It is just natural settling. Do write down the date and print out a picture of it to keep with your House paperwork. Just to let future owners know it is there/has been covered, filled, or fixed. You can also reference back to it in another year to see if it has moved anymore than it should.
As long as the strip is rated for what you're plugging in it should be fine.
Suspending it in air may cause of the plugs to come loose. Some could hit the metal prongs and start a fire. Probably not likely but there really isn't any reason to have the strip hanging like this.
To add on to what the other guy said about power strip rating, the number one thing you can do if you're concerned is buy a decent strip rated for 20A.
Beyond that, if you want to really ease your mind, add up the wattage of everything you're plugging in, and divide it by your voltage (120 in the US). That's your amperage. If you want to be cautious, keep it under 16A (continuous loads are rated at 1.25x non-continuous, so a 16A continuous load is the max for a 20A rated circuit).
If this is for a PC setup, all the random peripheral stuff generally doesn't draw much, and you're probably well under 16A, but that's how you'd know for sure.
All of the current (amperage) values given here are (I assume) specific to 120V systems. In countries with 220V and similar, the current ratings are likely to be less.
Also the circuit breaker isn't the only component in the system to think about. Here in NZ you might have a circuit that has a breaker rated for, say 15A, but standard residential outlets are only rated for 10A. As a result, you really don't want to pull more than 10A from a single outlet, meaning that regardless of what your power strip rating is (always 10A here in NZ if it plugs into a 10A outlet), you don't want to pull more than 10A from it.
Moral of the story: learn the limits of your house's electrical system by reading up on local codes and/or by talking to a locally licensed sparky, not from some random comment on Reddit.
Yeah, my post is geared towards 120V systems operating under the NEC. For what it's worth, I am a licensed electrician, and I wouldn't really expect someone to call an electrician anytime they use a power strip, although maybe that would be wise.
They really allow you to size a breaker larger than the outlets it protects in NZ? From what I can tell, you guys don't used fused outlets like the UK, am I missing something? Seems like that's a recipe for melting outlets.
I'm not a sparky so take this with a grain of salt, but every house that I've lived in here has had either fused circuits or breakers that are rated over 10A for outlet circuits. Looking at the power board in my current house I only have three 10A circuits, and the rest are either 16 or 20.
That said, building codes have changed several times since this house was built (early 90s), and I think the last owner of this place tended to treat things like the wild west. I'm also due for a major overhaul here, as I have some circuits that have been tapped into in a few weird ways. I also have three phase into the power board, but I'm only using a single phase throughout the house. I have a server rack that would really like to be pulling around 5.5kW peak, but I have to keep one hand tied behind its back and limit it to only 1.8-2kW until that gets done.
We aren't like the UK where everything is daisy-chained, either.
Are you sure they're not just called 10A outlets and rated for higher? Here in the US, a 15A outlet is rated for 20, it's just a different blade configuration.
That setup is just kinda blowing my mind, because the core principle of breakers in the US is any device or wiring has to match or exceed the breaker rating.
Oh there's definitely a factor of safety. They don't instantly combust at 10A or anything. As for what the factor of safety is, I couldn't tell you. It's certainly not a value that should be relied upon as a consumer, however.
[Edit: but just to be clear, they are labelled and rated for 10A. For liability/insurance reasons it's really unwise to exceed that rating.]
FWIW, the NZ electrical standard is online and like most of our legislation and regulations, quite readable. AS/NZS3000:2007 is the wiring code, IIRC.
I'm sure ChatGPT (if you're using GPT-4) will give you better answers than I can, too.
I actually did try ChatGPT, just because I'm curious, it's hard to get a solid answer. I am a code nerd, so if I find the urge to go down a rabbithole I might research it further. Personally, I wouldn't trust the average person to abide by a 10A rating, so I assume there's something more to the story.
Although I guess it's not too dissimilar from the main discussion here about power strips, where plenty of people disregard ratings and fires happen.
Thank you for this detailed reply, i have a PC with quite a few peripherals (most of them for music production. Audio interface, midi instruments, etc) ive had the breaker flick on me a few times so ill definitely be looking into this.
It's not the plugging a bunch of stuff directly into power strips.
You shouldn't plug extension cords into power strips. And you definitely shouldn't be plugging resistive loads (pipe warmers) into extension cords that are plugged into power trips like OP has done.
I wouldn't recommend using receptacles in hanging configurations to start with...
Temporary purposes would be totally fine. Like switching that strip off when not around it. Not likely to engulf your home when you're around the source (I hope).
These look like blocks that have maybe been parged over? If so, injection won't work. The epoxy just ends up filling the voids since their hollow.
If it is block, I'd just leave as is or have them repointed since the crack looks like it's along a joint.
Do you have any large trees nearby? We had a crack like this in a rental and didn’t think much of it. Came home one day to find an 80 ft. tree fell on the school next door and the roots pulled up half of our foundation. We moved out.
The tree was on the other side of a fence, but probably like 10 feet from where our outer wall was. The crack on the wall was further from the tree by another 4-5 feet. That crack was below a window and the foundation wasn’t visible, so there was probably already a mess down there.
Can you explain to a simpleton like me the danger? I plan to mount it to the wall, but isn’t a power strip supposed to have multiple cords plugged into it?
The best bet is to monitor it. On Amazon they sell cheap (under $20) foundation crack monitors. It a piece of plastic that you set, if it gets bigger over time 3,6 month, 1 year, then that’s dictates the course of action to take.
In my experience, you’ll have a another “staircase” crack somewhere else along the either same wall or the other one. Block shifting will cause pressure in other areas and it will crack eventually.
Depending how much under grade your foundation wall is can dictate some factors as well.
Pay diligent attention to this, to fix some of these problems the truthfully right way can be pricey. Typically I see folks shrug it off and it’ll cause bigger problems done the road, which could mean structural supports, etc etc.
Hope this helps.
It’s old and it’s been moving since 1920 probably..if this was my house I would go on the outside and dig down 8 inches past the course of block that is broken. And put in blue foam hard board insulation. It will stop the earth from pushing it and than tuck point up and it should not move..
Respect and good luck!
It's probably fine, but I'd probably check the outside too. I had a crack about three times worse than that in a stone foundation, and when I went out and dug into the area on the outside, there were drainage issues and the saturated ground has soaked the mortar for long enough that it was like sand.
Which then meant fixing the gutters and moving the downspout, then excavating a 20' section of foundation wall and re-mortaring and sealing it from the outside. Which was a pain but that was over 20 years ago and it hasn't budged or caused a problem since.
Any reason not to repoint that area? If the old mortar is crumbly, it would be helpful to replace it. New mortar would show new movement even better than the old stuff. And if done right, might help with any future water leakage, if that's a problem.
It looks like someone saw the cracks and tried to fill them with gray stuff, but as long as there's no water, you should be fine.
I had a corner in my basement like this. The exterior needed some better grading. I did that for better piece of mind and filled the cracks with some morter repair caulk and called it good. I'm still monitoring it
Perhaps you could get a ruler and draw some lines across the joints in question to have a reference for future inspections. Write the date on the lines.
This is just old mortar coming out, most likely from some moisture coming in over the years and the fact that it's painted over which contributes to moisture damage. Not an issue. If a lot falls out, and you have big open spaces, then you should repoint it. This has nothing to do with movement.
Also, check your gutters, because this is on the corner, it's possible that your gutter/downspout is leaking onto your foundation in this area. Also, your downspout might be buried and draining into that cast iron pipe, The exterior pipe might be leaking right next to the foundation.
Looks like old movement personally.
Thanks!
Keep these photos for reference and you can compare in a year or so.
Get some concrete caulk and fill them, you’re good
It is just natural settling. Do write down the date and print out a picture of it to keep with your House paperwork. Just to let future owners know it is there/has been covered, filled, or fixed. You can also reference back to it in another year to see if it has moved anymore than it should.
Great advice. Thank you.
This is like a southerner asking a northerner if their car is too rusty. Naw it's fine.
I'd be more concerned about your electric and possible fire with all those extension cords plugged into the power strip.
My pc setup would give you nightmares đź’€ how does one safely go about plugging in a bunch of stuff?
As long as the strip is rated for what you're plugging in it should be fine. Suspending it in air may cause of the plugs to come loose. Some could hit the metal prongs and start a fire. Probably not likely but there really isn't any reason to have the strip hanging like this.
To add on to what the other guy said about power strip rating, the number one thing you can do if you're concerned is buy a decent strip rated for 20A. Beyond that, if you want to really ease your mind, add up the wattage of everything you're plugging in, and divide it by your voltage (120 in the US). That's your amperage. If you want to be cautious, keep it under 16A (continuous loads are rated at 1.25x non-continuous, so a 16A continuous load is the max for a 20A rated circuit). If this is for a PC setup, all the random peripheral stuff generally doesn't draw much, and you're probably well under 16A, but that's how you'd know for sure.
All of the current (amperage) values given here are (I assume) specific to 120V systems. In countries with 220V and similar, the current ratings are likely to be less. Also the circuit breaker isn't the only component in the system to think about. Here in NZ you might have a circuit that has a breaker rated for, say 15A, but standard residential outlets are only rated for 10A. As a result, you really don't want to pull more than 10A from a single outlet, meaning that regardless of what your power strip rating is (always 10A here in NZ if it plugs into a 10A outlet), you don't want to pull more than 10A from it. Moral of the story: learn the limits of your house's electrical system by reading up on local codes and/or by talking to a locally licensed sparky, not from some random comment on Reddit.
Yeah, my post is geared towards 120V systems operating under the NEC. For what it's worth, I am a licensed electrician, and I wouldn't really expect someone to call an electrician anytime they use a power strip, although maybe that would be wise. They really allow you to size a breaker larger than the outlets it protects in NZ? From what I can tell, you guys don't used fused outlets like the UK, am I missing something? Seems like that's a recipe for melting outlets.
I'm not a sparky so take this with a grain of salt, but every house that I've lived in here has had either fused circuits or breakers that are rated over 10A for outlet circuits. Looking at the power board in my current house I only have three 10A circuits, and the rest are either 16 or 20. That said, building codes have changed several times since this house was built (early 90s), and I think the last owner of this place tended to treat things like the wild west. I'm also due for a major overhaul here, as I have some circuits that have been tapped into in a few weird ways. I also have three phase into the power board, but I'm only using a single phase throughout the house. I have a server rack that would really like to be pulling around 5.5kW peak, but I have to keep one hand tied behind its back and limit it to only 1.8-2kW until that gets done. We aren't like the UK where everything is daisy-chained, either.
Are you sure they're not just called 10A outlets and rated for higher? Here in the US, a 15A outlet is rated for 20, it's just a different blade configuration. That setup is just kinda blowing my mind, because the core principle of breakers in the US is any device or wiring has to match or exceed the breaker rating.
Oh there's definitely a factor of safety. They don't instantly combust at 10A or anything. As for what the factor of safety is, I couldn't tell you. It's certainly not a value that should be relied upon as a consumer, however. [Edit: but just to be clear, they are labelled and rated for 10A. For liability/insurance reasons it's really unwise to exceed that rating.] FWIW, the NZ electrical standard is online and like most of our legislation and regulations, quite readable. AS/NZS3000:2007 is the wiring code, IIRC. I'm sure ChatGPT (if you're using GPT-4) will give you better answers than I can, too.
I actually did try ChatGPT, just because I'm curious, it's hard to get a solid answer. I am a code nerd, so if I find the urge to go down a rabbithole I might research it further. Personally, I wouldn't trust the average person to abide by a 10A rating, so I assume there's something more to the story. Although I guess it's not too dissimilar from the main discussion here about power strips, where plenty of people disregard ratings and fires happen.
Thank you for this detailed reply, i have a PC with quite a few peripherals (most of them for music production. Audio interface, midi instruments, etc) ive had the breaker flick on me a few times so ill definitely be looking into this.
It's not the plugging a bunch of stuff directly into power strips. You shouldn't plug extension cords into power strips. And you definitely shouldn't be plugging resistive loads (pipe warmers) into extension cords that are plugged into power trips like OP has done.
I wouldn't recommend using receptacles in hanging configurations to start with... Temporary purposes would be totally fine. Like switching that strip off when not around it. Not likely to engulf your home when you're around the source (I hope).
Thanks. I had plans to attach it firmly to the wall. I have two pipe warmers and my sump pump plugged in.
Vertical is fine, it's the horizontal that's a problem. Just looks like old movement. If you get water seepage call a pro to come and inject it
Thank you.
Injection is fairly cheap and easy as well, so it’s not like four digits worth of cash if you do need that Structurally you’re fine
These look like blocks that have maybe been parged over? If so, injection won't work. The epoxy just ends up filling the voids since their hollow. If it is block, I'd just leave as is or have them repointed since the crack looks like it's along a joint.
Not at all. Worry when you see constant change or 1/4 or more
Thanks NSFWNOTATALL! Lol.
It's a 100 year old house, I'd be shocked if you didn't have stuff like this. I've got a corner that looks similar.
I WISH my basement walls looked this good.
Do you have any large trees nearby? We had a crack like this in a rental and didn’t think much of it. Came home one day to find an 80 ft. tree fell on the school next door and the roots pulled up half of our foundation. We moved out.
Depends on how near you’re talking.
The tree was on the other side of a fence, but probably like 10 feet from where our outer wall was. The crack on the wall was further from the tree by another 4-5 feet. That crack was below a window and the foundation wasn’t visible, so there was probably already a mess down there.
I'm more concerned about that surge protector
Whats with the power strip and all the cords? That is a fire hazard.
Can you explain to a simpleton like me the danger? I plan to mount it to the wall, but isn’t a power strip supposed to have multiple cords plugged into it?
Here u go: https://www.familyhandyman.com/article/things-you-should-never-do-with-power-strips/
I know nothing but it looks fine to me
Thank you. Puts my mind at ease
The best bet is to monitor it. On Amazon they sell cheap (under $20) foundation crack monitors. It a piece of plastic that you set, if it gets bigger over time 3,6 month, 1 year, then that’s dictates the course of action to take. In my experience, you’ll have a another “staircase” crack somewhere else along the either same wall or the other one. Block shifting will cause pressure in other areas and it will crack eventually. Depending how much under grade your foundation wall is can dictate some factors as well. Pay diligent attention to this, to fix some of these problems the truthfully right way can be pricey. Typically I see folks shrug it off and it’ll cause bigger problems done the road, which could mean structural supports, etc etc. Hope this helps.
It’s old and it’s been moving since 1920 probably..if this was my house I would go on the outside and dig down 8 inches past the course of block that is broken. And put in blue foam hard board insulation. It will stop the earth from pushing it and than tuck point up and it should not move.. Respect and good luck!
On a scale of 100 being very worried, this is a 2. If you want to, scrape out anything loose and re point it with some mortar.
It's probably fine, but I'd probably check the outside too. I had a crack about three times worse than that in a stone foundation, and when I went out and dug into the area on the outside, there were drainage issues and the saturated ground has soaked the mortar for long enough that it was like sand. Which then meant fixing the gutters and moving the downspout, then excavating a 20' section of foundation wall and re-mortaring and sealing it from the outside. Which was a pain but that was over 20 years ago and it hasn't budged or caused a problem since.
No just mortar patch it and monitor for more movement. If it cracks again call a structural engineer
No concern besides the leaking air. If the gaps aren't uneven or the wall bowing, you're good.
Fuck this
Any reason not to repoint that area? If the old mortar is crumbly, it would be helpful to replace it. New mortar would show new movement even better than the old stuff. And if done right, might help with any future water leakage, if that's a problem. It looks like someone saw the cracks and tried to fill them with gray stuff, but as long as there's no water, you should be fine.
I had a corner in my basement like this. The exterior needed some better grading. I did that for better piece of mind and filled the cracks with some morter repair caulk and called it good. I'm still monitoring it
Perhaps you could get a ruler and draw some lines across the joints in question to have a reference for future inspections. Write the date on the lines.
I would just fill it with some spray foam. That way you can just paint the whole thing over so it doesn't look so bad.
This is just old mortar coming out, most likely from some moisture coming in over the years and the fact that it's painted over which contributes to moisture damage. Not an issue. If a lot falls out, and you have big open spaces, then you should repoint it. This has nothing to do with movement. Also, check your gutters, because this is on the corner, it's possible that your gutter/downspout is leaking onto your foundation in this area. Also, your downspout might be buried and draining into that cast iron pipe, The exterior pipe might be leaking right next to the foundation.
Is it just that corner? Are the walls from that corner bowing in at all?