Dallas Texas Foundation Repair - How to Maintain a Stone Foundation?

Owning an important property with an old stone foundation can be an engaging experience. Those with a powerful will and a sound pocketbook can be true caretakers of a chunk of history. The basis of that history is the straightforward, bold and powerful field stone foundation wall.

Older buildings with a stone foundation will often have the original stone facing plain on the exterior and interior of the building. However it was common to apply a coating of plaster to the interior foundation wall in the basement area, as a technique of waterproofing so the stone might not be plain from inside of the building.

Most of the original plaster would have worn off by today but if you are lucky, you simply may run across an old stone foundation still in pristine condition but this would be the exception.

Usually after 30 - 50 years the foundation would have shifted cause cracks to appear in the foundation wall and it wasn't unusual to apply a second to the foundation with a masonry cement stucco. If the second layer is cement stucco than it would indicate the 2nd coating could have been applied after the early 1900's, when mass produced cement stucco became available.

Regardless if plaster or stucco was applied to the walls, they're going to look lumpy as the individual stones shapes will show underneath the plaster or stucco.

What to go looking for -A lot of these older stone foundations were never well looked after and can challenge a building owner with issues starting from water leakage, mortar turning into sand, loose stones and prominent walls. Anything beyond these few maintenance issues might be considered 'in failure' and may need an engineer's inspection.

Stone foundation walls that leak - It wasn't rare for these old stone foundation walls to leak. When they were originally built a hole was simply dug to the dimensions of the building and a trench dug where the walls were to be placed. Big field stones would be placed in the trench and became the bed stones of the foundation wall.

Drain tile were not in use around the foundations of older building so static pressure would've been a problem from the start relying or the soil type and topography. A high quality builder would have trenched to light from the low corner of the building site to take water away from the foundation, if the site permitted. The trench would be partly filled with rubble stones before covering but this simply drainage technique would be an exception and not the rule.

Most of the older homes were made high off the ground to keep moisture as low as possible. The basement area for these homes where never intended to be used as living space so a little moisture would be been common and of no concern.

Stone foundation wall issues - Decades of water infiltration will cause deterioration to the stone foundation walls. The result can be bulged walls from excessive static pressure or settlement of the foundation, deteriorated mortar joints from unnecessary moister or loose stones and missing mortar joints from simple aging and movement.

Bulged walls - This problem presents the largest hurdle for a building owner depending on the degree and severity of the prominent problem and the location within the foundation wall. Generally though, a little of the foundation wall can be removed and reconstructed but correct shoring must be in place to support the building load before you proceed. This should not be out of the range of a seasoned mason contractor and you must seek their advice.

Loose stones and missing mortar - these things are simple to remedy. Loose stones should be taken out and re-set with fresh mortar. Care should be taken not to enfeeble any critical support areas within the foundation. If you believe an area of loose stone is carrying a beam load or other loads then consult a professional for advice.

Holes and missing joints can be stuffed with mortar or tuck-pointed to help tighten the foundation walls. Any brand of masons mix available at the local box store should be adequate.

After you have finished the repairs discussed above you may want to apply another layer of cement stucco. This could help to smooth out defects, close tiny holes, 'stiffen' the walls surface and hopefully provide some defense against water leaks.

Check the foundation annually and make any necessary repairs straight away. By taking immediate action and implementing the repairs advised above you'll be one step nearer to keeping that old, stone foundation in shape.