Making Foundation Repairs Yourself

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Cracks and crumbing mortar indicate areas in need of foundation repairs.
Cracks and crumbing mortar indicate areas in need of foundation repairs.
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Materials and tools for foundation repair: mixing container, masonry-grade cement, spray bottle, whisk broom, pointing trowel, putty knife, screwdriver, wire brush, and plastering trowel.
Materials and tools for foundation repair: mixing container, masonry-grade cement, spray bottle, whisk broom, pointing trowel, putty knife, screwdriver, wire brush, and plastering trowel.
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Give the joint a good going-over with a wire brush. Sweep out the joint with a whisk broom and wipe it clean with a towel.
Give the joint a good going-over with a wire brush. Sweep out the joint with a whisk broom and wipe it clean with a towel.
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Remove the old, deteriorated grout from between the bricks, using the screwdriver and putty knife.
Remove the old, deteriorated grout from between the bricks, using the screwdriver and putty knife.
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Apply the new mortar to the cracks with a pointing trowel, and scrape off the excess.
Apply the new mortar to the cracks with a pointing trowel, and scrape off the excess.
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Smooth the grout with a broom or trowel.
Smooth the grout with a broom or trowel.

Quite often homeowners are so busy insulating, caulking, and weatherstripping obvious energy leaks that they fail to check their homes’ foundations for the kind of seepages that can cause cold floors (and feet), higher-than-need-be utility bills, frozen water pipes, and drafts up walls and around heat ducts.

After years of being exposed to cold, rain, and snow, the mortar that holds together the foundations (usually block, rock, or brick) of older homes tends to develop holes and cracks. It takes only a few minutes to determine whether your underpinning needs attention, and better still, just a few sparetime hours to make the foundation repairs.

What Can You Do?

There are two ways to stop such leakage without having to resort to building a new foundation, and, surprisingly, the more expensive method is not in most cases the best.

The first process — and the least effective, to my way of thinking — is to put fiberglass batts or roll insulation on the inside of the leaking wall. You see, it’s virtually impossible to recover the cost of this repair in energy savings over a reasonable period of time, and though this procedure may stop the leaks, it doesn’t stop the deterioration.

  • Published on Sep 1, 1984
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