Basement Walls Question for upcoming Attic Remodel

So we are buying a 1908 built house which sort of resembles a Victorian. It’s a 2 family, with a full unfinished basement, and a full “finished” attic. Total above ground sq. footage is about 3,400. The attic was converted into a living space, but it just has two big rooms and a small room, along with some storage closets. Mind you, the vertical walls in the “attic” are over 6’ before the roof starts pitching. The ceilings are “cathedral, and in some parts reach about 15’. My question is about the basement. Without getting too much detail, we plan on doing a significant remodel in the attic space.

The basement foundation walls are made of red brick. One of the walls is bowed, probably almost 4”. Taking this wall into consideration, and the amount of work we want to do on the third floor of the house, I have been researching the best / cost effective way to reinforce the foundation walls. I know the ultimate solution is probably to jack up the house and rebuild all of the walls entirely. I think that is going to run over $40,000, and is outside the budget.

I’m wondering if building a sister foundation is an option. If so,

1. Does it have to be poured or can it be block with rebar.

2. How would I go about building footings for block wall that is meant to be built 1” to 2” away from the existing brick wall?

3. If I build a wall 2” away from the existing wall, how is the 2” space filled with concrete? Should it be?

4. Is building block columns an option, and running steel I-Beams along the interior perimeter of the foundation walls; and same footing question.

5. Is it possible to waterproof a sister foundation, i.e. waterproof the existing brick wall before building the parallel wall?

The basement is not going to be converted into a living space.

Thanks

 

You didn't say which way the wall was bowed, in or out? I assume it's inward. Have you determined why the wall is bowed? It may not be because of the work, that was done in the attic. No matter what, if you are sure that you want to buy the house, hire an engineer to look at it.

 

Thanks for the reply. So the wall is bowed inward, and its only one part of the wall, I'd say a 4 foot section out of roughly 50 feet. This is the only place in the basement where there is any apparent movement in the brick. I'm pretty sure the gutters were the problem, but they had them fixed. The bow doesn't seem like a huge factor at the moment. I'm just wondering how I can go about building a sister foundation. I haven't been able to find much online about it.

 

You don't need to build a sister foundation

Bowed Foundation Wall Repair - YouTube

Watch that video.