Mortar between stones comprising foundation turning to sand
I have a standard brownstone cellar surrounded by an irregular stone foundation held together with mortar. The prior owner painted the walls with white paint so the basement looked very solid when we purchased. Over the past 5 years, the paint has started to peel off and loose sand has been coming out of the…
I have a standard brownstone cellar surrounded by an irregular stone foundation held together with mortar. The prior owner painted the walls with white paint so the basement looked very solid when we purchased. Over the past 5 years, the paint has started to peel off and loose sand has been coming out of the resulting holes in the paint between the stone blocks. It looks like maybe the mortar is breaking down into sand and slipping out of the wall. Should I be concerned? What should I do to fix? Any advice greatly appreciated.
Whitewash is a mixture of lime powder (from hardware store), table salt, and water. There are recipes online.
It’s never a good idea to try to seal out water from cement or masonry because the water inevitably comes through, and until it does you are trapping moisture in the foundation or walls which will cause it/them to break down over time.
I had a leak due to a watermain break.
I was going to thoroseal these rocks.
Is that a bad idea?
Is whitewash still available?
try Kevin, his number is 347 961 5544, he is my go to guy
You need an experienced mason, not a general contractor to come out and take a look. Some dusting and crumbling of mortar in these kind of foundations is normal. it’s best not to paint this kind of foundation because it traps moisture in the foundation, and then eventually the paint flakes off–so you may be seeing more of a paint issue than a foundation issue, which would be good. Traditionally stone foundations were whitewashed with a lime solution that was refreshed every year or so and allowed the foundation to breathe but tidied up the appearance in the basement.