Little house, gigantic hole in basement wall!


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Old 08-06-13, 03:52 PM
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Unhappy Little house, gigantic hole in basement wall!

Hello all. Have a small (large) problem with my basement wall. I have a 4*6 foot hole in my foundation wall that the last owner decided to put there when moving in the furnace, apparently it was easier then going though the trap door. I have a teeny tiny house about 600sq ft. The basement is a cellar and I intend on more or less keeping it that way. However there is some leakagel (surprisingly very little considering it's been patched with mostly plywood) is there some kind of wall I can build and seal around? What materials would you suggest? Despite the plywood they have supported the structure fairly well does anyone have an idea what to do?
 
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Old 08-07-13, 04:54 AM
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If you could post some pics that may help the masonry guys to field your question.
 
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Old 08-07-13, 04:58 AM
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Welcome to the forum.

I think before any of us can provide you with value suggestions, a bit of information will be needed.

What is your foundation made of (poured concrete, block, stone & mud, etc)?
About how old is the house?
Pictures would be a big help, inside and out.
 
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Old 08-07-13, 05:02 AM
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Old 08-07-13, 05:27 AM
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Thanks Mark, Keep forgetting to include that link in my requests for photos.
 
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Old 08-07-13, 09:04 AM
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No problem I know how hard it is for me to post pics with instructions Always like to give someone new the instructions in case they aren't much more technologically advanced than me
 
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Old 08-08-13, 02:06 PM
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Pictures

Oh my this site can by trying on a smart phone. Thank you so much for the replies. The house is probably 100 years old. It looks to be poured concrete. The more that I look at things the more I think the original foundation was just a crawl space and a cistern and the basement was dug out after. I don't think i can afford to repour the concrete and I am located in a bit of a boom town so finding someone to do it would be next to impossible. I was thinking of digging it out and putting in cinder blocks? Any thoughts ?
 
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Old 08-08-13, 04:04 PM
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Welcome to our forums!

Hi Jane,

I believe based on my super powers that you are located in Western Canada but it would be most helpful to those giving advice if you edited your profile to at least indicate your general area.
The pictures also do not paint a very clear picture of your wall and the hole.

If you can take a picture from further back rather that sections of the wall.

Can you determine if the concrete wall is load bearing or does the wall have a smaller footprint than the house?
 
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Old 08-08-13, 08:19 PM
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The damaged portion of wall looks to be mortar-rubble-masonry construction (with a smooth mortar face), not poured concrete. If your biceps are up to it, you could make appropriate repairs. I'd lean towards slapping up a few forms and pouring concrete myself. Actually easier than laying concrete block, particularly since you would have to create a clean, rectangular joining surface in what's left of the existing wall, for block to work--a very messy and dirty operation, requiring skilled use of a masonry saw. Whatever route you go, make sure you have a decent footing under the corrective work.
 
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Old 08-09-13, 04:45 AM
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Originally Posted by BridgeMan45
The damaged portion of wall looks to be mortar-rubble-masonry construction (with a smooth mortar face), not poured concrete. If your biceps are up to it, you could make appropriate repairs. I'd lean towards slapping up a few forms and pouring concrete myself. Actually easier than laying concrete block, particularly since you would have to create a clean, rectangular joining surface in what's left of the existing wall, for block to work--a very messy and dirty operation, requiring skilled use of a masonry saw. Whatever route you go, make sure you have a decent footing under the corrective work.
Seeing the pictures, I'm leaning the same direction as BridgeMan45 (and not just because he knows this industry many times better then I).

If it was myself, I'd clean up the edges of any loose pieces, drill in a handful worth of ancher bolts (only partly drill them in, need them sticking out), and create your form for the concrete. The ancher bolts will give the new concrete something to grab onto and should be fairly easy to install without high end equipment.
 
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Old 08-09-13, 11:12 AM
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You guys are awesome.

I came to that same conclusion last night. I think I'll do the smaller part from the inside concrete, anchors, will I need rebar? ( I do have someone in town that's going to help that knows quite a bit more than I, just for reference) How do I go about getting the new concerrete to adhere to the old and to the floor, is there something special I need? The actual foundation worries me a bit. I wonder seeings how the framed it half decent if I were to come across a window that fit would it make my life any easier to go that way? I'm sure there is a contractor rolling over in his grave right now.
 
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Old 08-09-13, 11:48 AM
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I don't think you would need rebar. I have not done poured concrete foundations, but have been involved in slip forming a headframe (the engineering aspect of it). I don't see this requiring slip forming, so I'll leave it to the pros.
 
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Old 08-09-13, 07:50 PM
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Since there doesn't appear to be any rebar in the existing wall, you can probably get by without using any in your repair area. As you'll be batching the concrete on site in a wheel-barrow or mortar tub (too small a quantity to order ready-mix), you can use a pre-packaged product. I'd suggest something with at least 3000 PSI compressive strength, and "sweetening" each batch with a shovel-full of Portland cement to enhance early strength gain and long-term durability.

Best practical bonding agent out there is a neat slurry of Portland cement. Mix it with enough water to be the consistency of thick cream, and then vigorously broom it onto all of the contact surfaces immediately before placing concrete in the forms. This means you need to have the front form ready to slap in place, as time is of the essence--allowing the slurry to dry out causes it to become a very effective de-bonding agent, which obviously you don't want.
 
 

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