What is up with this at the base of my foundation

SpartanEpoxies
Advertise with us
shop deals on amazon
House Repair Talk

Help Support House Repair Talk:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
with what ? moisture salts on the brick, the shrinkage crack where parging meets brick, fallen brick, no expansion jnt 'tween the sidewalk/landing & house foundation, or no wicks in the weeps ? ' what ' are you asking ?
 
did look at your pics & then asked ' what ' is your concern & i didn't yet mention ' where's the brick shelf ? ' ,,, you ignored my question,,, yes, its obvious we don't speak the same language but those are laymen's terms,,, do you have a dictionary ? perhaps they're old-fashioned for younger generations used to wickipedia - however, there's hope yet unless you can't learn,,, i'm out of this thread
 
Itsreallyconc - I do not appreciate your condescending attitude. So please stay out of this thread.There is no such sight as wickipedia. There is however one called Wikipedia.
 
Last edited:
DrHicks - I do realize it is poor worksmanship. I have seen some other houses in the neighborhood that have similar issues.

I am hoping to have this fixed..I do not have any idea how much it would cost or who to even call for this.

The house is about 10 years old and only started to show these signs about a year ago.
 
lk122071 said:
DrHicks - I do realize it is poor worksmanship. I have seen some other houses in the neighborhood that have similar issues.

I am hoping to have this fixed..I do not have any idea how much it would cost or who to even call for this.

The house is about 10 years old and only started to show these signs about a year ago.
Click to expand...

Ahhh, okay. Thanks for the clarification. I just wasn't sure what you were asking.

I cannot give you an honest or accurate estimate regarding the cost for fixing the problems. There are just too many variables that can't be seen in the pictures.

Most of the pictures show very minor things, such as a lack of fill dirt and some mortar missing. If that's all that's wrong, it's no big deal. In fact, you could easily fix it yourself.

But what worries me is what appears to be concrete that didn't cure properly - possibly because it was poured when the temperature was too cold. 10-year old concrete should not be cracking and flaking like that. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this problem could run VERY deep.

My best advice would be to seek out a professional - somebody who really knows concrete - and get his opinion, and an estimate.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help.
 
Thanks DrHicks. I believe that the foundation was poured in the winter time (we bought the house new).

I wonder if the extreme cold and heat (over 100 degrees in the summer) and rain along with the occasional hail storm could be part of the cause of the cracking and flaking of the concrete.

I will look into seeking advice from a professional.
 
lk122071 said:
Thanks DrHicks. I believe that the foundation was poured in the winter time (we bought the house new).

I wonder if the extreme cold and heat (over 100 degrees in the summer) and rain along with the occasional hail storm could be part of the cause of the cracking and flaking of the concrete.

I will look into seeking advice from a professional.
Click to expand...

If it was poured in the winter, that's almost certainly your problem. It also looks like they might have had too much water in the concrete.
 
pls excuse my condescending attitude & interruption :beer: BUT if that horizontal crack's the problem, its not unexpected as that joint should have been sealed, NOT parged,,, flaking is due to feather-edging the parge coat,,, since there are no pictures of the foundation ( block or brick ), curious how anyone could theorize frozen concrete/cold weather caused a problem ?

makes sense other houses are experiencing same problems - bldrs tend to use same subs til their prices get too high :rolleyes: the only way you can tell if the water/cement ratio was too high is to have petrographic tests done by a certified lab - $$$$$$$$$$$$$ out the window for a homeowner,,, again, my apologies - now please tune back into your normal responses,,, wickipedia doesn't have definition for feather-edge - look on google
 
Last edited:
I'm going to put in my 2 cents, because I see to many problems.

From what I can tell from just pictures, you have a post tentioned concrete slab.There is no foundation, only an 8 inch slab? I see round 4 inch concrete patches in some areas of those pics. This means you most likely have tensioned cables imbedded in your concrete because of the clay soil out there in Texas.
I also see a brick facade area with no support, this is an interesting area to say the least. I am guessing these are where the bricks are cracked due to lack of "any" support.
The other parge coating looks as though the low guy on the list has done this for the first time.
Bottom line, you need a professional...or 3 to give you an idea as to what they see. Your home moves and the concrete "should" never have water added...but this happens all the time.
Then get back to us and we may be able to settle out the answers they give you.
 
itsreallyconc said:
pls excuse my condescending attitude & interruption :beer: BUT if that horizontal crack's the problem, its not unexpected as that joint should have been sealed, NOT parged,,, flaking is due to feather-edging the parge coat,,, since there are no pictures of the foundation ( block or brick ), curious how anyone could theorize frozen concrete/cold weather caused a problem ?

makes sense other houses are experiencing same problems - bldrs tend to use same subs til their prices get too high :rolleyes: the only way you can tell if the water/cement ratio was too high is to have petrographic tests done by a certified lab - $$$$$$$$$$$$$ out the window for a homeowner,,, again, my apologies - now please tune back into your normal responses,,, wickipedia doesn't have definition for feather-edge - look on google
Click to expand...


I spent nearly 20 years in Minnesota. I've seen a lot of concrete that was poured too late in the fall, and not protected from the cold while it was curing. It flakes & crumbles.

Photo #2 has ever indicator of concrete that was mixed too wet, with the top of the pour becoming little more than watery cement that quickly flakes and breaks.

The parge coat - if that's indeed what it is - is, at best, a crappy johnny-come-lately attempt to cover over some obvious problems.


The bottom line is that somebody did a really crappy job with the concrete work on his house. I'm afraid that the professionals aren't going to be the bearers of good news.
 
Last edited:
Well like I said there are quite a few houses in the neighborhood like this and some of them sold regardless. I am not sure if they had any major problems with the house or not.

So if this is some sort of foundation issue, there are no signs of this inside the house. We do not have cracks in the walls, problems opening or closing doors, uneven floors, etc. Not that this makes me feel better, but maybe it is not as bad. Not sure at this point. I found a few people that are consultants on this sort of thing who claim they will give you a detailed report. One of them charges a $300 fee. Not sure about the other ones.

At this point I just want to sell the house. I know this needs to be addressed first and hopefully whatever needs to be done will not cost too much. If it does we will have to hold off selling since we will have to save up for this. Being a homeowner is not always a good thing.
 
' no signs of this inside the house ' IS significant,,, i'd put the $300 towards the masonary repairs but that's been our work for 38 yrs,,, .bet the reprs won't be more than $ 500,,, we too consult & charge $ 500 for detailed reports,,, opinion letters cost $ 300 :beer:
 
itsreallyconc said:
' no signs of this inside the house ' IS significant,,, i'd put the $300 towards the masonary repairs but that's been our work for 38 yrs,,, .bet the reprs won't be more than $ 500,,, we too consult & charge $ 500 for detailed reports,,, opinion letters cost $ 300 :beer:
Click to expand...

It's too bad you don't live in Dallas. Sounds like you're the guy he needs to give him a detailed explanation.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top