gtblum Posted May 7, 2014 Report Share Posted May 7, 2014 Anyone have a clue what might have caused the deterioration of these concrete blocks? Just a bad batch? There's no evidence of anything that might have contributed to this. Click to Enlarge 63.43 KB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghentjr Posted May 7, 2014 Report Share Posted May 7, 2014 Water. Ice melt. Rock Salt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad Fabry Posted May 7, 2014 Report Share Posted May 7, 2014 Water. Ice melt. Rock Salt. what he said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtblum Posted May 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2014 Thanks guys. I considered that, but as you can see, the steps slope away from the damage and the steps are fine. I suppose it wouldn't take much to eat the block, once it got going. Interesting. I've never seen that before. Probably should've included this, as well. Click to Enlarge 47.7 KB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kogel Posted May 7, 2014 Report Share Posted May 7, 2014 Maybe it's an illusion, but it looks like the concrete steps jumped out and left that hole. [:-bigeyes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHI in AR Posted May 8, 2014 Report Share Posted May 8, 2014 Salt can be brutal. A couple years ago I inspected a house on a well where the water treatment equipment was in a tall crawlspace directly against the back foundation wall. Spillage out of stored bags of salt had damn near eaten all the way through the concrete block. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted May 8, 2014 Report Share Posted May 8, 2014 Salt can be brutal. A couple years ago I inspected a house on a well where the water treatment equipment was in a tall crawlspace directly against the back foundation wall. Spillage out of stored bags of salt had damn near eaten all the way through the concrete block. It eats only block? What chemical reaction is this? Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtblum Posted May 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2014 Salt can be brutal. A couple years ago I inspected a house on a well where the water treatment equipment was in a tall crawlspace directly against the back foundation wall. Spillage out of stored bags of salt had damn near eaten all the way through the concrete block. It eats only block? What chemical reaction is this? Marc No. It will tear the top off of a sidewalk flag. I think that's what puzzled me. I'm used to seeing damaged walkways and concrete porch decks. Not that, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Raymond Posted May 8, 2014 Report Share Posted May 8, 2014 Maybe it's just the picture quality but it looks to me like the stairs are newer than the the landing and block. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHI in AR Posted May 8, 2014 Report Share Posted May 8, 2014 Salt can be brutal. A couple years ago I inspected a house on a well where the water treatment equipment was in a tall crawlspace directly against the back foundation wall. Spillage out of stored bags of salt had damn near eaten all the way through the concrete block. It eats only block? What chemical reaction is this? Marc I've never researched the reaction, but I have to assume that something leaches out of the concrete block when salt and water are combined. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted May 8, 2014 Report Share Posted May 8, 2014 Wikipedia has an explanation in which salt from brine is left behind within the porous concrete when the moisture evaporates. The salt then crystallizes and damages the concrete. Block may be more porous than poured concrete which leaves it more vulnerable to that type of decay. Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtblum Posted May 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2014 I agree. Sometimes, all it takes is the input of others to turn on the light bulb and see the obvious. We are all creatures of habit, and since it's not an event to have five inches of snow, or more for days or weeks at a time around here, It's likely the snow was always pushed off of the steps, in the direction away from the driveway, which would allow for any excess salt used to melt the build up of ice on the step below the roof without a gutter system, to be packed against the block under the slab. Blah Blah blah. What do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevenT Posted May 8, 2014 Report Share Posted May 8, 2014 Maybe it's just the picture quality but it looks to me like the stairs are newer than the the landing and block. I agree with Tom, and with that slope there may have been water in that area. It looks like it was wet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtblum Posted May 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2014 Maybe it's just the picture quality but it looks to me like the stairs are newer than the the landing and block. Let's say they are. What then? The landing isn't, and those blocks are so far gone, it's not likely they would've needed to replace the steps without replacing the blocks, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevenT Posted May 8, 2014 Report Share Posted May 8, 2014 Maybe it's just the picture quality but it looks to me like the stairs are newer than the the landing and block. Let's say they are. What then? The landing isn't, and those blocks are so far gone, it's not likely they would've needed to replace the steps without replacing the blocks, right? The landing does look newer than the step/walkway, but could be newer than original? At the end, where there appears to be original foundation and block; I see a green stain pattern that looks exactly like runoff from the landing. If that is so, that same runoff could have been the demise of the original steps. If that is so; isn't it possible that if the original steps were built against the block foundation (which is likely), and that the foundation was damaged from the same runoff? It looks like some new concrete was pushed into the same void. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Raymond Posted May 8, 2014 Report Share Posted May 8, 2014 Maybe it's just the picture quality but it looks to me like the stairs are newer than the the landing and block. Let's say they are. What then? The landing isn't, and those blocks are so far gone, it's not likely they would've needed to replace the steps without replacing the blocks, right? Steven got it. The block look old, not just the bad ones but all of them. The landing pad looks newer than than block and the jenga mess of steps looks way newer than that. People replace as little as possible all the time. In this case at least twice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghentjr Posted May 8, 2014 Report Share Posted May 8, 2014 There is no way to tell the quality of the original block composition. Not all are top quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtblum Posted May 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2014 You forced me into taking a three minute ride back to this place. [] The house was built in 85. It all looks original to me. I appreciate the input. You guys made me re-think about what was there. That's why we come here. Click to Enlarge 60.98 KB Click to Enlarge 73.18 KB Click to Enlarge 58.95 KB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoosier inspector Posted May 9, 2014 Report Share Posted May 9, 2014 I vote for freeze-thaw cycles of a salt solution. It looks like the runoff would direct it to that area. Is there anyway you could go back again and hook up a water hose for an experiment:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtblum Posted May 9, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2014 I vote for freeze-thaw cycles of a salt solution. It looks like the runoff would direct it to that area. Is there anyway you could go back again and hook up a water hose for an experiment:) I guess I still didn't get the right angle? It's easier to see in person. Everything is directed away from that area. Not toward it. That's why I now think, it had to be from years of someone packing snow and salt against it. I just don't see run off damaging a vertical plane like that without seeing evidence of any erosion or other related deterioration. Maybe they tried to clean it with a hydro laser? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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