Hot answers tagged foundation
11
I think you need to get a structural engineer out there ASAP to investigate; I would be worried too!
Your city's by-law office might be able to refer you to someone who can help.
It might also be worth getting in contact with your insurance company - they might have their own engineer come out.
If you think it's really about to fall over you might opt to ...
11
My house has the main electrical come in below grade (built in 1967 before they knew better). I would get some small leakage coming in around the conduit where it came through the concrete and later hydro-static pressure pushing water right up into the main breaker box which, though inside, was also below grade.
With a un-floored crawl space, some water ...
10
Call in a pro.
This site can help with a lot of problems found in and around the home, but in some situations a problem cannot be diagnosed and solved effectively on the internet. Some problems just have to be looked at, and inspected before a proper solution can be proposed.
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9
If the mortar is crumbling and flaking, it MUST be removed. It is a tedious job, bit to assure a good solid surface, you have to remove all loose mortar, key it, and point all the joints. Let it cure a few weeks, be absolutely it is dried, then go for the finish. If you don't get to a solid base, you will be wasting your time and paint. Remember, the right ...
7
Let's not over complicate this little project. I have seen these open sump holes hundreds of times. I am absolutely sure there are no structural issues here, how long has the house stood without concrete in the hole? There was probably not a concrete floor when it was built and for many years after. If you want to simply keep stuff out and hide the dirt ...
7
You have a couple things going on here:
1) The posts. an engineer would have to evaluate to be sure, but it's most likely that you will not be able to remove the posts without providing beams of some sort to span the space between the walls. Their irregular arrangement probably lines up with walls that they are supporting in the first story, which in ...
7
Unless your holes match the bolt size very precisely (like, you have to hammer the bolts home), you will get racking, which will weaken the joint over time. Likewise, the bolts will loosen up (use lock washers and check it frequently). It's something you'll have to watch for; as the holes get stretched, you'll need to figure out what to do. Think about how ...
7
I am in Maine where climate is similar. There are very few Preserved or pressure treated foundations here. I have seen them on out buildings, barns and some summer camps. They are rarely used for dwellings, with good reason. Wood and water do not mix, regardless how well they have been treated. Even though some have been in used for over 50 years, every one ...
6
Never use chicken wire or fiber glass meshing, they don't do anything.
When it comes to non rebar reinforcement you have some options. In your case I would add fibers. This type of reinforcement is called FRC or Fiber Reinforced Concrete.
Steel fibers add tensile strength and have no weak points like rebar does because they are spread throughout the ...
6
A welded connection can always be made the same strength as the original steel by using a full penetration but weld but this all depends on the quality of the materials used for the welding and the quality of the welding itself. Therei s a very good reason why there is a lot of non destructive testing used when welded joints are being used for structural ...
6
I spent a couple summers in college installing underground sprinkling, so I know a little bit about this.
Typically you will have a large valve box somewhere in your yard. These will usually have an access hatch (or several small hatches) for maintenance, so they should be easy enough to find. Typically a pipe will run from the water supply to the valve ...
6
The answer to your question is that there is no answer - there are just so many variables that it's really impossible to answer with anything quantitative.
The biggest variable is how much water is going down the drain. If you had a clog but very little water usage, it could be days before you saw anything on your basement floor. If you have a family of 8 ...
6
I'll assume that the hole is there because concrete was put onto unrammed gravel. The current state is left on the picture
Now assuming you've got rid of the animals you have to stabilize the existing concrete and the gravel beneath it. The easiest way would be to excavate some of the gravel until you reach some stable foundation (I'd guess it's around ...
6
I'm not 100% clear as to whether you bought the house with the cracks and the popped out nails, or whether it has happened since you bought the place. If it has happened since you bought the place then I would be concerned and have it looked into. If it was like that when you bought it the damage could have been there for decades, there's no way to know for ...
5
There are a few different ways I've seen this done.
The best way is to trench around the outside of the foundation down to the footer, seal the outside of the wall, and install a drainage system (gravel and pipes) at the footer to redirect the water to a sump pit where it can be pumped out.
Next best way is to do basicly the same thing, but on the inside ...
5
I would start with Architect or Structural Engineer because for that kind of work you're going to need permits, which means detailed drawings for the applications. They would probably have recommendations for a General Contractor that would be able to do the job (with or without subcontractors).
5
For my on grade shed, I first built a bed of crushed limestone for it to rest on. This will allow drainage and breathing room below the shed. I used some landscape timbers and made a "retaining wall" for the limestone just slightly larger than the footprint of the shed (like 2' around each side). I then filled this rectangle landscape timber area with ...
5
I have been working on my field stone basement as well (170 years old), and here is what I have learned:
Having hired an actual stone mason (that's right; they still exist) to repair an area of wall that was very decrepit I learned some things that are helping me now, and I have also learned that some of what he was doing was not necessary.
I have begun my ...
5
The mortar is crumbling because of moisture seeping through the walls from the outside, not from the paint. That is a common problem with fieldstone foundations. See questions about how to remove crumbled mortar and what kind of mortar to use.
I would be very surprised if the fieldstone itself is actually crumbling. If so, you need a structural engineer ...
5
The first step is to look at the foundation that supports that the walls of the garage. If the walls have foundations separate from the garage floor slab and those foundations are similar in construction and depth to those of the main house then this is a good indicator that you are in a good position to proceed with the remodel plans.
On the other hand if ...
4
I've no experience of lime mortar, but I would work under the same assumptions as I use for plaster and normal mortar.
That is, when removing the loose material go a little way into the sound areas, but don't be too aggressive.
So in this case I'd start with a steel brush to get the really loose material out and then use a chisel (or an old long ...
4
It is not so much about mortar as it is about the working process. You should clean out the old crumbling mortar to make place for the new one. Remove the old mortar so that all parts are firm and nothing is crumbling - you can even scratch out a bit of the old mortar. The very important part is to wash the wall properly with water so that all parts hold ...
4
Some things we found under our crawl space that you can keep an eye out for:
Joist hangers weren't secured to code, not enough nails.
Insulation wasn't properly secured and was sagging.
If the crawlspace is part of an addition, make sure ducts and vents arn't coverd up and carry through to the exterior of the house. Make sure any vents aren't leaking air ...
4
heat causes it to expand. If there's no room to expand, it buckles. It's usually a bigger issue for blacktop, as it's darker and absorbs more heat. I doubt your house foundation or driveway has enough exposed mass for this to be of any concern, though...you typically need highway amounts of surface to cause the buckling
4
You can do it. Certainly.
There was a recent episode on this for "this old house". They basically suggested cleaning out the loose fill and then replacing the old mortar with fresh mortar. It looked tedious more than anything else - but doable by a homeowner. I've re-mortared and chinked stone foundations. It's a surprisingly high maintenance experience ...
4
Foundation problems are NEVER cheap to solve, and sadly, someone got cheap when the work was first done. Do the work right the first time. Was this addition even inspected by the local building inspector? If not, then you may have some legal recourse if the owners did work and failed to get the necessary permits. I doubt it would work, but only a lawyer ...
4
How large of a porch are we talking about? Typically you'd want someone to come jack up the porch and replace the foundation piers. 10k seems really high, but then again, I don't know the size of the porch or foundation piers.
You'll want to call a licensed contractor to handle it. They might need to bring out a structural engineer or a soil expert. Hard ...
4
To remove the animals I'd hire an animal control company to get rid of them for you. You could buy some humane traps and relocate the animals yourself but a) depending on where you are that might be illegal, and b) they're skunks! Check with your municipal government to see whether they can help with the removal and if not bring in the professionals.
Once ...
4
The concrete itself should be fine. Make sure water doesn't have anywhere it can pool, since standing water, concrete, and freezing temperatures can lead to cracking. I would protect any metal brackets or bolts intended to secure the framing to the foundation. And I would also protect any plumbing coming through the foundation. Where the water line is ...
4
I've encountered the same problem in my own home, although the drywall and ceiling seam cracks only showed up one at a time over the course of a few years, and most of them were present when I moved in. If more than one or two seams popped or nail heads started showing within a month, that seems like it could be a rather large settlement in your foundation, ...
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