The injection of polyurethane resin, sometimes referred to as urethane injection, is an outstanding waterstopping repair method for fixing foundation cracks and various other basement leaks; this is because the resin transforms itself into a flexible foam that fills and seals voids in foundation walls.
Polyurethane injection is used extensively worldwide for waterstopping in underground mining applications, subway tunnel crack repairs, and virtually any underground structure. While the injection of polyurethane is only suitable for leak repairs in poured concrete basement foundations, its versatility has made it the number one waterstopping method across the globe.
Typical polyurethane injection applications
The images below show a few of the most typical applications for the injection of polyurethane for residential foundation leak repairs – two of which are cracks.
These images show the injection of polyurethane for concrete crack repair, tie-rod hole waterproofing and the repair of a leaking basement crack that someone tried to repair solely by using hydraulic cement.
One of the greatest advantages of injecting polyurethane is the expansion of polyurethane resin. In polyurethane injections, fluid polyurethane resin is injected under pressure; however, it then undergoes a chemical expansion into a flexible foam within just a few minutes. These expansive qualities of the polyurethane are highly desirable because the force of the chemical expansion is significant and therefore the polyurethane will find and fill any void that it can get into.
Polyurethane resin can also be dispensed at low pressure. All do-it-yourself polyurethane injection crack injection kits use a low pressure injection method.
In the images above you will notice the presence of white injection packers, next to the foundation cracks, as well as a hydraulic hose coupled to one of the injection packers. The use of injection packers is common among specialized waterproofing contractors. The use of injection packers is necessary because professional injections of polyurethane are typically performed at high pressures to ensure that polyurethane penetrates a foundation crack completely and fills it through to the soil outside.
The extent to which polyurethane penetrates foundation cracks
Polyurethane is ideal for foundation crack repair under all conditions. Click on the following hyperlink for more information on polyurethane crack injection.