I have a bowed (approx 4 inches) cinder block foundation wall (It’s actually under the stoop). Methods for stabilizing the wall range from grip-tite anchors only, a combination of a lesser amount of grip-tite anchors and carbon fire reinforcement. Or I-beams (filling the gap with Portland cement). Any of the three would be accompanies by a sump pump system, the most favorable of which is placed (from the inside) underneath the slab. Weep holes would then be drilled in eah cinder block to allow accumulated water to drain into the sump pump system.

I’m insure, any comments or experience with such repairs?

Many more questions than comments.

When you say the bowed wall is under the stoop, do you mean it is a full-height basement wall which is bowed directly adjacent to a stoop which is located outside the basement wall?

How old is the wall? How long has it been bowed? Is the bowing progressively getting worse, or has it seemed to stabilize?

What is the wall built of, block, concrete, or other?

How thick is the wall? How high above the basement floor is the grade outside the bowed wall? What is the direction of the floor joists above relative to the bowed wall; parallel, or perpendicular?

How high on the wall does the bowing occur? At the very top? More in the middle than top or bottom?

What is the stoop constructed of? Does it have walls extending below frost, and footimgs? How deep are the stoop's footings, if any?

Before any remedial work is done, don't you think the cause of the bowing should be determined? Once the cause is determined, something should be done to eliminate the cause, before any repair work is done.

What would a sump pump system have to do with the bowing of the wall? It sounds like someone has either positively determined, or more likely guessed, that the bowing is due to hydrostatic pressure from outside the wall. Is there any reason to believe this is true?

If it IS true, and I have my doubts, then WHY create weep holes to admit the water into your basement, only to pump it out again? Why not deal with it outside? Do you have water in your basement regularly? Where and how does it enter, if so?

Common causes of bowed foundation walls are:
1. Hydrostatic pressure
2. Inadequate wall thickness
3. Improper bracing of the wall
4. Construction equipment running too near the wall, especially if before floor is framed.
5. Backfilling before the floor is framed
6. Lateral loads on the soil at a height some distance above the basement floor, such as might be imposed by the foundation under the stoop.

Let's eliminate some of the common causes of the bowing, and narrow down to one or two of the causes, and then let's see if we can determine the exact cause. Only then can the correct remedy be found.

Virg,

as Richard mentions, most likely/very probable the reasons(s) for block wall bowing in is because soil pressures etc outside/against the wall.

expanding & contracting SOIL....And the possibility IF there is a footing under stoop/porch which there should be, leaning against outside of wall, a combination.

tree roots in the soil underground can also cause problems and so, these 'supposed' Inside stabilizing techniques cannot and do not relieve/lessen any Outside pressure against basement walls, if ANYONE tells you this they are bs`g/misleading you, its that simple.

and to boot, they want to put in a sump pump Inside system which does NOT stop water/moisture from entering cracks `n other openings on Outside of hollow block wall.

drilling holes into hollow blocks on inside doesn`t stop any water from getting into the blocks from outside, it ONLY allows any water that gets in to seep/dribble out into their inside system. Fact is, it INCREASES the possibility of radon gas to enter basement, insects to enter,mold etc.

Now, you can go ahead `n do that inside stuff, its your house, your money. But the pressure(s) will still be against the outside of that wall and, water/insects etc will still be allowed to enter into hollow blocks beacsue the crack(s) on the OUTSIDE will still be OPEN.

When you say the bowed wall is under the stoop, do you mean it is a full-height basement wall which is bowed directly adjacent to a stoop which is located outside the basement wall? -

Yes on both accounts

How old is the wall? How long has it been bowed? Is the bowing progressively getting worse, or has it seemed to stabilize? -

The house was built in 1973. I cannot say how long it has been bowed, as I have only lived hear 2 years, and only recenlty discovered the problem, which was hidden behind a framed out wall.


How high on the wall does the bowing occur? At the very top? More in the middle than top or bottom? -

The bow is more ein the middle of the wall with long horizontal cracks in the mortar about a third of the way from the top and bottom respectively.The are also stair steps craks in the mortar and some vertical craks in the cider blocks.

I am cepitacal of an of the solutions offered to me at this point. All have blamed hydrostatic preasure, claimng that a sumpsystem would give the water a place to go, thereby relievie the preasure. Leaving whatever support system they install to maintain the stability of the wall itself.

All seems liek a sales pitch to me, but I am at somewhat of a loss as to where to go to get an "Honest" assement of how to best rectify the problem.

Do know that my basement doesn't flood, rather small amount of water appeartently seep throught these cracks.

We just endured Ernesto blowing through the area, and despite 10-12 inches of rain, we were able to witnees small amuonts of water seeping in, but not enough to leave an measurable amountsd inthe effected area.

Feel free to E-mail me as well Seanlucas2@cox.net.

I am almost positive from the information in your reply that the wall is bowed because of loads from the foundations of the stoop. If the problem were hydrostatic pressure, I think you'd have other bowed walls also...hydrostatic pressure is not likely to occur in only one isolated spot.

I also believe that the wall has likely bowed all it's going to bow...I would be surprised if it was continuing to move.

The solution, I'm afraid, if my guesses are correct, are not simple. The absolute best way, regardless of cost, would be to remove the stoop, excavate on the exterior of the wall and rebuild the bowed part of the wall and repair all other cracks, and apply waterproofing.

Then replace the stoop, but either carry the stoop foundations down to the bottom of the wall, or design the stoop in suvh a way that it is supported ON THE WALL and at other points located several feet out away from the wall.

The wall should be backfilled with pea gravel as Licensed Waterproofer recommends, and then it's fixed. No more bowing, no more leakage. But probably mose costly than you want it to be.

What does your stoop look like? Of what is it constructed? Is it roofed? Do you have a picture of it?

Remember, this is still only a guess, but it's a more educated guess. You might consider consulting a competent architect or a structural engineer, who would examinethe conditions closely, and be more able to be positive about your problem and its solution. Contractors are generally experts in how to do what they do, but not necessarily experts in determining exactly what to do, and for what reason.

quote:

...How old is the wall? How long has it been bowed? Is the bowing progressively getting worse, or has it seemed to stabilize? -

The house was built in 1973. I cannot say how long it has been bowed, as I have only lived hear 2 years, and only recenlty discovered the problem, which was hidden behind a framed out wall....

Dear Bowed, I'm not an attorney, and I'm not familiar with real estate law in Virginia, but if the seller knew there was a problem with the foundation (which I'm guessing they did due to the framed out wall that covered up the problem), you may be able to recover some of your costs from the seller, assuming they knew about but did not disclose the problem before the sale. Get a lawyer involved? Just a thought. Good Luck !... Ken G.

Dear Fellow Virginian,
Sorry I'm so late to respond, however, the best way to fix the problem is to follow the advice given, I've read many of the replies given by Richard and LicensedWaterproofer, and find that I agree 98.9% of the time. The remedy as suggested by Richard is your surest way to peace of mind. Also, as Ken stated you can recoup some if not all of the repair costs from the seller. VA does have disclosure laws in place to protect homebuyers from incidents such as this. You should contact a reputable attorney or use your search engine to find out the statute of limitations, I think it's 3 years but I'm not sure. Hope this helps. I can be reached at ascs_build4you@yahoo.com if I can be of further advice or assistance.

Anyone familiar with the “Tuff-N-Dri” waterproofing system from TREMCO ? I have had an engineering firm conduct an inspection and repair a report detailing the damage and recommend methods of repair.

I have an offer to repair the problem in accordance with the report, with one deviation. After excavation, repair, and application of a waterproof membrane, the engineer report call for a #57 Stone Chimney Drain be constructed between the membrane and backfill.

As the story goes, the Tuff-N-Dri system includes the membrane as well as some sort of permeable fiberboard to efficiently channel the water down to the newly installed drainpipe at the base of the foundation. The offer I have received is reasonable and I do not feel as though I am being sold an unnecessary system at an outrageous price. My only real concern is that this particular offer recommends/ prefers to use sand as a backfill with this product vice the #57 Stone chimney.

Any thoughts, comments, experience, with either this system or the use of sand as a backfill, vice the #57 Stone method.

I have no clue what a #57 Stone Chimney is or does. Let me see if I can turn anything up on Google.

Unfortunately, I found nothing.

Sand is an acceptable backfill, though.

Essentially a barrier to facilitate drainage (basically 12” wood of #57 , top to bottom, between the membrane and backfill). I post a pic if I could figure out how.

Now I'm REALLY confused.

Is there somewhere I can E-mail you a digram?

sean.lucas@dla.mil

Diagram was emailed, and all is fine.
#57 refers to the state highway department's designation of a type of stone. "Chimney drain" is apparently another term for "french drain", or at least the part of the system that allows water to drain down to the perforated pipe. Gravel or sand are equally suitable for this purpose.

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