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Some form of squirrel or chipmunk has been hanging out in my basement. The exterminator placed some glue traps on the ridge formed by the cinder (cement?) blocks, and the critter got into them. He was strong enough to get off of them, albeit with some hair loss. But based on this (and the corresponding hole in the dirt outside), we think the animal is getting in through this gap - between the foundation of the original house, and the circa ~2001 addition.

I'm in the process of digging up the flower bed outside to put steel grating over the area, but I am not sure how sane this approach is - I cannot access anywhere near the other side of this hole, because a cement porch is over top of it.

I've taken three pictures to try to give the best idea of the area.

Can you point me in the right direction to seal this up from the inside as well?

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If this cavity is no longer required to function, suggest repairing the crumbling wall, then build a wood frame fastened to the joist and wall, and cover the hole with plywood.

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  • Thanks, that seems like a great solution. But how do I repair that wall? What can I do for the gap that remains once the plywood is installed (there's a non-trivial open area behind there, so if I just try slathering cement on to it, the cement will just end up going in the back)?
    – negacao
    Commented Jun 21, 2021 at 11:37
  • 1) Cleaning out the loose brick and seal the gaps with the dry pack (cement-sand mix with the least amount of water needs to bond together). 2) Any sealer that can stick to both the brick and wood can be used to seal the gap between the brick and wood frame. Expandable foram can be used to seal the large gap. 3) Yes, the concrete will just fall over. I'll seal the non-trivial opening with bricks, if necessary. One reminder - "screw the plywood to the wood frame if there is the possibility of the need to re-open the space".
    – r13
    Commented Jun 21, 2021 at 16:06

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