Foundation and basement

Comment by Martin on November 30, 2009 at 2:29am

your basement walls almost look exactly like our house's walls. The voids you REALLY need to worry about would be any corners, above windows, on the sides of windows, load bearing areas, etc. Those are the weak points. I really wouldn't worry about the wall parging. About 98% of my basement walls were parged and it isn't hurting anything. Just be sure to use the right mortar when repointing (lime based stuff) and none of that quik crete crap. I did notice that the cemented used in the foundation had a lot of tiny pebbles in it as fill. I didn't add any to my mix so it would not upset the balance and I didn't see the necessary. Make sure that outside drainage is done right so you have no water right next to the foundation (plants are a big no no). I had missing downspouts and gutter leaks for many years it seems, which really played havoc on my foundation. I will post pictures of some of the work I have done here in a few days. Good luck!

Comment by Mark Landry on December 17, 2009 at 8:19pm

Limestone is pretty soft so you should use a weak lime/sand mix for repointing the joints. Check out the National Park Service's Brief on masonry restoration- they give recipes for various types of mortars. We sometimes use a bag- similar to a pastry bag used by cake bakers- to squeeze mortar deep into stone foundations. Start with the worst areas, do a little at a time. You'll need to take a nylon bristle brush and water to wash the dirt and efflourescence off before repointing.

Comment by Martin on December 17, 2009 at 8:35pm

Yep Mark is correct. The bag does help a lot, as well as other tools. The brush is also important, since you can blot your repointed area after it sets up a bit to make it look like the original joint. I will have to post some pictures of what I have done since your basement looks almost exactly like mine. I wouldn't worry about the wall parge stuff since it was most likely put up for a reason.

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