I have a few small cracks in my basement that a structural engineer said to just monitor for now. But he didnt really explain HOW to monitor them properly. Do i just look at them every week? Take pictures? Measure them? What exactly am i looking for and how do i know if theyre getting worse? Would love to hear what other people do
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The simplest method is the tape test. Put a piece of duct tape across the crack and write the date on it with sharpie. Check monthly - if the tape tears or stretches, the crack is actively moving. If its still intact after 6-12 months, the crack is probably stable.
thats genius and so simple. definitely doing this
I bought crack monitors on amazon for like $8 each. Theyre these little plastic gauges you epoxy across the crack and they show movement in millimeters. Way more precise than tape and gives you actual numbers to track over time. I have a spreadsheet going back 3 years now lol
can you link to the ones you bought? im seeing a bunch of different types
search for 'crack width gauge' or 'crack monitor card'. the simple clear plastic ones work fine. you dont need the fancy digital ones unless youre doing it professionally
I take photos with a ruler held up next to the crack. Same angle, same lighting, same ruler position every month. Put them in a folder by date. After a year you can flip through them like a flipbook and see if anythings changed. Visual documentation is also helpful if you ever need to make an insurance claim.
I just set a calendar reminder to check my cracks every 3 months. Take a phone pic, email it to myself with the date in the subject line. Easy to search later. If im being honest though i usually forget and check like twice a year.
Professional tip - the most important times to check are after extreme weather events. After heavy rain, after ground freezing, after long dry spells. Those are when active cracks tend to move the most. Seasonal monitoring is more valuable than checking every week.
Started monitoring my cracks last year following this advice. The seasonal data was eye-opening - my crack opens about 1mm wider in dry August vs wet April. Once I understood that pattern I stopped panicking every summer. Now I only worry if it breaks the pattern