1victorianfarmhouse

I posted a while ago about the tuckpointing needing to be redone on many of my basement walls, and also pointed out that the walls were mostly hollow, with about 6-8 inched between the two.

The walls were originally filled with sand and leftover broken bricks and rock, and wood chunks. Time, settling, and various varmints have created the hollow.

I'm going to fill the walls in, but wanted to see if the experts had any comments on the type of mortar I should use, still Type N? and how I should mix it so I can pour it and it will seep into various hollows and voids.

As always, thanks for any comments!

vince

mudmixer

If you are filling larger areas, you do not use mortar, but should use grout. The grout is like concrete, but with smaller maximum size aggregate (sand/aggregate, cement, water and no lime). It is very fluid, with a slump of 8 to 11", compared with concrete that is 3 to 4". The high moisture content and the small aggregate allow it to fill the voids. The excess water is absorbed by the masony units, but the grout should be placed in lifts of several feet, allowed to consolidate and the be topped off the finish.

A basement wall of two layers is very unusual.

Dick

1victorianfarmhouse

Thanks for the info, it's very helpful.

I've attached a few pictures of the inner wall, the cavity, and the outer wall. The house is sort of large for the area, and the man it was built for was a fairly affluent farmer. This may have had something to do with the way the house was built.

vince