Greetings to All,

I'm in the market for a new home and have offered on a property. The home was built in '79.

I recently had an inspection done on the house, and the gentleman showed me that the basement had 2 walls that were bowed in. The basement is block, looks to be 8" thick. There are no cracks to my knowledge, but the walls have recently been coated with Drylok or similiar. The bow for each wall is about one and a half inches inward from plumb. Each wall also has a steal H-beam braced against it from floor to ceiling. Almost the entire basement wall is below grade, and the bow is highest directly in the center.

So, the questions are: How common is this? Is this a major problem? Should I continue with the closing or just cancel my purchase agreement and keep looking for a different house? Also, the inspector referred me to a Structural Engineer should I choose to get it checked out.

Any advice and answers will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Russ

How old is the Drylok?

How old is the steel beam bracing?

There no question that the wall was originally built improperly. Correct repairs with a transferable, enforceable guarantee would be an absolute must!

There were obviously cracks in the wall. A block wall does not bow in 1 1/2" without any cracks. The question is when were they last repaired. The Drylok slop is good for covering up the facts.

You obviously had excess pressure on the wall (probably by saturated soil). Was anything done to reduce the pressure (like drain tile)?

without an enforceable, transferable guarantee, I would avoid it unless you cou have a professional review what the history was, what was really done and if it was adequate.

Drylok age? Unknown
Age of beams? Unknown
Crack repairs? Unknown

The property is bank owned, so I am unsure home much information I can get without the original seller. Both walls where the bowing occurs have uncovered window wells where moisture can get down. The house however is located on hill, so I was hoping drainage would be adequate, and the basement shows no signs of water problems.

Basement walls bow because:
1. There is hydrostatic (water) pressure outside the wall.
2. Heavy equipment was run too close outside the wall.
3. Tree roots are pushing outside the wall.
4. The wall thickess and/or reinforcing was insufficient for the deoth of soil that the wall is supporting.
5. The top of the wall was/is not properly braced to the floor structure.

As you see, two of these causes are structural deficiencies, but three of them involve forces outside the wall. The steel beams are a band-aid fix, and may not cure the problem at all. Drylok may work for a while...enough said.

A structural engineer should be able to determine if one or both of the structural defects exist. If they don't, then the problem is caused by forces outside the walls, and outside is where it must be diagnosed and cured.

You would be taking a big chance on this house, and you may be letting yourself in for some future expenses and real headaches. If it were me, I would pass on this house, because, no, these are not common problems, and they are problems, either present or future.

Whatever force caused the walls to bow still exists, and has neither been diagnosed nor dealt with.

Thanks for the information and opinions so far. So if I can gather what has been said, a bowing basement wall is not at all a "common" problem, the problem that is causing the bowing "may" still exist, and that there is nothing that you would define as "an acceptable amount of bow"?

Is this correct? Not looking to hold anybody to anything, I'm just trying to clarify for my own sake and peace of mind. It's hard b/c on one hand I really want this house, and on the other hand, it would seem foolish to buy a house with a foundation problem.

Normal foundation walls don't bow. There was definitely a cause...they don't bow because they feel like it. As far asw we know, no one made an attempt to determine the cause at all, they just stuck a couple of steel band-aids on it and slopped some Drylok on it. It is possible that there were cracks, in fact it is almost assured that there were cracks, and the Drylok is possibly covering up some quick-and-dirty repair jobs.

At the very least, you are risking having to do anywhere from $6,000 to $10,000 worth of digging and waterproofing outside the foundation at some point in the future, after the cause of the bowing is diagnosed for certain and remedied. If you and your wallet can stand that idea, then maybe you should buy the house, but I guarantee you, you are bound to find many similar houses without foundation problems, and you always have to consider resale. A patched-up basement cannot be as easy to sell as a pristine one. It's the biggest investment you will ever make, more than likely...make it wisely, and good luck to you.

Thanks both of you for your advice and expertise. You've helped my wife and I come to a decision. It wasn't easy, b/c the house was located on a lot overlooking a lake in a quiet community, but we have decided to pass on the house and resume our searching. It can be hard when you have put so much time, effort, and money into finding a house and almost closing on it. I think in the end, I really wanted someone to tell me that it was no big deal - denial. Thanks again.