frankers

I pulled the drywall off near my basement stairs and noticed they are built right over the dirt. An addition was put on and it looks like they built the stairs where the old concrete stairs once were. I want to seal this area.

Can I pour concrete right over the dirt?

It looks like the brick wall where the old stairs used to be isn't underpinned.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!!

nealtw

The wall should be underpinned and if you just want to seal the dirt with concrete, put 6 mill sheet poly under it to seal out moisture.

frankers

Thank you!

Is it worth hiring someone to do the underpinning or would it be relatively easy to do myself?

nealtw

You could do this yourself. the wall should be sitting on a concrete footing that is about 8" high and 18" across with 2 or 3 peices of rebar in it. This footing should be on solid ground, not loose dirt. Does this wall do anything or has the weight from above been transferred somewhere else with structure.

frankers

I think this wall is partially supporting the addition. The addition is on a post and beam foundation but it does run along this wall on the side of the house. Do you think this is a problem?

nealtw

When you say "runs along" do you mean the floor joists are running in the same direction as the wall and is there a wall directly above the brick wall.
Not a problem , just trying to figure out if fixing the wall is required.