My house is a rectangle with full basement; poured concrete foundation, probably a six foot dig with about 2 feet exposed above grade. The house is 45 x 25 and 50 plus years old.

The exposed foundation has V shaped cracks at each corner of the structure which are about 10-12 inches long and about 6 inches wide at the top.

The pieces of foundation that these cracks have created have not fallen off and remain in place, but the prior owner did patch them with some concrete repair material.

I want to sell the house. I would like to fix these if necessary and also investigate making the foundation look nicer.

1. Should the cracked areas be repaired, if so, how and how much will it cost?
2. Is there some product that can coat the foundation and add beauty or curb appeal to it?

Thanks for any ideas and advice.

AR

AR,

Have you considered parging (applying a coating –textured or smooth surface) over the exterior?

Some call this stucco but it is a thin application that does adhere well to surfaces.
One idea is to do it yourself, if you are able. Depending on the size of the area, and I assume you would want to do the entire perimeter, buy bags of Portland cement, masonry sand, add appropriate amount of water and allot of sweat! Some calculations would have to be done as to how much is needed. This is labor intensive but it might be worth the effort doing it yourself. Sometimes a bonding agent is added to ensure that it adheres to the substrate.

If you hire this out, I would suggest getting bids, at least 3 to determine the best route. I am unsure of the cost for doing this within your area.

What we are talking about here is covering not only the cracks but the entire surfaces to give a more aesthetically pleasing look and hopefully a quick sale.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for that input. BTW I grew up not far from R.O., in Farmington Hills. Still have fam there too.

AR

AR,

I hope it will help.

I was in Farmington Hills yesterday taking photos of a project. It's a great area!

Good Luck on your project and fast sale!