Hi, I have a styrofoam foundation on my house and on one wall there is
a walkway outside at the same height as the basement floor. About 7
feet below the normal grade. The outer wall of the styrofoam
foundation has stucco on it and there is a gap of about 1/4-1/2 inch
between the bottom edge of the stucco and the outside walkway sidewalk
slab. I'm having a problem with water getting into my basement when it
rains. Any ideas on how to seal it up would be appreciated. Thanks.

"autonut843" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi, I have a styrofoam foundation on my house and on one wall there is
a walkway outside at the same height as the basement floor. About 7
feet below the normal grade. The outer wall of the styrofoam
foundation has stucco on it and there is a gap of about 1/4-1/2 inch
between the bottom edge of the stucco and the outside walkway sidewalk
slab. I'm having a problem with water getting into my basement when it
rains. Any ideas on how to seal it up would be appreciated. Thanks.

Firs, you don't have a Styrofoam wall. You have either a wood, block or
concrete wall insulated with Styrofoam.

You can use caulk, roofing cement, blacktop patch, or any number of things
to direct the water away. Would be best to have a little bevel.

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
"autonut843" wrote in message
oups.com...

Hi, I have a styrofoam foundation on my house and on one wall there is
a walkway outside at the same height as the basement floor. About 7
feet below the normal grade. The outer wall of the styrofoam
foundation has stucco on it and there is a gap of about 1/4-1/2 inch
between the bottom edge of the stucco and the outside walkway sidewalk
slab. I'm having a problem with water getting into my basement when it
rains. Any ideas on how to seal it up would be appreciated. Thanks.


Firs, you don't have a Styrofoam wall. You have either a wood, block or
concrete wall insulated with Styrofoam.


Mebbee, but mebbee he does, there is such a thing

You can use caulk, roofing cement, blacktop patch, or any number of things
to direct the water away. Would be best to have a little bevel.



I swear by sikaflex to seal most anything. just don't get it on your
hands, will be there for a while

"yourname" wrote in message


Mebbee, but mebbee he does, there is such a thing

Really? There have been maybe six houses built from foam. There have been
hundreds of thousands built with a solid structure and foam insulation on
the outside. www.polysteel.com www.dryvit.com

But he could have one of those foam houses. Some were geodesic domes.

On 6 Jul 2006 15:34:32 -0700, "autonut843"
wrote:

Hi, I have a styrofoam foundation on my house and on one wall there is
a walkway outside at the same height as the basement floor. About 7
feet below the normal grade. The outer wall of the styrofoam
foundation has stucco on it and there is a gap of about 1/4-1/2 inch
between the bottom edge of the stucco and the outside walkway sidewalk
slab. I'm having a problem with water getting into my basement when it
rains. Any ideas on how to seal it up would be appreciated. Thanks.

Sounds like a design problem. Get the contractor back and have him
fix the drainage problem first.

Hi,
here are some examples of what I am talking about. I think there are
about a dozen or so different manufacturers, each with their own
design. Basically you put up the foam and the rebar and pour the
concrete inside the foam.

insulated concrete form
http://www.superformproducts.com/
http://www.rewardwalls.com/productov...form_01.shtml?
http://www.eco-block.com/about/index.htm
http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/hx_fou...278781,00.html

"autonut843" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi,
here are some examples of what I am talking about. I think there are
about a dozen or so different manufacturers, each with their own
design. Basically you put up the foam and the rebar and pour the
concrete inside the foam.

insulated concrete form
http://www.superformproducts.com/
http://www.rewardwalls.com/productov...form_01.shtml?
http://www.eco-block.com/about/index.htm
http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/hx_fou...278781,00.html


Actually, there are about 50 manufacturers of ICFs. My company does work
for five of them
www.polysteel.com
www.standardicf.com
www.integraspec.com
www.reddiform.com
www.greenblock.com

But, they are not foam walls. They are concrete wall, with foam lining both
the interior and exterior to provide superior insulation, good sound
proofing, and huge energy savings. Not to mention hurricane and tornado
resistance. If I was building a house today, that is what I'd use and save
40% or more on heating bills.

On Fri, 07 Jul 2006 17:09:31 GMT, "Edwin Pawlowski"
wrote:


"autonut843" wrote in message
roups.com...
Hi,
here are some examples of what I am talking about. I think there are
about a dozen or so different manufacturers, each with their own
design. Basically you put up the foam and the rebar and pour the
concrete inside the foam.

insulated concrete form
http://www.superformproducts.com/
http://www.rewardwalls.com/productov...form_01.shtml?
http://www.eco-block.com/about/index.htm
http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/hx_fou...278781,00.html


Actually, there are about 50 manufacturers of ICFs. My company does work
for five of them
www.polysteel.com
www.standardicf.com
www.integraspec.com
www.reddiform.com
www.greenblock.com

But, they are not foam walls. They are concrete wall, with foam lining both
the interior and exterior to provide superior insulation, good sound
proofing, and huge energy savings. Not to mention hurricane and tornado
resistance. If I was building a house today, that is what I'd use and save
40% or more on heating bills.

No, wrong again.

They are strofoam walls with internal support.

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
"autonut843" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi, I have a styrofoam foundation on my house and on one wall there is
a walkway outside at the same height as the basement floor. About 7
feet below the normal grade. The outer wall of the styrofoam
foundation has stucco on it and there is a gap of about 1/4-1/2 inch
between the bottom edge of the stucco and the outside walkway sidewalk
slab. I'm having a problem with water getting into my basement when it
rains. Any ideas on how to seal it up would be appreciated. Thanks.

Firs, you don't have a Styrofoam wall. You have either a wood, block or
concrete wall insulated with Styrofoam.

You can use caulk, roofing cement, blacktop patch, or any number of things
to direct the water away. Would be best to have a little bevel.

Thanks! Ok, so let's say I go with the roofing cement since I'm
familiar with that. Would it be ok to just go about 6 inches up the
stucco and about 6 inches out on the concrete sidewalk and fill
everything in between with the roofing cement? Or do I need to let
anything breathe in there? I've heard that stucco isn't really that
waterproof and that is why it has the tarpaper with the chicken wire
underneath it. The tarpaper keeps the water that seeps through the
stucco away from the plywood, framing, etc. that is underneath. Maybe
I heard wrong though, I don't know. Stucco isn't my thing. I just
don't know if I'd be making a bigger problem by sealing it up that way
or if there is a better way.

If the stucco is in good shape with no cracks, breaks, holes, etc. Is
there any reason I'd need to break the lower few inches out to get to
the tarpaper layer to put flashing or something else in there?

Thanks again.