Foundation Repair Shreveport, LA | Pelican Foundation Repair
Most foundation cracks can be repaired, and most don’t mean your house is falling down. The honest answer to “is this crack serious?” is: it depends on the type. A thin vertical hairline from concrete shrinkage is usually cosmetic. A wide diagonal crack that’s growing, or a horizontal crack with the wall bowing inward, is structural and needs attention now. The repair itself — epoxy injection, polyurethane foam, or carbon fiber reinforcement — is straightforward. The part that matters is diagnosing why the crack opened, because sealing a crack without fixing the cause is just scheduling the same repair twice.
That’s how we work. Every crack repair starts with a expert inspection where we identify the cause — soil movement, water pressure, settlement, or just the concrete doing what concrete does as it cures — and then fix the crack from the inside or outside so it stays fixed. No two cracks develop for the same reason, so no two get the same repair.
Not all cracks are equal. Here’s how to read the ones you’re seeing:
| Crack type | What it looks like | How serious |
|---|---|---|
| Hairline / shrinkage | Thin vertical lines, less than 1/16 inch | Usually cosmetic — concrete shrinking as it cures |
| Vertical | Straight up-and-down, may widen slightly | Often minor; worth sealing before water finds it |
| Diagonal | Runs at an angle, often wider at one end | Can signal settlement — get it checked |
| Horizontal | Runs sideways along the wall | Serious — often means soil pressure is pushing the wall inward |
| Stair-step | Follows mortar joints in block or brick | Signals differential settlement — needs professional evaluation |
A quick homeowner test: mark both ends of the crack with a pencil and date it. Check back in a month. If it hasn’t moved, it’s stable. If it’s longer or wider, it’s active — and active cracks need a pro, because something is still moving. Cracks wider than a quarter-inch, cracks that leak, and any horizontal cracking all skip the waiting period and go straight to an inspection.
The method follows the diagnosis. These are the tools in the kit:
For dry, structural cracks. We inject a structural-grade epoxy deep into the crack under pressure, and it bonds the concrete back together — restoring much of the wall’s original strength, not just covering the surface. This is the fix for stable cracks where the goal is structural bonding, not waterproofing. Professional-grade injection epoxy is a different animal from the hardware-store tubes; it flows deeper and bonds more completely.
For cracks that are actively leaking. Polyurethane expands as it’s injected, filling voids and creating a flexible, waterproof seal — ideal for a crack that’s weeping or seeping water right now. If the crack is dry and purely structural, epoxy is usually the better choice; if water is coming through, polyurethane wins.
For walls that are cracking because of inward pressure — the horizontal cracks and bowing walls. Carbon fiber straps bond to the wall and hold it against soil pressure, stopping the movement that keeps reopening the crack. It’s strong, low-profile, and doesn’t take up floor space the way older steel-beam systems do.
Some cracks are best fixed from outside the wall — especially when there’s no interior access, or when the goal is to stop water before it ever reaches the concrete. Exterior repair means excavating along the wall, applying a waterproof membrane directly over the crack, and improving drainage at that section before backfilling. For a wall with a history of leaking, addressing it at the source — where water meets concrete — often outlasts an interior patch.
For cracks caused by ongoing settlement rather than just a one-time shift, we may recommend stabilization alongside the seal — slab or structural repair first, then the crack repair. Sealing a crack on a foundation that’s still moving is like painting a car that’s still rolling.
Around here, cracks almost always trace back to water and clay. Shreveport’s expansive clay soils swell when wet and shrink when dry, and foundations ride that movement. Poor drainage — downspouts dumping at the foundation, grading that slopes toward the house — keeps one side of the foundation wetter than the other, and differential moisture means differential movement, which means cracks.
Hydrostatic pressure is the other big one. After heavy rain, water builds up in the soil against foundation walls and pushes inward. That’s what opens horizontal cracks and bows walls, especially in older block foundations around neighborhoods like Cedar Grove and Queensborough. Tree roots add their own trouble: a big oak too close to the house drinks the soil dry on one side, the clay shrinks, and the foundation settles unevenly.
None of this means your house is doomed — it means Shreveport foundations live a harder life than foundations in most cities, and they need the cause addressed, not just the symptom patched. That’s why our inspections look at grading, gutters, and soil moisture patterns around the whole house, not just the crack you called about.
Most foundation crack repairs in Shreveport cost for epoxy or polyurethane injection. Cracks needing carbon fiber reinforcement or exterior excavation cost more. A expert inspection gives you the exact number for your specific crack — no phone guesses.
What moves your price:
A properly repaired crack can last the life of the home — especially when the underlying cause is addressed too. Sealing without fixing the cause shortens that lifespan a lot, which is why the inspection comes before the quote, every time.
We look at the crack, measure it, check whether it’s active or stable, and investigate the cause — grading, drainage, soil moisture, settlement patterns. You get a plain-English explanation of what’s happening and why.
One price, every line item explained: the repair method, materials, and any related work like drainage correction. No surprises, no pressure.
Most injection jobs finish in a few hours. Carbon fiber and exterior work take longer — typically a day or two. We protect floors and landscaping, and we clean up like we were never there.
We show you the finished repair, explain what to watch for, and hand over warranty paperwork. Qualifying structural work carries our 20-year structural warranty, in writing before we start.
Most jobs run for epoxy or polyurethane injection. Carbon fiber reinforcement or exterior excavation costs more. A expert inspection gives you an exact written quote for your crack.
Yes — a cracked foundation can almost always be repaired. Stable cracks get sealed with epoxy or polyurethane; cracks caused by ongoing movement get reinforced with carbon fiber or piers first, then sealed, so the repair doesn’t fail again.
Yes. Exterior foundation crack repair — excavation, waterproof membrane, and drainage correction at that section — works best for walls with a history of leaking, where stopping water at the source beats an interior patch.
Soil settlement, expansive clay, poor drainage, hydrostatic pressure, tree roots, shrinking concrete, and normal aging. Identifying the cause matters as much as sealing the crack — that’s what keeps it from coming back.
A properly repaired crack can last the life of the home, especially when the underlying cause is fixed alongside it. Sealing a crack without addressing the cause shortens that lifespan significantly.
Usually not — insurers treat gradual soil movement as maintenance, the same as most foundation damage. Your best shot at coverage is documenting a sudden, specific cause, and your agent is the only one who can confirm what your policy covers.
For small, stable hairline cracks, a kit can work. It won’t fix cracks from structural movement, though — and if the crack is wider than a quarter-inch, growing, or leaking, a professional inspection is the safer first step. We’d rather tell you it’s a kit job than sell you a repair you don’t need.
It’s an early warning, not an emergency. Efflorescence is mineral residue left behind by water moving through concrete — it means water is reaching that wall. Sealing the area before the next heavy rain beats waiting until it becomes an active leak. If water is already coming through, look at basement waterproofing options as well.
Stable hairline cracks can wait for a convenient appointment — mark the ends with a pencil, check back in a month, and call if anything changed. Active cracks (growing, widening, or leaking), horizontal cracks, and stair-step cracks in brick deserve a prompt inspection, because whatever is moving the foundation doesn’t pause for your schedule. Either way, the inspection is included, so there’s no reason to guess.
Yes — Shreveport plus Bossier City, Blanchard, Greenwood, Keithville, Benton, Stonewall, Haughton, Red Chute, Eastwood, Mooringsport, Minden, and Ruston. Every inspection is included, and every quote is in writing.
A crack that’s growing is a problem that’s growing. Pelican Foundation Repair provides the foundation crack repair Shreveport LA homeowners trust: a expert inspection, an honest diagnosis, and a repair matched to the cause — not just the symptom.
Call (318) 585-2003 — Monday–Saturday, 8:00 AM–6:00 PM. Or email contact@foundationrepairshreveport.com anytime.
Pelican Foundation Repair
6118 Fairfield Ave, Shreveport, LA 71106, USA
Phone: (318) 585-2003
Email: contact@foundationrepairshreveport.com
Hours: Monday–Saturday, 8:00 AM–6:00 PM