Under Pininng /repair

Tom M

Whats involved in a repairing a 100 year old field stone foundation? I have a few piers that need be knocked down and can be replaced with block but I also have a deteriorated section of foundation wall, basement stairs and a few old window openings that are all shot. Can you co-mingle block for these repairs? I do not beleive the building is historical and all work is basically below grade. Any advice on what I may be dealing with in these repairs would help. Thanks

A W Smith

Whats wrong with the stone thats already there? can it be removed cleaned up and reset? I'm not a mason but I would not be filling in stone with block. Is there fieldstone on the property?

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Al Smith
http://www.awsmith.com

Tom M

Yea the stone is sill there but I would think carving out the bottom and filling upward may be stronger. I suppose sticking some random stones to fill any void may be easiest but I honestly dont no for sure what the best approach. The whole foundation is pretty shot from what I can see and I would think in the near future more repairs are close.

Tscarborough

I wouldn't use block other than for the piers and stairs. It would probably be better to use brick or rock. Also note that if you do superficial surface repairs using a portland mortar, you will probably speed up the rate of decay of the interior of the wall by a large factor.

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Tom M

Good advice thank you. I will be hiring this out to a mason. I posted to feel out how signaficate the expense may become.