When you have a crack in your home's foundation, filling it with epoxy will help prevent water intrusion and structural damage. Epoxy is waterproof, so it will prevent groundwater from seeping farther into your foundation and causing more damage. It's also incredibly strong, binding tightly to the concrete and stopping the crack from spreading farther. To learn how to make sure your epoxy crack repair is successful, read on.

Wait Until the Concrete Is Dry

You should only use epoxy to repair cracks in concrete if it's entirely dry. Epoxy contains a solvent that liquefies it. When this solvent evaporates, it hardens and turns into a very strong solid substance that binds tightly to the concrete. If the concrete is still wet, the solvent won't evaporate and the epoxy won't cure properly.

When you're using epoxy to fill a crack in your foundation, you'll need to check the weather forecast to make sure it won't rain for a few days. If the soil is saturated with water, you'll need to shovel it away from your foundation in order to prevent it from wetting the epoxy. Making sure that everything is completely dry before you inject the epoxy into the crack will ensure that it cures perfectly.

Prepare the Surface Area Well

Epoxy works best when it has the maximum amount of surface area to bind to, and the best way to do this is to sand down the interior of the crack. You don't need any special equipment for this. Purchasing some coarse sandpaper from a home improvement store and sanding down the inside of the crack works well. You'll roughen the surface and open up some voids in the concrete, which allows the epoxy to seep in and bind tightly to the concrete at the edges of the crack.

Use the Ports to Make Sure the Entire Crack Is Filled With Epoxy

When you buy a do-it-yourself epoxy crack repair kit, it will include some rigid plastic tubes. These are called ports. They help you make sure the entirety of the crack is filled with epoxy.

Using the ports is simple. Apply a bit of epoxy paste to the base of the port and then push it into the crack as deep as it will go. Once the epoxy has cured and the port is secure, inject epoxy into the end of the port. It will come out of the base of the port, which is deeply embedded into the crack. You'll fill the entire crack with epoxy starting from the deepest crevices.

Overall, the most important thing to keep in mind is that the concrete needs to be entirely dry before you try to seal a crack using epoxy. If the concrete is dry and you inject the epoxy deep into the concrete using the ports included in the kit, then it will create a very strong waterproof seal that will help prevent any further damage to your foundation. If you feel uncomfortable using the ports or trying to seal a crack in your foundation on your own, call an epoxy crack repair service in your area. They'll inspect your foundation for damage and rapidly fill any cracks that they find.

For more information, contact a local company, like Affordable Foundation Repair.