Vertical foundation cracks

Structure · Problems · printed page 40 (PDF page 41)

Book index entries

Lateral Support Cracks – Vertical Foundation Foundation – Vertical Vertical Foundation Cracks Footings – and Foundations Foundation – and Footing

Text in the illustration

short foundation wall (crawl space for example)
lateral thrust
vertical crack
footing
inside
outside
in short foundation walls, horizontal forces can also cause vertical cracks (typically at the midpoint of the walls)

Generated explanation

The illustration shows two short foundation walls meeting at a corner and supported on continuous footings. An arrow indicates lateral thrust acting from the outside toward the inside of one wall. That wall is depicted bowing inward, with a vertical crack near its midpoint extending downward from the top. The annotations explain that horizontal forces can cause vertical cracks in short foundation walls, such as those enclosing a crawl space.

Components

short foundation walls continuous footings foundation wall corner

Defects shown

vertical foundation wall crack inward bowing of foundation wall under lateral thrust