minimizing foundation damage

My 50 year old attached semi-heated garage foundation has frost heave damage. Replacement is not an option and I've different views from contractors on how to prevent worsening of the damage going forward. One suggested foam board on the exterior, taped to a sloping 4' skirt of the same, that would presumably route water away and prevent frost reaching the buried foundation. This foam skirt would be buried under the topsoil. Expensive, and probably not going to happen. But I like the idea of keeping it from freezing.

The other didn't think insulating the exterior foundation would do much, and didn't think the foam would keep water from going underneath. He may be right, because I'm barely above on wet ground, being surrounded by swamp. He mentioned a stucco-like coating (not sure if he meant parging) but said it would deteriorate quickly. Reading up on it, it doesn't sound like a very good option for my severe climate.

Some websites mention various coatings, like 100% acrylic, that help repel water. Since snow builds up against the foundation, this sounds like a good idea to me, but its probably too late in the year to apply now. I also think I need to improve my stormwater runoff system-I currently have no gutters.

Anything else I missed in the potential DIY category? I wonder if I could do a poor man's combination hack of these ideas, waterproof the above grade portion with acrylic paint and lay down above ground foam board to reduce frost penetration?

 

Getting the water away from the foundation is probably the one biggest improvement and may be the reason you have the problem to begin with!

 

Yes there are 3 ingredients to frost heave and I have all 3. Water, cold temps, and clay soils.

Water will be hard to eliminate completely because of the wet ground, but next year I can install a good gutter system and route the water downslope. But there's no telling how wet the soil is even when it hasn't rained. Probably always damp.

 

Keeping the water away will be a difficult job. You would probably have to install a membrane on the sides of the foundation, install a perimeter drain and maybe even a sump and pump. I like the idea of the foam. My brother in Alaska had a similar setup. The outside of the foundation was insulated to prevent the cold from freezing it and the soil underneath. I had seen houses under construction and they even put foam horizontally underground to stop the frost from penetrating.

 

Just to clarify my prior post. As in any post regarding water infiltration in basement/crawl space, rain water runoff and slope are the #1 improvement.

 

Your previous post was pretty clear! Getting the water away from the foundation is probably the one biggest improvement and may be the reason you have the problem to begin with!

However I can't afford expensive new drainage trenches or whatever and because of the wet nature of the land, I'll really never know how wet the lower levels of the foundation are. This is on the north side of the house too, where the sun never shines so it never really dries out. I can take basic precautions like installing gutters, but I think combining it with some level of freeze protection is my best bet.

As for the prfessionally installed, subsurface foam skirt I'd love to do it but can't afford it. Looking for alternatives, like maybe above a seasonal above-ground skirt laid down before it snows, or maybe even strawbales or a layer of loose straw. Just thinking out loud

 

Do as you want but start with what is going to give you the most bang for the buck. If you allow water to keep soaking into the soil right next to the foundation nothing will ever improve. Get the water runoff away from the foundation then see if anything else is needed. Chances are good that is going to be the only solution needed.