Cost of repairing foundation wall
Hello. I recently purchased a brownstone with a semi finished basement.
However, the flooring was wood and buckling. I pulled it up and discovered moisture and some mold on the concrete. I have a contractor who in addition to dealing with the floor (will get rid of mold, waterproof and lay tile) has removed a raised 5×5 platform at the back of the room (was left by previous owner) and the broken cement patio outside behind it.
Under the concrete platform inside the basement is dirt and tree roots.
Under the cement patio is dirt broken up bricks and rocks.
He says that 12 ft of the back foundation wall needs to be repaired and waterproofed. I am trying to get an idea of how much that should cost. The number keeps changing…. Anyone have any idea?! Thanks in advance for any advice!!
inogqvwebuwuc
in General Discussion 5 years and 11 months ago
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12 replies
cate | 5 years and 11 months ago
Any mason should be able to handle the repair of a basement wall. Please beware of digging down behind basement walls or trenches because you could cause a collapse. Re an engineer to hunt for leaks, it’s a good idea but not foolproof. There can be problems they can’t see. Using a hose to test where water is coming in can also be helpful.
lschalet | 5 years and 11 months ago
Any recs for personpr company that can repair basement wall has water and basement floods a bit duriing storms I believe I k now where and how. just need somebody to do the stone work and want to waterproof the wall and then perhaps f dig a trench and install is sump pump
resident2 | 5 years and 11 months ago
No one can give you an idea of costs without knowing the whole lay of the land so to speak.
Get an engineer to look at it to determine exactly where the damp/water is coming from, ask for a complete narrative as to the required work to correct it. Preferably an engineer that works with older Brownstones and understands & appreciates the fundamentals of their original build process.
Then use that engineering report to get quotes from contractors; waterproofing, masonry etc. Unless of course the engineer tells you that it is coming from sewage lines, leaders & other plumbing issues etc.
But from my experience the cellar walls & floors are rarely water tight & if you try to seal them: ie; laminate floors, paneling on the walls etc. All you do is seal in damp that needs to have ventilation of mold etc will develop.
cate | 5 years and 11 months ago
My two cents: I would remove all the coverings/finishings in the cellar so you expose the wall and floor. (Floor should be concrete, not dirt, ideally with a vapor barrier if possible.) Redo the concrete outside so it is sloping away from the house. Then see what you are dealing with. Take your time. Are there actual leaks, or is it just moisture that occurs from naturally being underground? If the latter, my personal point of view is that it’s too expensive and onerous an undertaking to try to fight nature and turn a cellar into storage or living space — but you may feel differently, depending on your situation. Actual leaks should be fixed, of course, but digging down and waterproofing the exterior wall is not ipso facto the right solution. Depends on the cause of the leaks, which can be hard to find. Took us a decade to find a big leak in our cellar, and the issue was that brick pointing had worn away underneath Perma-Stone.
BKALLDAY | 5 years and 11 months ago
Being funny I have to say open your wallet and look away but on the serious tip you obviously have water or a slow leak type of moisture intrusion that stretches beyond the raised wooded thingy. What would help is eliminating any and all tree or at least tree roots that may be breaching your foundation. Then tackle the foundation issues and that requires the advice of an engineer because you don’t want to disturb the foundation under pinnings that keep the house upright. Depending the tree sizes and removal that could run you a couple thousand. 8-$10K (conservative) on an engineer who will fully assess, write a report and walk you through your trouble spots. Some engineers may have a contractor they work with who can do the scope of work and work with them so things go smoothly but that price is undetermined because you don’t know what you are faced with as yet. Sorry to hear about your troubles but on the plus side you own a home and all the silliness that comes with it. Good luck.
Guest User | 5 years and 11 months ago
Sump pump as well?
Arkady | 5 years and 11 months ago
I’d add a french drain onto the project.
workisfun | 5 years and 11 months ago
$12-$15k sounds more like it. Access is a major variable. Also – what would they use to “waterproof” it. Pointing or an actual bitumen membrane? Any perforated pipe, sump pump, etc.? What about your neighbors back walls? How will you keep water from traveling from there?
Guest User | 5 years and 11 months ago
Our contractor and I had a recent conversation about excavating about 8ft down and waterproofing the outside of our foundation and he threw around $12-15K, but it never progressed beyond that.
camp6ell | 5 years and 11 months ago
Presuming that at least eight to ten feet of that twelve feet needs to be excavated in order to properly repair and waterproof? No idea what your backyard looks like or how access is to it, but two grand seems optimistic to me. Maybe five grand and up?
inogqvwebuwuc | 5 years and 11 months ago
Thank you. Definitely being quoted more than that….
jserpico | 5 years and 11 months ago
A couple of thousand dollars