Spotting a crack running down your basement wall starts a conversation in your head that rarely goes anywhere good. People picture the house splitting apart, a five-figure repair bill, and a contractor who will happily confirm the worst. The reality is usually far less dramatic, since a good number of the cracks we get called out to inspect turn out to be ordinary and completely fixable. A&A Waterproofing has been doing foundation crack repair and crack injection for homeowners in Marietta, GA, plus the communities spread around it since 1996, and telling people honestly what they're looking at is where every one of those visits begins.
Allen Aschwege has owned A&A Waterproofing since 1996, running this veteran-owned foundation repair and waterproofing company out of Marietta, Georgia. Crack work makes up a steady part of our schedule, and it covers evaluating what caused the crack, filling it through the full thickness of the wall with epoxy or polyurethane depending on what the situation calls for, repairing form tie holes and honeycombed areas, and treating the seam where the wall meets the footing. Every property we touch has already been built, because new construction isn't part of this business. Marietta sits at the center of where we work, with the surrounding counties covered as well, and inspections come at no charge.
Cracks turn up in a few recognizable patterns. Thin vertical lines running down a poured wall, diagonal cracks angling away from a window or door corner, stair-step cracking following the mortar joints in a block wall, and horizontal cracks running level across the middle of a wall. Water seeping through any of them leaves mineral deposits and staining behind, and the ones that keep getting wider from one year to the next are the ones that deserve attention soonest.
Concrete cracks for reasons that vary in seriousness. Poured walls shrink as they cure, producing narrow vertical cracks that show up within the first year and often mean nothing structural at all. Soil movement causes the rest. Georgia clay swells after rain and contracts during dry weather, and that cycle puts pressure against a wall from outside while shifting the ground beneath the footing. Vertical and diagonal cracks generally point to settlement below, while horizontal cracks signal pressure pushing inward, which is the pattern that concerns us most.
Our process starts with reading the crack rather than filling it. Width, direction, location, and whether it has moved recently all factor into what's actually happening. From there the repair gets matched to the diagnosis. Cracks actively passing water receive polyurethane, which expands as it cures and seals against moisture already moving through. Cracks needing their structural strength restored receive epoxy, which bonds the two faces back together. Injection ports go on the wall, material gets pushed through until it reaches the far side, and the void fills completely rather than getting skimmed over.
What you end up with is a wall that stops leaking and stops deteriorating around the opening. Water no longer carries minerals out of the concrete, finished surfaces quit taking damage, and the crack is documented as repaired rather than sitting there as an open question. Qualifying work carries written warranty terms, and homeowners who were told they needed a whole system frequently discover the honest answer costs a fraction of that.
Filling a crack properly delivers more than a dry wall, and here is what that work actually accomplishes.
Patching compound on the interior face leaves the crack open behind it, which is why those fixes reappear a season later. Injection pushes material from the inside surface through to the soil side so the entire void is filled. Sealing the full depth is the difference between solving it and postponing it.
Epoxy bonds cracked concrete faces back together and typically ends up stronger than the surrounding material, which matters when a crack has compromised the wall rather than just leaked. Choosing correctly between epoxy and polyurethane is most of the skill involved. Our team explains which one your crack calls for and why before starting.
Single cracks rarely justify perimeter drainage or exterior excavation, and quoting one anyway is common in this industry. Matching the scope to the actual problem keeps plenty of these jobs in the hundreds rather than the thousands. Anyone who prefers the comprehensive route can still have it with full pricing laid out.
Water moving through a crack gradually carries minerals out of the surrounding material, widening the opening and weakening the area around it. Closing it early preserves the wall itself. Repairs get considerably more involved once the concrete around a crack has begun to crumble.
Knowing whether a crack is cosmetic, related to settlement, or a sign of pressure against the wall settles a question most homeowners have been sitting with for a while. We explain the diagnosis in plain terms rather than trading on the worry. Written documentation of the repair also answers the inevitable question when the house eventually sells.
Cracking sometimes signals a condition that needs more than filling, and these related services address those situations.
Horizontal cracks and walls that have started curving inward point to soil pressure exceeding what the concrete can handle, and our bowing foundation wall repair service stabilizes the wall and stops the movement. Injecting a crack in a wall that is still moving accomplishes very little on its own.
Walls showing early signs of stress often need reinforcement alongside the crack repair, and our carbon fiber foundation reinforcement work bonds high-strength straps directly to the concrete to resist further movement. The straps sit flat against the wall and take up no usable space.
Crack sealing is one piece of the broader foundation repair services we provide, which also include structural reinforcement, wall stabilization, and full inspections. Which combination a property needs comes down to what the assessment turns up rather than a standard package.
How a contractor handles the diagnosis tells you almost everything about whether you can trust the quote that follows.
Allen examines the crack pattern, checks the exterior grade and drainage, and looks at how the rest of the structure is behaving before recommending anything. That context is what separates a shrinkage crack from a symptom of something larger. You'll hear the reasoning laid out before any number gets discussed.
Some of the cracks we inspect need nothing beyond monitoring, and telling homeowners that costs us a job while earning something more valuable. Word gets around when a company turns down work it could have sold. That reputation is a large part of why the phone still rings after three decades.
Customers receive multiple approaches with pricing attached to each, from a targeted injection through more comprehensive options. Understanding the trade-offs is what lets someone make a decision that fits both the problem and the budget. Nobody gets pushed toward the expensive end of the list.
This business has been veteran-owned and based in Marietta since 1996, extending a family operation that spent about two decades in Missouri first. Being nearby means we're still reachable if a question comes up years down the road.
There's no cost for us to come out, look at the crack, and give you an assessment. Acorn Finance backs our financing on bigger jobs, and police officers, veterans, EMTs, firefighters, and active-duty military receive a 10% Hometown Heroes discount.
Horizontal cracks running level across a wall are the ones that get our attention fastest, since they usually mean soil is pushing inward. Cracks wider than roughly a quarter inch, cracks that have visibly grown, and any wall showing a bulge alongside the crack also warrant a closer look. Thin vertical cracks in poured walls are frequently just shrinkage from curing.
Most single crack repairs are finished within a few hours, and homes with several cracks are usually completed in a single day. The material cures quickly enough that the area is back in use right away. There's no excavation involved, so nothing happens to your yard.
The clay soil across Cobb, Cherokee, and Paulding counties expands when it absorbs rain and shrinks during dry stretches, and that repeated movement puts steady pressure on foundation walls. Our rainfall pattern of heavy downpours followed by dry weeks makes the cycle more pronounced. Homes here see it regardless of build quality.
Those products can work on a hairline crack in a wall that is not moving, though they generally seal the surface rather than the full depth. Cracks passing water or showing any sign of ongoing movement need material driven all the way through the wall. A free inspection will tell you which category yours falls into.
Sealing the opening stops water from using that particular path, which handles the leak itself. Whether new cracks appear depends on what caused the first one, so we look at grading, downspout discharge, and drainage during the visit and point out corrections that reduce the pressure. Addressing both sides is what makes a repair hold.
FAQs reviewed by Allen Aschwege, owner of A&A Waterproofing and a foundation repair specialist serving the Marietta, GA, area since 1996.
Give us a call and we'll come look at the wall, explain what caused the crack, and tell you honestly whether it needs repair right now. Plenty of the cracks we look at need nothing at all, and we're happy to be the ones who tell you so.
Business Name: A&A Waterproofing
Address: Marietta, GA, 30064
Phone: 770-443-1155
Business Hours:
Mon - Sat: 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Sunday: Closed
Hometown Heroes Discount
We're proud to offer 10% off for veterans, active-duty military, police officers, firefighters, EMTs, and other first responders as a thank-you for your service.
Comprehensive Warranty Coverage
We stand behind the quality of our work. Warranty coverage varies by service and repair, with options ranging from 10-year warranties to lifetime warranties on qualifying projects.
