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#1
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Reinforcing concrete block wall?
I have a concrete block wall (foundation for a rear single-story
enclosed porch, 10 feet long, 6 blocks high... maybe 3.5-4 feet high?) that has buckled inward (as much as 6" in center) due to moisture freezing/expanding in the ground outside. The top course-and-a-half is above the exterior grade, and the inside of the wall (under the porch floor) has dirt up about a third of the height. We have done the following already: - installed gutters above to route water away from foundation - dug down to bottom (unmoved) course on both inside and out - jacked up porch floor to take weight off wall, and shifted blocks back to plumb - made plans to fill the 1-foot space immediately outside wall with stone gravel to improve water drainage - made plans to grade dirt away from house to improve water drainage My question: What steps can/should I take to keep the blocks where I have (re)placed them? Obviously, the cement seams between the blocks are long-since compromised. My thoughts include: - metal mesh bolted to inside of wall (attached to every block) to take tensile loads of future pressure on outside - parging cement on inside/outside surfaces to keep moisture from between blocks - building buttresses of blocks inside (think steps of blocks, perpendicular to wall, at say three points along length) - piling/packing the dirt back aalong the inside wall surface - pour a concrete/cement buttress along inside length (not easy, since porch floor is in the way) Which (combination) of these options would you employ, or what other suggestions might you have? Additional info: This house in in upstate NY (Ithaca). We are fixing up to sell - already have new residence in NJ. Thanks for any advice, Teo |
#2
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Reinforcing concrete block wall?
There are companies that somehow miraclously fix walls like these but
havent used them I would install a interior french drain so mo water can ever build up there again/ We need water to live but uits a homes enemy. Whatever you do fix it RIGHT so at home resale time its not a big issue. probably best to execavate top footer level outside and rebuild wall completely. i would stil;l install french drain so it doesnt reoccur. since the wall moved a lot get a structural engineers opinion |
#4
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Reinforcing concrete block wall?
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#6
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Reinforcing concrete block wall?
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#7
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Reinforcing concrete block wall?
Harry K wrote: wrote: I have a concrete block wall (foundation for a rear single-story enclosed porch, 10 feet long, 6 blocks high... maybe 3.5-4 feet high?) that has buckled inward (as much as 6" in center) due to moisture freezing/expanding in the ground outside. The top course-and-a-half is above the exterior grade, and the inside of the wall (under the porch floor) has dirt up about a third of the height. We have done the following already: - installed gutters above to route water away from foundation - dug down to bottom (unmoved) course on both inside and out - jacked up porch floor to take weight off wall, and shifted blocks back to plumb - made plans to fill the 1-foot space immediately outside wall with stone gravel to improve water drainage - made plans to grade dirt away from house to improve water drainage My question: What steps can/should I take to keep the blocks where I have (re)placed them? Obviously, the cement seams between the blocks are long-since compromised. My thoughts include: - metal mesh bolted to inside of wall (attached to every block) to take tensile loads of future pressure on outside - parging cement on inside/outside surfaces to keep moisture from between blocks - building buttresses of blocks inside (think steps of blocks, perpendicular to wall, at say three points along length) - piling/packing the dirt back aalong the inside wall surface - pour a concrete/cement buttress along inside length (not easy, since porch floor is in the way) Which (combination) of these options would you employ, or what other suggestions might you have? Additional info: This house in in upstate NY (Ithaca). We are fixing up to sell - already have new residence in NJ. Thanks for any advice, Teo All of your proposed fixes would -probably- work but...as others have said, you might as well rebuild the wall. It won't cost much more than your fixes and will be done right. Of course do the french drain and rock fill thing to. When rebuilding the wall use "Z-bar" between every other course and rebar plus concrete fill of the cavities in about every 4 blocks. Harry K I would fix all of the motar joints in the wall, then knock out the top block of the wall, shove rebar in there and pour those cells solid with concrete, then replace the top block. I would work the whole wall using this process, and pour the whole wall solid.. or at least every other cell with rebar and concrete. This sounds like a lot of work, but it isn't, and its sure easier and cheaper than ripping down the wall and rebuilding.. I poured my 8" block walls every 16" for my addition in two weeks, mixing the concrete myself. I'd buy or rent a concrete mixer. 8" block - 40 cells is 1 yard of concrete. I think... |
#8
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Reinforcing concrete block wall?
I would fix all of the motar joints in the wall, then knock out the top block of the wall, shove rebar in there and pour those cells solid with concrete, then replace the top block. I would work the whole wall using this process, and pour the whole wall solid.. or at least every other cell with rebar and concrete. I think this is the solution I will attempt. There is a vendor in town who will do small loads of cement. The wall is only there to hold up the back porch, which could be done with footings and posts, except that the crawlspace underneath is the only access to the plumbing running to the kitchen & bath (part of the cobbed-on addition on this 200-year-old house). This sounds like a reasonable way to make it stable and provide the weather-barrier needed to protect access to that plumbing. Thanks for the suggestions and the advice. Regards, Teo |
#9
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Reinforcing concrete block wall?
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