Me and my wife have found our dream home, however there is a horizontal crack in the basement wall about 6' from the floor and 1-1.5' below ground level. it runs about 1/2 the length of the house. We still want to buy the house IF the repairs aren't insanely expensive. I have read alot about Fortress Stabilization however no matter where I look online I cannot find any round about price or estimate on the cost. By the looks of it and the circumstances, it started when they back filled it. The house was built in 1976. Please leave any and all input and opinions, thanks alot. Wes, in Port Huron, MI

You have described a classic structural wall "failure" due to excessive pressure against the wall. It is usually due to improper backfill and excessive moisture in the soil, which increases the lateral load. It is only classified as a failure since the pressure caused the wall to move enough to cause a horizontal crack. It is probably not an immediate problem.

I would assume the home does not have an operating drain tile system either inside or outside of the footings or the wall may be unreinforced or under reinforced. Waterproofing will not correct the situation.

Have a local structural engineer and not a "wall waterproofer" look at the situation. A "waterproofer" usually has more words than a real long term solution.

Another possibilty is that the wall thickness or reinforcement (if any) are insufficient for the height of soil that the wall retains, which is another way of saying what ConcreteMasonry has said. The crack may also have resulted from heavy equipment run too close to the wall during construction.

Is the cracked wall parallel to, or perpendicular to, the floor joists above? If parallel, is it braced to the floor structure overhead? (This may be difficult to determine.)

Is there any horizontakl displacement or bowing in the cracked wall? Is there any sign of water entry through the crack, or at the base of the wall where it meets the basement floor? Was that wall recently painted, possibly concealing signs of leakage?

The best approach would be to monitor the crack over a period of several months, to see if the wall is still moving, or not. That's of course impossible if you don't yet own the house.

If the wall isn't bowed and it isn't moving any more, and if it isn't leaking water, then maybe nothing needs to be done at all. You won't know any of this until you move in. Maybe all that needs to be done is to dig down and waterproof the outside...it all depends on the behavior of the crack. If it's still moving and the wall continues to bow, then it's a lot more serious.

I think your getting ahead of yourself on repairs. You need to provide more information.

Do you have any photos of the crack?
How much bowing of the wall was observed?
What is outside this wall? Sidewalk, driveway. Patio?

As an inspector that does this, I look at the condition of the crack before I rush to judgement on it. What I look for is the condition of the crack itself. Was the wall painted? If so how long ago? If it was a long time ago and there was paint bridging the gap where its cracked. Its old movement that should only be monitored. Is the crack worn down. That is no sharp edges that crumble when you rub your hand along it? If its worn again its old and again just watch it. The last thing I look for is if the gap between the crack is filled with dust, spiders etc. Again old.
Is the crack displaced? That is one edge is out farther then the other.

Using that information along with how much if any did the wall bow helps make the decision to have a structural engineer look at it or not.

If its old, and has not moved or appeard to have moved in many years. Just watch it. If it appears that the movement is current which is difficult if not impossible to tell during a one time evaluation of the wall. Then an engineer is warranted.

Be carefull with repairs. There are some simple methods that work real well and others that are more complex, expensive and do not do much for supporting the wall only supporting the contractors wallet.

I have the inspector coming this week, I'm planning on going with him. I'll get some pics of the crack and check out a few things you guys have mentioned. Thanks for the tips on what to look for in more detail. I got a rough estimate on Fortress Stabilization @ about $2500 which isnt a bad number.

My advice to you is get a seperate engineer to evaluate the condition and suggest the method of correction if needed. Any person that represents a company that does these repairs will tell you it has to be done, even if it does not.
If its part of the home sale, and it needs to be fixed. Why not is the buyer makeing the repairs if they need to be done?

Good luck...but bear in mind that stabilization methods do not solve problems, they only stabilize, maybe temporarily, depending on what the cause of the problem is, and whether there is continuing stress on or movement of the wall. If there are forces acting on the wall, they will continue to act, and may manifest themselves in different ways, even if "stabilization" has been installed.

Most of the "systems" which exist to "cure" basement problems are not "cures" at all, because they never even attempt to diagnose the disease. How can a cure be selected when the disease is unknown?