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schmid

Posted 6/21/2022 16:25 (#9715236 - in reply to #9712861)
Subject: RE: Stabilizing a block basement wall

ECIL

I've done the drainage and wall sealing to two homes now. Best money you can spend on a house if you have a damp basement. Dig down to the footing all the way around, lay 4 inch perforated dual wall plastic in at or just below the top of the footing, throw a little pea gravel in the bottom of the trench and get the power washer out and wash the walls off. Wait until it dries well and have a contractor come out and spray 2+ inches of closed cell (dense) foam from the top of the footing all the way up to grade. Backfill with washed pea gravel all the way up. To keep gravel usage down, alternate buckets of gravel and fill dirt keeping the gravel up against and just a bit higher than the dirt, if that makes sense. You want the gravel against the foundation, but it doesn't need to be much, just two to three inches is plenty. Definitely helps with the pushing of the freeze/thaw cycle too.

I run the plastic dual wall to one or two 24 or 36 inch dual wall tiles placed vertically against the foundation for a sump pit. Put two pumps per pit in so you have a backup if one quits. You can buy nice lids for the pits as well. I also sprayed the inside walls with foam from the sill down to the floor. It's awesome, waterproof insulation. The cost on my second home to do the digging, pits, rock, insulation, pumps, pretty much the whole project was under 10k. I helped do them both and kinda did the general contracting and design so I'm sure that saved me some.

Best money I have spent on a home. Made our basement a completely livable space. I don't know a whole lot about the pushing back of a wall though.

Pictures are of when I was washing before we had the foam sprayed. As you can see, approx 20 years ago, some had put some black sealant on the wall and maybe two inch foam board against that, problem was after a few years, dirt, etc got between the foam board and wall and the water just ran down along the wall and was trapped in there and ended up coming through the block. That is the beauty of the spray foam, it seals and insulates.

Edited by schmid 6/21/2022 16:40