Powdery Covering

[Gibsonguy]

Hi Everyone,

I need some help on this one. The home states it was built in 1961. I can see the form marks for the poured concrete. Although it looks like UFFI up at the sill, it is hard, like a parging. I have probed certain areas which seemed to be deteriorated and there it is soft, almost like wet drywall. I cannot see any places for previous injection ports along the sill but they are blocked. I don't see a lot of UFFI, but could this be it? It would never be exposed as it needed to be poured into a form. There is a hard covering on the outside of the foundation also. My antennae are up on this as I see some signs of repairs underneath and I can dig my screwdriver right in at one of the corners. Any feedback is appreciated! Epoxy covering maybe?..

Interior:

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Perimeter Sill:

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Exterior:

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[Jim Katen]

I really can't tell what I'm looking at in the photos. Could this just be gypsum sheathing?

[Gibsonguy]

Here is another one, I know it's CMU block and not poured concrete, but I think there was a cutout for a garage that was blocked:

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And another interior foundation wall:

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Thanks!

[Jim Katen]

I'm afraid that I still can't figure out the question.

Are you saying that you've found a cast concrete foundation (with one section made from CMUs) that has a soft, gypsum or foam-like outer surface, which, itself, has form marks on it?

As if someone sprayed something on the interior of the forms before placing the concrete in them?

[Chad Fabry]

The first photo and the photo of the CMU both look like efflorescence.

Do you have an establishing shot of the wall area around that "perimeter sill" photo?

[kurt]

It isn't UFFI. UFFI is very soft, turns to powder when you touch it, very slightly yellow color, and when you see it in this sort of location it's squeeze out from above.

My WAG......

It's a pile of hard ass efflorescence that someone's been trying to paint, cover over, or otherwise deal with moisture in all the wrong ways. I'm watching a job now where, what we thought was very thick white paint is actually very thick efflorescence, and it looks kinda like this.

[John Kogel]

Efflorescence is said to be mostly soluble sulfate salts.

Now say that fast ten times. []

I am thinking you could test a sample but don't know the chemistry.

[Gibsonguy]

Thanks guys,

I'm not sure if it is UFFI either. It is very hard, I cannot dig my screwdriver into it. Like an epoxy, not a parging. It appears to be yellow, and covered in grey paint. There are some patches that have bubbles as if water came in. These round bubbles are soft and powdery, like efflorescence. What I scrape at them it looks like a very thin drywall almost. In my opinion it is a poured concrete foundation, with an opening for a garage. The opening has been blocked up with a block foundation. My question is, has anyone seen this kind of hard coating before? It is all around the exterior also. In the corner of the house, at the exterior I could chunk away at the foundation easily. It broke apart as if I was digging through a deteriorated cinder block, which makes me nervous. The home is a rental property, and is being sold without any legal warranty due to foreclosure from the bank.

[Gibsonguy]

The first photo and the photo of the CMU both look like efflorescence.

Do you have an establishing shot of the wall area around that "perimeter sill" photo?

Not really, but this is another... Yellow underneath with grey paint.

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[Jim Katen]

Ok. I'm beginning to get a sense for what you're describing.

It looks like someone parged the exterior surfaces of the walls with some kind of wet, soupy plaster. Not unlike a sack finish but with something other than Portland cement. Over the years, efflorescence has loosened it in spots, blisters have formed, paint has been applied, and the paint itself has blistered with efflorescence.

[Gibsonguy]

Ok. I'm beginning to get a sense for what you're describing.

It looks like someone parged the exterior surfaces of the walls with some kind of wet, soupy plaster. Not unlike a sack finish but with something other than Portland cement. Over the years, efflorescence has loosened it in spots, blisters have formed, paint has been applied, and the paint itself has blistered with efflorescence.

Thanks Jim! That's what it looks like