want to start monitoring a vertical crack in my basement wall. its about 1/8 inch wide right now. i see there are plastic crack gauges and the tell-tale crack monitors with the crosshairs. which one do people actually recommend? dont want to spend a fortune but also dont want something useless
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I've used both. The tell-tale monitors with the overlapping plates are better for detecting movement in any direction - horizontal, vertical, diagonal. The simple card gauges are fine for just measuring width but wont show you if one side is moving up or down relative to the other. For a basement wall crack id go with the tell-tale type.
makes sense. are there specific brands that are better or are they all pretty much the same?
avongard makes good ones. they run about $8-12 each on amazon. ive also seen cheaper ones that work fine. main thing is making sure the adhesive is good since it needs to stay put for months/years
Engineer here (structural but dont do residential). For DIY monitoring you dont need anything fancy. Even just marking the ends of the crack with a pencil and measuring with a ruler works if youre checking regularly. The gauges just make it easier to see small changes. Whatever you use, take photos with the date visible - thats the best documentation if you ever need to show a professional.
one tip - install 2 monitors on the same crack, one at each end. cracks dont always move uniformly along their length. my crack stayed stable at the top but grew almost 1/16 inch at the bottom over 18 months. wouldn't have caught that with just one gauge
i just use a piece of masking tape across the crack with the date written on it. if the tape tears the crack moved. low tech but it works and costs basically nothing. been doing this for 4 years on multiple cracks
this actually works fine for detecting IF movement happens. the advantage of gauges is they tell you HOW MUCH movement, which matters for deciding when you need professional help