Anyone here have basement wall issues at any point (bowed walls, step cracks, etc)? (money, foundation)

[RyanR]

Originally Posted by guy2073

Wow, why not slide a rebar down the block and fill full of grout. The beams seem to be overkill.

Because it was a finished house and filling the blocks would have been harder than putting in the beams.

A block wall that's 50' long and completely underground in this environment (with freeze/thaw) and dirt against the outside of the block is pretty sure to bow. If done properly when the house was built, there should be gravel and drains outside and either step walls or pilasters inside. My approach fixed both with the beams being the pilasters.

With 2 of us, we did the whole thing in 2 days and a total cost of about $2000. This was about 15 years ago.

[szug-bot]

Originally Posted by RyanR

Because it was a finished house and filling the blocks would have been harder than putting in the beams.

A block wall that's 50' long and completely underground in this environment (with freeze/thaw) and dirt against the outside of the block is pretty sure to bow. If done properly when the house was built, there should be gravel and drains outside and either step walls or pilasters inside. My approach fixed both with the beams being the pilasters.

With 2 of us, we did the whole thing in 2 days and a total cost of about $2000. This was about 15 years ago.

Great information, and kudos for solving this problem on your own (with help). All that, plus four tons of gravel, for ONLY $2k, though?

"Step walls and pilasters inside"...why? The pilasters help with the static load, because they are beefier, and the load is transferred to them?

[stburr91]

Originally Posted by atlbraves49

Was there a suggestion that we didn't get an inspection? We did, by a reputable inspector. The main issues were hidden behind finished walls. I've torn out the drywall and that's where I discovered them.

You may want to contact an attorney to review your situation.

If the sellers put up that finished wall, and didn't list foundation problems in the disclosure, you may be able to bring a lawsuit against them for not disclosing the issue.

[RyanR]

That's 40 tons, not 4 tons. When I did this, gravel was only about $10/ton so that 40 ton cost $400. Price is probably double that right now. I live a lot closer to the gravel pit so my pricing may be better than what you would pay in the city, even if you could get tri-axle dump trucks to your location. They just dumped it in front of my house and we used our tractor loaders to move and dump it which doesn't take long.

I paid about $500 in labor and for his backhoe/loader. Beams and concrete were another $5-700 and the pipe was probably $500 so yea, I was done for about $2000.

For the pilasters, here's an easy look at the bow issue and the pilaster fix.
Dwyer Company - Residential Bowed Wall Stabilization with Steel Tie Back and Pilaster Systems
I put the pilasters against the block then braced the top and concreted the bottom.

Instead of using exterior tie backs, the gravel with drain pipes just keep the pressure off the wall so it doesn't happen again.

Here's a picture that caught my eye. Imagine what would happen to that wall if you applied pressure to the other side of it and it didn't have these step (buttress) walls.

[guy2073]

Originally Posted by szug-bot

Great information, and kudos for solving this problem on your own (with help). All that, plus four tons of gravel, for ONLY $2k, though?

"Step walls and pilasters inside"...why? The pilasters help with the static load, because they are beefier, and the load is transferred to them?

Pilasters do beef up a wall dramatically. I was saying that the beams were overkill because once he had the foundation excavated, pilasters could have been added to the wall on the exterior without damaging the inside or having beams exposed. Pilasters are easy to install and can be built on the existing footer or a footer extension. I always removed a piece of the concrete block at the top of the wall and at the bottom, drilled the footer inside the wall, ran a piece of 5/8 rebar from the footer to the top and filled the cell with concrete. I use my concrete vibrator to vibrate the rebar to remove air. If you do that every 4' you will never see the repair and the wall will never move. The current building code calls for block walls to have vertical rebar and grouting.

[RyanR]

Originally Posted by guy2073

I was saying that the beams were overkill because once he had the foundation excavated, pilasters could have been added to the wall on the exterior without damaging the inside or having beams exposed.

Agreed, we could have put them on the outside. It was a bare/empty basement that I finished after the wall fix (no way I was going to finish over a bowed wall). The pilasters at 16' matched to our plans of finishing the basement into rooms so they're not protruding. they're in the walls.

Edit to add: The other reason is we didn't put in any trench shoring so we really didn't want to be in the trench...

[guy2073]

Originally Posted by RyanR

Agreed, we could have put them on the outside. It was a bare/empty basement that I finished after the wall fix (no way I was going to finish over a bowed wall). The pilasters at 16' matched to our plans of finishing the basement into rooms so they're not protruding. they're in the walls.

I am not criticizing your job, I am just letting the op know there are ways to hide a repair instead of the expensive anchors or interior fixes.

[gg]

Originally Posted by stburr91

You may want to contact an attorney to review your situation.

If the sellers put up that finished wall, and didn't list foundation problems in the disclosure, you may be able to bring a lawsuit against them for not disclosing the issue.

Good luck with that. Waste of money. I would just call Mathews Wall Anchor as I suggested. It is a proven system and been around a very long time.

[guy2073]

Originally Posted by gg

Good luck with that. Waste of money. I would just call Mathews Wall Anchor as I suggested. It is a proven system and been around a very long time.

The problem with Mathews is it doesn't eliminate the original problem, for the same type of money you can add the exterior drain and fix the wall.

[guy2073]

Originally Posted by RyanR

Agreed, we could have put them on the outside. It was a bare/empty basement that I finished after the wall fix (no way I was going to finish over a bowed wall). The pilasters at 16' matched to our plans of finishing the basement into rooms so they're not protruding. they're in the walls.

Edit to add: The other reason is we didn't put in any trench shoring so we really didn't want to be in the trench...

Trust me I know, I have been in some wickedly scary trenches. I had a boss out of highschool who would tell us if the trench started to collapse to raise a hand up so he can put a chain around our wrist and pull us up with the backhoe. I don't think he clearly thought out his plan.