Why I Started Monitoring
Because $350 for an engineer seemed expensive until I realized peace of mind was priceless.
The Panic Phase
I bought my house in 2018. It's a 1978 build with a poured concrete foundation. The home inspector mentioned "typical shrinkage cracks" and I nodded like I knew what that meant.
A month after moving in, I actually looked at my basement walls. Cracks everywhere. Okay, maybe four cracks, but it felt like everywhere. I went down the internet rabbit hole. Settlement cracks. Structural failure. Horizontal cracks mean your walls are failing. I was convinced my house was doomed.
Rick's Reality Check
Rick came over for beers, saw my worried face, and asked what was wrong. I took him to the basement. He looked at my cracks, shrugged, and said "These are fine."
I didn't believe him. How could he know? He explained that cracks in old concrete are almost always historic. They formed when the concrete cured or when the house first settled. The question isn't whether they exist. It's whether they're still moving. And the only way to know that is to watch them.
The Choice
Rick suggested I could pay an engineer $350 right now for an opinion, or I could spend $0 monitoring for a year and have actual data about what these cracks were doing. If they moved, then call the engineer. If they didn't move, save the money.
I chose to monitor. Best decision I ever made about this house.
My Simple Monitoring System
Nothing fancy. Pencil, tape measure, and consistency.
The Pencil Mark Method
I took a carpenter's pencil and drew a short line across each end of each crack. Wrote the date next to each mark. If the crack ever extends past my mark, it's growing. Five years later, every crack still ends exactly at my original marks.
I also drew a line across each crack at its widest point. If the crack opens wider, the line would separate into two lines. None of mine have. The lines are still connected after five years.
Width Measurements
Rick told me to buy a crack gauge. I found one online for $15. It's a little card with lines of different widths printed on it. You hold it against the crack and match the width. My widest crack measured 1/8 inch in 2019. It measures 1/8 inch today.
I measure at the same spot every time. Put a tiny piece of tape above it so I don't forget. Consistency matters more than precision.
The Photo Archive
I photograph each crack every time I check. Same angle, same lighting, ruler in the frame for scale. I've got a folder on my computer with five years of identical photos. Looking at them side by side is boring in the best possible way. Nothing changes.
The Notebook
I keep a small notebook in the kitchen drawer with my basement flashlight. Date, crack number, width, any observations. Most entries just say "no change." That's what I want to see.
What I've Learned
Five years of data has taught me more than any expert could have.
My Cracks Are Dormant
Not a single crack in my basement has moved in five years. Not one. These cracks probably formed in 1978 or 1979 when the concrete was curing. They've been sitting there unchanged for 45 years. They'll probably sit there unchanged for another 45.
That knowledge is worth more than any repair. I don't worry anymore. I check twice a year out of habit, not anxiety.
Seasonal Variation Is Real
I noticed something interesting in year two. My widest crack seemed slightly wider in January than in July. Freaked me out at first. Then I realized concrete contracts in cold weather. The crack opens a tiny bit in winter and closes in summer. Same cycle every year. Not getting worse, just breathing with the temperature.
Context Matters
When neighbor Gary's wall started bowing, he came to me because he knew I'd been watching my own foundation. I went over with my flashlight. His crack was different. Horizontal. Fresh-looking edges. Water seeping through. Those aren't things you see in dormant cracks. His was active. He needed help. I didn't.
Monitoring taught me the difference.
How Often I Check
Less often than you'd think, after the first year.
The First Year: Monthly
When I started, I checked every month. Partly because I was still nervous. Partly because I wanted enough data points to see patterns. First Saturday of every month, fifteen minutes in the basement with my flashlight and notebook.
Years Two and Three: Quarterly
After a year of nothing changing, I relaxed to every three months. Still enough to catch any changes, but not so often that it felt like a chore. I'd check as seasons changed. Spring, summer, fall, winter.
Now: Twice a Year
Five years in, I check in spring after the ground thaws and in fall before winter. That's it. Takes maybe twenty minutes total per year. My cracks have proven themselves stable. They don't need constant supervision.
Plus Event Checks
I still do extra checks after unusual events. After the unusually wet spring a couple years ago. After my neighbor had excavation done for a new driveway. After any earthquake reports, though we don't get many. Nothing's ever changed, but I check anyway.
When Monitoring Reveals a Problem
My system caught exactly zero problems. Gary's caught one.
Gary's Experience
After I helped Gary start monitoring his wall, his first three months showed the horizontal crack growing. Not much, maybe 1/16 inch wider. But definitely wider. His marks spread apart. His photos showed visible change.
That's when we knew he had an active problem. He called a structural engineer. The engineer confirmed what the monitoring showed. Progressive failure, needed wall anchors. If Gary had just looked at the crack without monitoring, he might have convinced himself it was fine. The data made the problem undeniable.
What Would Worry Me
If my marks ever showed a crack extending. If my width measurements ever increased. If new cracks appeared where there weren't any before. If I saw fresh concrete dust near a crack. Any of these, and I'm calling an engineer immediately.
Five years of stable data means I'd notice change quickly. I know exactly what "normal" looks like for my house.
The $350 Threshold
I eventually did pay for an engineer anyway. Three years in, I wanted confirmation that my monitoring conclusions were right. He spent an hour in my basement, looked at my photos and measurements, and told me my cracks were cosmetic. Best $350 I ever spent. Not because he found anything, but because he confirmed what my monitoring already showed.
Starting Your Own Monitoring
Everything you need costs less than a pizza dinner.
The Tools
Carpenter's pencil, a few dollars. Crack gauge card, $15 online. Tape measure you probably already have. Flashlight you probably already have. A notebook. Your phone camera. Total investment maybe $20 if you're starting from scratch.
The Initial Survey
Walk your basement slowly with good light. Find every crack. Number them on a simple sketch. Mark the ends. Measure the widths. Take photos. This takes an hour the first time. Less than that for follow-up checks.
The Commitment
Decide you'll check monthly for the first year. Put it on your calendar. Actually do it. After a year, you'll have real data about whether your cracks are stable or active. That data is more valuable than any contractor's opinion because it's actual evidence about your specific house.
The Patience
Monitoring requires patience. You're not going to know anything useful after one month. You need a year to understand seasonal patterns. You need two years to have real confidence about stability. But the peace of mind at the end is worth the wait.
I spent two weeks panicking about my cracks. If I'd started monitoring immediately instead of panicking, I'd have known they were harmless a year later. The worry was never necessary. The monitoring proved it.