the foundation which can either be very disruptive or non-disruptive but you should first find the cause which, by my estimation is due to a drainage problem, most likely water being trapped behind all that concrete and filtering down to the soils below your footing at that corner. Resolve that first and see where you are in a few months.

[wvishere]

Would it help to relieve the stress on the foundation by cutting in an expansion joint at the intersection of the RW and foundation?

[wvishere]

Blackbird03, I do plan to seal all cracks in the asphalt driveway (which the retaining wall is holding up). In addition, I plan to "seal" the entire driveway. This is a temporary fix as the main problem, as you suspect, most likely is poor drainage behind the retaining wall and/or the foundation underdrain (either plugged or non-existant). In your opinion, should I even bother with the asphalt seal coating or just bite the bullet and tear up the driveway and RW and perform the expensive permanent fix?

[Stone Cold]

Talk to a structural engineer and an architect. You will need plans from them to get a building permit anyway.

Would you really build a 12 story building on advice from this forum? I hope not!

[kitchenssimply]

I doubt if its a actual major repair but it could be made in to a major issue in case you fail to properly document it. The repair system on this type of issue ranges from doing nothing to spending thousands depending on the owner & who is paying for it.

[qiuyinffy]

Is there anyone that can help with this issue,

[linhely]

We just changed the limits of the upload files. Could you please upload again. Thanks:)

[johnsonkid]

Would it help to relieve the stress on the foundation by cutting in an expansion joint at the intersection of the RW and foundation?

[Green Durant]

We just afflicted the banned of the upload files. Could you amuse upload afresh. acknowledgment