My son bought a house awhile back and 3/4 of the exterior basement walls are covered in paneling. He started to remove the paneling as it is outdated/out of style. He discovered this behind the paneling. It gets a little worse behind the next panel. The previous owners said water only came through a little in one corner after really heavy rains and looking at the other paneling no evidence of water/flooding issues. The inspector found some flaking on the exposed wall and thought it was some sort of skim coat that was failing but was solid behind it. I don’t blame the inspector because I wouldn’t expect him to start pulling paneling off during his inspection. The house was built in the early 1900s and I am guessing the paneling dates from the early 70s. Any ideas on how to go about fixing it?
Call in a pro with good references. If water is still a problem get a ground water removal system installed that goes around the perimeter of the wall on the inside. We did that 5 years ago and never had another problem. BTW we bought a home with hidden and undisclosed water and foundation issues that were far beyond my DIY capabilities.
Depending on the yard, don’t be afraid to address it from the outside. I had an older home that leaked in one corner, I dug down and fixed the exterior, sealed it up. Zero issues after. Not the same scale but it felt good to know the wall was truly dry going forward.
Looks like it was under. pinned at some point during the life of the house. It was and still is a practice used today to help support existing foundations. My house was built in 1918 and has a stone foundation at some point it was underpinned. Remove the rest of the paneling and drywall to expose the whole foundation and access.Put a dehumidifier and fan down there and see how much moisture it pulls. From what it looks like from pics they formed it using planks most likely pouring the concrete in lifts all the way to the brick. It was most likey done in sections at a time depending on what year it was done.You will be able to tell if it was done that way because there should be a somewhat noticeable vertical seem/cold joint. After it is dried out real good you can check the underpinning with a brick hammer to determine the integrity of the concrete by tapping / chipping at it with chisel end.Don't go crazy like your trying to demolish it just to see if it is crumbly. Once that is determined you can address accordingly. Chris
My grandfather's house (built in '35) had the same, crumbling masonry in his basement walls in spots, and he not only had full-height exposure in the rear (he parked his car in the basement), but his backyard was tierd down another 5 feet a short distance away- no ground water issues and he NEVER got water inside. The concrete just got 'crumbly' in areas (inside & out) and chunks would fall out; I feel it's entirely the makeup of the mix. He had his walls painted too, and it may be that as the paint ages, moisture gets behind it, and helps that process along.
If there are no water issues, it's possible to build a form on the interior and pour a concrete a reinforcement,. I agree with the above "get a pro to check it out" idea. Even if he is capable of repairing it himself, it's worth have some experienced eyes on it to share ideas. How old is the house? I have seen homes in Massachusetts built on flagstones that were stacked that were built in the 1700's. They are still fine.
Built in 1915 The corner where the water seeps in during heavy rains is opposite of this area. Other than the area right by the side door the ground looks to slope away from the house. The previous owners left a dehumidifier in the basement. I have never heard it turn on (but it is winter) and the basement doesn't smell musty or anything like that.
...since house is over 100 years old, it's possible what we're seeing is multiple bandaid attempts to fix issue, last one was to panel over it. Fix has to start outside by making sure downspout/ground water drains away from house, then foundation repairs. Get several expert opinions. Some may want to do way more than necessary, so you'll have to sort thru their recommendations/estimates. Then decide if it's DIY or not. Looks like it is, depending on available skills. It probably will require excavating outdoor side of wall. I can't believe no dehumidifier was necessary...
On This Old House some years ago they mentioned that there are more then 300 houses in Massachusetts still standing and occupied, that were built before 1700.
I also have a stone foundation. While that looks ugly, keep in mind that the foundation is probably 2' thick. I doubt you have any structural issues. You'll be fighting water forever, thats the nature of the beast. A good perimeter drain will help, but you'll always have seepage.
I have an extremely similar situation with my basement walls. My home was built in 1918. The walls are tapered and thicker at the bottom. It has multiple pours as there are seams. Some of the walls are clean and not flaking, while others are flaking from these different mixes. I've had work done in our basement that has required drilling into the walls. Just under the flaking surface is STRONG/hard concrete! I have worked on the worst contributors to wall seeping with french drains along the outer wall. It was always my thought it best to not try to put something on the inside surface to seal it. I was always concerned water would then sit in all the existing pores and sealed in place by this new sealant on the inside walls. Some weepers close to the surface may freeze and expand and create more issues. If you want to seal it, seal it from the outside by digging along the wall. When we remodeled we used steel studs and green drywall in my basement and insulated with the 2" foamboard. We love our epoxy floor! Troy
brush it off, apply a bonding agent, and cover with a motor mix in multiple layers if needed. Its not going anywhere. If you go to sell the house finish the wallboard or paneling so the ridiculous home inspectors with their little pocket computers and testers don't blow it out of proportion.
Had a family acquaintance come over who used to do concrete work. He said by the looks of it several bad batches/loads of concrete were delivered when the foundation was poured. Part of the wall by the old cistern is perfect and the bad spots are all at generally one level around part of the basement. Covering it with paneling 50 years ago probably didn't help things either. Sadly he specialized in flat work, not foundations, and wasn't able to offer any advice on how to repair.
