5 Reasons to Use Carbon Fiber for Foundation Repair

You might live in a seismically active area, or your home or business is built on a poor grade of expansive soil. Whatever the situation, any movement of the ground on which your building stands will eventually shift your home or commercial space and wreak havoc on your concrete; cracks in the foundation, cracks in the basement walls, cracks in the concrete floor. Any of those symptoms indicates something has begun to fail, which puts the structural stability of your house at risk.

When you notice signs of trouble, there are five solid reasons why you should choose Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) as the solution to your foundation woes.

1. Strength: Carbon fiber has exceptionally high flexural and tensile strengths that make it 10 times stronger than steel. It is stiff enough to support heavy weight without crushing, and flexible enough to undergo extreme bending without breaking. This is a great advantage when affixing CFRP to a basement wall to correct and inhibit cracking and bowing.
2. Impervious to Extreme Temperatures: The temperatures in the basement of your home fluctuate considerably with the seasons. The concrete that supports your house and the soil around that concrete are subject to the freeze-thaw (expand-contract) cycle. That movement can cause cracks in your concrete that, if left unmitigated, can compromise the entire foundation that keeps your home upright.
3. Waterproof: Water is the greatest threat to the stability of your foundation and basement walls. CFRP is waterproof, which means it will not rot or suffer from mildew growth.
4. Will Not Stretch or Expand Under Pressure: The expansive soils around your foundation absorb and hold water during wet seasons, which exerts considerable hydrostatic pressure upon the concrete. CFRP will remain rigid against the excessive lateral forces that threaten your foundation.
5. No Mess and Easy Install: CFRP does require complicated procedures during installation; it’s just a matter of affixing it to the concrete wall with epoxy and letting it cure. There is no need for excavation or demolition.

Carbon Fiber Support stands 100% behind the use of CFRP for basement and foundation reinforcement, repair, and restoration, but we do caution all foundation repair contractors and DIY homeowners about using only the finest CFRP products and accessories for their foundation and concrete projects. Before you put on the gloves and strap on the tool belt, reach out to the experts at Carbon Fiber Support and let’s discuss the many options we provide to ensure your foundation project is a success.