Severe foundation corner pops

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childofgod

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I recently inherited a house with severe corner pops on 3 out of 4 corners of the house. I need to know if this is something I can repair myself and if so, how? There are no other cracks in the foundation or basement walls or floors and no water or moisture in basement. Thanks for any input. I'm trying to add photos but am having trouble doing so.

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Looks like they were patched up once before. I am not an expert but I wouldn’t be too worried as nothing seems wrong inside. Experts should be along shortly.

Welcome to the forum.
 
Thanks. I'm hoping this will not be expensive to repair. I'm afraid to contact foundation companies because I've heard such horror stories from friends about the local contractors. And, I just don't have much money to work with. I'm having to put new windows, siding, all floors, and a whole lot of paint as it is before I'd move there.

As far as the corner pops, it looks like they've been repaired at least 2 times but not necessarily the right way.
 
Hopefully I will get a reply soon on the best way to fix the corner pops. Not finding much info on it from Google.
 
Stucco or?? was added after the brick, there should be weep holes to allow water out from behind the brick. If there are no holes between the brick the water will get into the stocco or behind it.
So the question is , is it stucco or foundation dammage, we don't know when it was put there or why.
 
Do you know if it's a block foundation? When was the house built?
The house is in Virginia. I believe it was built in 1962. It appears to be cement covered by stucco type stuff. I'm a female and not real familiar with these things but the inside of the basement sort of looks like cement over wood grain looking material if that makes any sense.
 
Can you see the same cracks on the inside as you see from the outside? If you can then it might be a more serious problem. If not it is most likely cosmetic.

Sounds like the walls were poured in wood forms. That would explain the wood grain you see. The outside had stucco put on at some point. Judging by the year you most likely have rebar inside those walls and my guess is structurally you are fine. At least nothing catastrophic should happen. It is always good to watch every house for any changes going on though.

It looks like the repairs that were made were too little. Someone got some patching stuff and just worked on the cracks a little. Where it had flaked away it’s very hard to get any new material in there to hold without some “tooth”.

If it were mine I think I would open up the cracks in a way that would make the crack wider inside than outside so when I filled it the material would have a “Key” to help keep the repair in place. A grinder and hammer drill hammer and chisel would be the tools to use and safety glasses. Once filled you could match the stucco finish.
 
Can you see the same cracks on the inside as you see from the outside? If you can then it might be a more serious problem. If not it is most likely cosmetic.

Sounds like the walls were poured in wood forms. That would explain the wood grain you see. The outside had stucco put on at some point. Judging by the year you most likely have rebar inside those walls and my guess is structurally you are fine. At least nothing catastrophic should happen. It is always good to watch every house for any changes going on though.

It looks like the repairs that were made were too little. Someone got some patching stuff and just worked on the cracks a little. Where it had flaked away it’s very hard to get any new material in there to hold without some “tooth”.

If it were mine I think I would open up the cracks in a way that would make the crack wider inside than outside so when I filled it the material would have a “Key” to help keep the repair in place. A grinder and hammer drill hammer and chisel would be the tools to use and safety glasses. Once filled you could match the stucco finish.
Thanks for your input. No, there aren't any cracks on the inside of the basement at all. Do you have any suggestions as to what products I should use to fill the cracks in once I clean them out as you described?
 
Thanks for your input. No, there aren't any cracks on the inside of the basement at all. Do you have any suggestions as to what products I should use to fill the cracks in once I clean them out as you described?


There has been a lot of discussion here of late about best patching products available to DIYers thru the apron and vest stores. Some of the professionals here say there is no comparison in the quality of the products they use with what we can buy as DIYers.

A good thread to read about all this is this one and I did my best to summarize what’s available in post # 31 below is a link to the thread.
http://www.houserepairtalk.com/showthread.php?t=18141

Go to this link of home depot and read about the product I would use for your job. There are two videos on that page to watch that should answer a lot of your questions. The product is something we can buy and buy in a small enough amount to make it practical for DIY work. Link below
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Rapid-Set-55-lb-Cement-All-Multi-Purpose-Construction-Material-02010055/202188447

Watch the video and it will explain all 3 products and pick the one that best suits your needs.
When you undertake the project please stay connected with the forum and show us your results and tell us about how it worked.
 
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