theamazingjacksons Posted February 22, 2022 Report Share Posted February 22, 2022 I have 1900's built home. With a stone foundation, that has some leaking in one area of the basement, which is near the chimney. (I have a sneaking suspicion that the chimney was originally on the outside removed and then this) We do have a company coming out tomorrow to look at the foundation, but even prior to coming out they're already recommending a sump-pump. Which makes me unease, as in my research of old homes with these types of foundations they are not always the best options, however I am not an expert. (I've called & inquired with other places but I've heard nothing back) Moving on, the yard will be graded in the spring and it will be re-guttered as well, as it is time for new ones. In the pictures the first one is of the outside, which did have a brick pathway that I moved away to see if there was anything going on above ground with the chimney area, and alas. I did fastplug areas, as you can see in the second picture by the water heater to try and help alleviate further water damage but the 3rd picture(right side of chimney) you can see that its still creeping, not sure if it was helpful or harmful. This poor chimney, the bottom bricks were worn away after the hot water heater exploded last summer, however the bottom of it is filled in with dirt which I'm not sure if that should make any alarm bells ring? The majority of the water is coming in along the left side of the chimney and under where the brick are missing, where the previous owners put up that cinder block wall. Just for good measure, i'm attaching a picture of a wall unrelated that has sand? as mortar which I believe was used on these sorts of things. (PLEASE correct me- I want to know as much as I can about my house and the time it was built!) I'm not sure if I need to contact a historic mason, water proofer specialist, foundation person, exorcist, my neighbor friendly spiderman. Whoever- I'm not trying to hurt the situation I want to correct it, as most want to apply new methods to old construction. thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Kibbel Posted February 22, 2022 Report Share Posted February 22, 2022 It looks like it was a crawlspace that was excavated and the foundation extended with concrete block. Take care of the grading, gutters and downspouts before bringing contractors out to sell you things that aren't needed. Does the chimney have a cap on top? Got a better pic where the block meets the chimney behind the water heater? https://historicbldgs.com/stonefoundations.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theamazingjacksons Posted March 7, 2022 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2022 On 2/22/2022 at 9:00 AM, Bill Kibbel said: It looks like it was a crawlspace that was excavated and the foundation extended with concrete block. Take care of the grading, gutters and downspouts before bringing contractors out to sell you things that aren't needed. Does the chimney have a cap on top? Got a better pic where the block meets the chimney behind the water heater? https://historicbldgs.com/stonefoundations.html Sorry for the delay in my response. I had seen your reply, kept meaning to respond, but it kept slipping my mind. The contactor showed up, and didn't recommend a sump. He essentially said exactly what you did in this post. He said he doesn't think the basement was dug out. The cinderblock wall was one for just hiding things and quick fixes rather than addressing the problem. You should see some of the other stuff we found while we were doing basic renovations! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.